Amy in NY
03-22-2008, 01:37 PM
from homeschoolers. While I was browsing the NYHEN site for reporting info, I came across the reason for the loss of special ed services at the home-school level. It all comes down to money.
IMPORTANT: State Education Department is prohibiting district-provided special education services for homeschoolers
On January 3, 2008, the State Education Department (SED) issued a memo stating that it will soon notify New York's school districts that they are no longer allowed to provide special education services to home-educated children.
For parents whose children are currently receiving district services, the memo says that the SED will tell districts to have those parents revise their IHIPs to address their children's special ed needs on their own; those IHIPs will then be re-evaluated by the district. (See the "Recommendation" section near the end of the memo.)
The department's argument for this change rests on two claims:
* The federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was amended in 2004, and corresponding federal regulations were issued, clarifying that states are not required to provide special ed services to homeschoolers unless a state treats homeschooling families as private schools. New York does not treat us as private schools. Therefore, the State Education Department concludes, federal IDEA money may not be spent on services for home-educated children.
* New York State law does not authorize districts to spend state money on special ed services for home-educated children.
The SED's action grew out of a decision by its State Review Office (SRO) in a dispute between a family and their district:
SRO Appeal No. 07-043 (PDF format)
SRO Appeal No. 07-043 (HTML format)
The relevant discussion begins near the bottom of page 16.
This case is not over yet. The family who lost this decision has filed a federal lawsuit against their school district.
The State Review Office's decision cites these resources:
IDEA Section 300.133
Page 56 of a very large (307-page) PDF file, which may take a very long time to download
We will continue to follow this issue and post further information as necessary.
IMPORTANT: State Education Department is prohibiting district-provided special education services for homeschoolers
On January 3, 2008, the State Education Department (SED) issued a memo stating that it will soon notify New York's school districts that they are no longer allowed to provide special education services to home-educated children.
For parents whose children are currently receiving district services, the memo says that the SED will tell districts to have those parents revise their IHIPs to address their children's special ed needs on their own; those IHIPs will then be re-evaluated by the district. (See the "Recommendation" section near the end of the memo.)
The department's argument for this change rests on two claims:
* The federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was amended in 2004, and corresponding federal regulations were issued, clarifying that states are not required to provide special ed services to homeschoolers unless a state treats homeschooling families as private schools. New York does not treat us as private schools. Therefore, the State Education Department concludes, federal IDEA money may not be spent on services for home-educated children.
* New York State law does not authorize districts to spend state money on special ed services for home-educated children.
The SED's action grew out of a decision by its State Review Office (SRO) in a dispute between a family and their district:
SRO Appeal No. 07-043 (PDF format)
SRO Appeal No. 07-043 (HTML format)
The relevant discussion begins near the bottom of page 16.
This case is not over yet. The family who lost this decision has filed a federal lawsuit against their school district.
The State Review Office's decision cites these resources:
IDEA Section 300.133
Page 56 of a very large (307-page) PDF file, which may take a very long time to download
We will continue to follow this issue and post further information as necessary.