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Question:
My child is disabled and I believe that she needs one-on-one
help in school. The school is not
providing the one-on-one help or other services I think she
needs. Last week the school my
daughter goes to said that they couldn't handle her. I
asked them if they could give her one-on-one help at school and
they told me "No" so I said that I would
home school her if they would help me. They said "yes" when I signed
the papers and brought her home THEN they told me that they
couldn't help and that I was on my own.
Answer:
A school is required to
provide a disabled student who has been found eligible for special
education services with a free and
appropriate public education (FAPE) consisting of appropriate regular
and special education services, and related
services designed to allow the child to progress in the public
education setting.
Initial eligibility is determined after a
comprehensive multi-disciplinary educational evaluation. Once a child
is found eligible, the actual services,
program, placement, etc., are all "individualized" and determined by
the child's child's IEP Team (which includes
the parents). That would include the need for a 1:1 aide, speech
services, other types of therapy, etc. plus specially designed
regular education program and special ed as
needed.
Unfortunately, if a parent elects to
"sign papers" to formally withdraw their child from the public
schools, particularly to "home school" them,
the public school where the student resides has very little obligation
to the student
(although providing appropriate services for an eligible student that
is "homebound" is possible.
As such I generally advise parents to
stick with the public school until their child is found eligible or
they have decided not to pursue a denial of
eligibility via mediation or due process. It is too easy for a school
to argue the parent let them off the hook by
withdrawing them from school. Again, the best approach is
generally to stay with the public school and force a
comprehensive current evaluation, obtain
private (or school funded independent)
evaluations that support your claim for
services, then ask the IEP Team provide what
is needed.
As each state's program and procedures
vary so much, you may want to contact your state
P & A for assistance, or check the
www.edlaw.org
web site for names of private pay attorneys
in your area, or if you cannot afford
an advocate or attorney, one of the non-profits or Legal Aid may be
able to help.
John F. Brower, JD
Education Law Center, PLLC
www.edlawcenter.com
Education Law Center, PLLC · 810-227-9850
·
www.michedlawcenter.com
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