Special Needs Education

» Lynn1969 - Fed. Help for Homeschoolers?

Interesting. In the last legislative session, Texas passed laws indicating home-schooled parents could access courses/services in the public schools at the option of the district (i.e. science labs, athletics, testing services). There was nothing in the legislation, however, that required districts to permit this.

State legislation does exist indicating that parents of children for whom education within a traditional setting is neither practical nor advisable must be provided with an equivalent education (read "homebound teacher"). I do know parents in such situations that are accessing services such as speech/language pathologists or behavioral therapists through the districts for homebound students. This legislation does not address home-schooled students, however.

-- posted by Lynn1969

» Greg Cruey - Federal Help for Homeschoolers

In response to Federal Help for Homeschoolers posted by ReneeBlixt:

First, a technicality: when you talk about “the government” and individual states, the Individual’s with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a federal law that tells states what they have to live up to in dealing with students who have disabilities. The states then do the educational work while the federal government, basically, watch (regulates – pick the tone you want your term to relay).Each state will have slightly different rules and procedures along with somewhat different terminology, but they are all trying to comply with the same federal law.

The goal of IDEA is to make a free appropriate public education, a FAPE, available to all students. “Public” means at public expense. In the mind of the government, the law, and (arguably) the general public, that starts at your local school in a general education classroom. When a child is determined to have a disability (and that determination usually involves a process of evaluation that takes at least some weeks) a committee at the school (including the parent) sometimes decides that in order for a student to get an appropriate education they should take some of their academic work from a special education teacher in a special education class. Occasionally it goes beyond that and the committee decides for some reason that the student should be outside the school building in order to get an appropriate education. That is called education in an out of school environment. And conceivably a committee could be convinced that the best option in such a situation was some form of home schooling, and the school system could support that. Conceivably.

I’ve known of a number of out of school environment (OSE) placements. Some were for simply health reasons – a child with a disability broke both legs. Others had to do with the Safe Schools Act – a child with a disability (and a pattern of disciplinary problems) was found to be in possession of coupe of ounces of marijuana, an unusual amount of money for a child his age (13), and a sharp knife. I can’t recall a situation in which the child went from being in the school to being accommodated in an OSE placement that involved home schooling. Usually the outcome is for the school system to pay a teacher to spend a certain number of hours each week with the student. In a perfect world the parents use that teacher as a free consultant, available themselves of the school systems resources (books, etc.) and participate in the child’s home instruction. The world is rarely, in my experience, perfect.

Understand that the goal of the law is to have students with disabilities educated with their non-disabled peers. In the eyes of the courts, OSE placement fails miserably at this and school systems are penalized for having OSE students. In my state the procedure is basically that students with disabilities are assigned a points value. If they spend 79% or more of their school day with their non-disabled peers, they’re a zero. If they spend 40% to 79% of their time with regular ed kids, they’re a one. If they’re at school but they spend less than 40% of their time with their non-disabled peers, they’re a two. OSE kids are a five. Children who are placed in a residential facility of some kind are either a six or a seven. Those numbers are points against us as a school system. If the average gets too high the state’s monitors show up with big (metaphorical) sticks and start beating people – principals and central office staff first – for discriminating against students with disabilities…

» Greg Cruey - Fed. Help for Homeschoolers?

In response to Fed. Help for Homeschoolers? posted by Lynn1969:

Without considering disabilities issues, the relationship between sincere home schoolers and the school district is not much different than the relationship between private schools and the school district. There's not much obligation. Depending on yuor state you probably have a right to library access. Drivers education is a big issue in Virginia, where I actually live; if they don't take drivers ed a kid can't get a license until they turn 18 and then the cost of insurance becomes an issue. The high schools are usually pretty busy and have to be convinced to let home school kids particiate. My view has always been that home school parents pay taxes in the county just like the rest of us. As you mentioned, some services can be got at if you need then for a disabled child and you can maintain a working relationship with the school system.

» ReneeBlixt - Fed. Help for Homeschoolers?

In response to Fed. Help for Homeschoolers? posted by gregcruey:

In other words, then, there is this supposed help that no one really gets...

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...even though, as you stated, homeschoolers pay taxes, too.

-- posted by ReneeBlixt

» Lynn1969 - Fed Help for Homeschoolers

It appears to be the case that the federal law does not directly address the needs of homeschoolers. So, if you are willing to settle for public schools (in either a traditional school setting or an OSE), you are assured access to the resources those schools have available (or at least access to resources deemed "equivalent" to those provided a normal student in a normal public school setting). If you are private schooling or homeschooling, you MAY have access to public school resources--at the option of the school and/or district--but are not guaranteed access.

How driver's ed. became associated with academics, I'll never know. In my state, even if you take the course through the public schools, you still pay for it. Or, you can take a course through a private instructor or have your parents teach you. Or, you can order one of the "Driver's Ed in a Box" courses so many companies offer online. Or, you can keep your teenager off the road entirely until such time as he/she is of legal age, has a job, and can pursue this extra-curricular activity on his/her own.

-- posted by Lynn1969

» Greg Cruey - Fed. Help for Homeschoolers?

In response to Fed. Help for Homeschoolers? posted by ReneeBlixt:

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is not primarily a law about funding or resources - or about education at all. It is about disabilities. It is a civil rights law designed to ensure that people with disabilities have access to government services. If home schools benefit, it is a by product. It happens sometimes (through the OSE provision). But not on purpose...

» ReneeBlixt - Fed. Help for Homeschoolers?

In response to Fed. Help for Homeschoolers? posted by gregcruey:

Perhaps it's not a wonder why there is a clamoring for vouchers. I'm not one to mix taxes with religion or anything like that, but if I'm not using the "services"--I want my money back.

The moment I pulled my kids out due to safety issues (and one of them was receiving speech services) was the moment the school turned its back on us. Unkind and unfair--what else can I say about that?

-- posted by ReneeBlixt

» Greg Cruey - Fed. Help for Homeschoolers?

In response to Fed. Help for Homeschoolers? posted by ReneeBlixt:

Funny, that's what all the old people without kids at home say in my county. My kids have left home. I think of my property taxes and the county's education system not so much as a user-pays service but as an obligation on my part to help educate the county's children.

The user-pays rationale, if take to its logical conclusion, would say that you should only be allowed to send your kids to school if you own property and pay property taxes.

I like the quote by Republican Oliver Wendall Homes: "Taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society." In my mind, that includes the taxes that cover the cost of educating other people's kids...

» ReneeBlixt - Fed. Help for Homeschoolers?

In response to Fed. Help for Homeschoolers? posted by gregcruey:

Touché--You are correct. I don't believe we should take schooling away from those who can't afford it.

However, maybe there's a middle road--what about those of us who can prove we are schooling our children another way? Perhaps we can be "temporarily" relieved of our education tax while we have school-age children. Then, it goes back to the original set-up...just a thought.

This country's educational system needs a complete overhaul, and I don't see that happening anytime soon.

-- posted by ReneeBlixt

» Lynn1969 - Vouchers

I'm all for vouchers, Renee. If a school is failing--repeatedly--families should have the option of taking the tax dollars allocated for their student elsewhere (to another public school in the district that isn't failing, a public school outside the district that isn't failing, an alternative school, a private school, or possibly even for tutors/curricular instruction in a homeschool setting).

The objective of public education is to provide free and appropriate education to all comers--but the US has not been able to do this to date and will likely continue to fail in this endeavor.

-- posted by Lynn1969