Public School's Offer to Help with Your Learning Disabled Child

by Andrea Hermitt | More from this Blogger

08 May 2007 07:01 AM

It is that time of year again. Homeschooling parents all over my county and very likely all over the country are receiving letters that offer in school services to learning-disabled home schooled children. Here is an excerpt from one such letter:

Federal law (Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004, or IDEIA) and the Georgia Department of Education Rules for Special Education require that each local public school agency work with private and home school providers to locate any student that may benefit from special education and related services. Our local school district is required to spend a proportionate share of federal VI-B funds, also referred to as "flow through funds" on behalf of such students.

In response to our obligations under the regulations, you are invited to attend an informational meeting sponsored by the Department of Special Education and Psychological Services,...

The letter goes on to state that the school (your local school) is obligated to identify, test, and provide services for any child homeschooled or not, who is learning disabled. What the letter does not say is that you the parent may choose to ignore the letter. It is not a mandate for you to show up at the school at a specific date and time and present your child. It is merely an invitation.

For children who are truly and profoundly learning disabled, these services can be a lifesaver. For instance, early documentation of a child's disability will ensure accommodations for SAT, ACT, other college exams, and throughout college. Late documentation is looked upon as suspicious.

While there may be benefits to using this program to provide special services to your homeschooled child, I fear the negatives will far outweigh the positives. The first problem is that your previously unlabeled child will be evermore labeled as learning disabled, even is they show only the slightest hint of disability or even hyper-activeness. In addition to that, I have heard complaints from parents who did use the services offered by the local public school that they were less than pleased by the results.

Some parents have had to threaten with lawsuits to get anything beyond surface tutorial services. Another parent said that instead of helping her son with extreme dyslexia, she was told to lower her expectations. (She did get great results later on her own after getting some training on teaching dyslexic children.) In addition, homeschoolers who have been through the program suspect that there were false claims that her children are delayed because of homeschooling.

Read "Why I Homeschool My Son with Asperger's Syndrome"

*Have a question about homeschooling? Just ask.

*Want to know more about homeschooling? Start with the 2006 homeschool blog in review!

*Have you seen the homeschool curriculum glossary?

Learn more about Andrea Hermitt

Andrea Hermitt is a native New Yorker currently residing in GA. She has been married for over 16 years and has two teenage children.

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