Protecting parents with special needs children

[Charity]

Protecting parents with special needs children

Homeschooling families have been fighting the federal government's encroachment on their educational liberties for many years. One of these battles began in the late 1990s, when some local school districts (also known as local education agencies, or LEAs) began insisting that parents submit their special needs children to public school evaluations to determine if the children were eligible for special services-regardless of whether the parents intended to accept such services. The LEAs mistakenly believed that under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), they were required to perform such evaluations.


Although Home School Legal Defense Association immediately began to oppose this misinterpretation of the law, the U.S. Department of Education sided with the LEAs. On an individual basis, HSLDA attorneys were able to work with most school districts to avoid major confrontations, but the incidents persisted. One became so contentious that HSLDA filed suit against the Missouri Department of Education. (See cover story.)


Meanwhile, HSLDA's National Center for Home Education began working with Congress to change federal law, clarifying that the evaluation requirement only applies to students who receive special services. The 2004 reauthorization of IDEA contained a provision making it clear that an LEA is not required to pursue an evaluation if a parent objects. Unfortunately, in a last-minute change, this provision was removed from the final bill before it was passed and signed by the president.


"This was our last chance for another six years-until the next reauthorization of IDEA-to protect the freedom of homeschooling families with special needs children through legislation," said NCHE Director of Federal Policy Caleb Kershner. Immediately pursuing other solutions to the problem, the National Center contacted the House Education and Workforce Committee, urging committee members to do all they could to influence the Department of Education's regulations. The IDEA legislation was still vague enough that interpretive language could be added to the regulations to protect parental rights.


In February 2005, the U.S. Department of Education took initial written public comments on the new IDEA law. Through HSLDA's encouragement, the department received letters and emails from homeschoolers everywhere, urging the department to clarify that public schools are not required to pursue an evaluation of a child who is not attending public school and is not receiving IDEA services. HSLDA staff also met with the officials responsible for drafting the IDEA regulations, further explaining the need for this clarification.
THIS WAS
AN UNUSUALLY
LARGE
OUTPOURING
OF GRASSROOTS
PARTICIPATION.

In June, the initial proposed regulations were made public. "Amazingly, the proposed regulations not only clarified that LEAs are not required to pursue an evaluation, but they actually prohibited LEAs from conducting an evaluation unless the child is in public school or receiving and seeking IDEA services," said Kershner.


During the 90-day comment period on the proposed regulations, HSLDA, 28 state and national homeschool organizations, and over 500 homeschooling families urged the department to keep the clarifying language in the final regulations.


"The department was impressed by the number of homeschooling families who submitted comments," said HSLDA President Mike Smith. "This was an unusually large outpouring of grassroots participation that I think the department does not normally experience."


As the process continues, homeschooling parents are fighting hard to make sure their rights are preserved. Michelle, a homeschool mom from Texas, expressed her concern for her son's continued progress and quality of life if forced to attend an LEA: "He has severe cognitive and developmental delays. The local LEA has no idea how to help him. Since homeschooling, he has become a functioning member of our household."


While the regulations are still not final, they are nearly complete. HSLDA will keep you informed of further developments as we lobby for homeschool freedom.



www.hslda.org/courtreport/V21N6/V21N609.asp

[Charity]

by Andrea Longbottom

As a kindergartner, Scott Fitzgerald of Camdenton, Missouri, struggled to correctly write numbers and letters and to pronounce vowels. His parents, Ron and Joann, strongly suspected that their son was dyslexic, and requested an evaluation from Scott's public school. The school screened Scott, but did not deem his case severe enough to warrant an evaluation.

Joann felt frustrated by the school's lack of help. She knew that, based on the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), public school students can receive special needs services from the school. Without the school's assistance, Joann supplemented Scott's education at home. She decided, along with her mother and sister, to launch the Missouri chapter of the Dyslexia Association of America. The three women received special training and opened a center where they offered after-school programs to several dyslexic students.

But Scott's difficulties mounted as he progressed through elementary school and was required to read and speak more. "I struggled with reading and kids calling me names," remembers Scott. His teachers noticed his struggle — one 1st-grade teacher even stayed after school to tutor him. Joann again requested testing, but the school would not provide any services beyond another screening and an IQ test. They assured Joann that Scott would be fine.

"We thought about homeschooling," says Joann. "Scott even asked me why I didn't homeschool him. But my husband just wasn't convinced it was a good idea. We also wanted Scott to have friends and socialization, and that's why we sent him to public school in the first place."

Scott was socializing, but he was not learning. He was frustrated with his lack of progress and the fact that he was different from his classmates. At the end of 3rd grade, two of Scott's teachers met with Joann and told her that Scott would never learn to read.

The history of IDEA
In 1975, Congress passed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act. This federal act was created to combat the lack of public educational support for disabled children, and it guaranteed a "free, appropriate public education" to every disabled child in each state.1 In 1990, the act was renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.


Today, almost 6 million children and youth participate in special education programs supported by IDEA. Thousands of infants and toddlers receive early intervention services.2 However, because some public schools misinterpret IDEA, this law can be more of a hindrance than a help for homeschoolers-and one of the most troublesome issues for homeschoolers results from IDEA's Child Find provision.


1 "History of the IDEA," www.ed.gov/print/policy/speced/leg/idea/ history.html. See also 20 U.S.C. 1412(a)(1)(A).


2 "History of the IDEA," www.ed.gov/print/policy/speced/leg/idea/ history.html.

Joann couldn't believe her ears. "My son is dyslexic," she replied, "but he has a normal IQ. He can be taught." Joann talked with school officials about ways to resolve the problem. She even arranged a training meeting between dyslexia specialists and the public school teachers, but no teachers came to the meeting. Joann decided to homeschool Scott for the last month of 3rd grade.

Hoping that Scott's situation would improve in 4th grade, the Fitzgeralds re-enrolled Scott in the public school that fall. The school's special services division finally agreed that if Scott were formally tested, the school would consider the results. Joann paid for Scott to be tested by specialists at the Michigan Dyslexia Institute. Meanwhile, the special services division underwent a change in personnel. When Joann notified the school that Scott's test results would be forthcoming, the school responded that it would not consider them.

"You don't have to accept the testing," Joann responded, "but please at least consider the test results."

The school maintained that it would have to evaluate Scott's social and behavioral needs before deciding on his academic needs.

Joann's patience had run out. Ron and Joann withdrew Scott and his younger brother, Chuck, from school and began homeschooling. "I knew that's what I should have done in the very beginning," says Joann. Meanwhile, the Fitzgeralds received the private test results, which confirmed that Scott was dyslexic.

Soon after withdrawing their two sons from public school, the Fitzgeralds received a letter stating that school officials needed to evaluate Scott for potential special needs. "Mind you," points out Home School Legal Defense Association Litigation Counsel Jim Mason, "when Scott was in school they refused to evaluate him. Under IDEA's Child Find provision, school districts are required to offer an evaluation to all children who may have special needs."

The Fitzgeralds no longer desired any support from the school. Exasperated by the school's double standard, the family refused to consent to an evaluation.

The school then requested a due process hearing, stating that it was required by IDEA to conduct the evaluation. "We felt that we were in for a long ride," says Joann. The Fitzgeralds contacted HSLDA, and in February 2003, HSLDA Attorney Jim Mason moved to dismiss the hearing. He stated that the school had misinterpreted the federal statute governing Child Find, which clearly established that schools are not required to evaluate a privately educated child if the parents do not want services. HSLDA also argued that IDEA would be unconstitutional if it were intended to force parents to submit their children to an evaluation.

read more of this story here:

www.hslda.org/courtreport/V21N6/V21N601.asp