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ARIZONA

Child Find wants you!

Families in the Sedona–Oak Creek Unified School District received a form letter that began, "As you may know, federal and state law requires all public school districts to identify, locate, and evaluate children with disabilities residing within the jurisdiction of the public school district." The law referred to in the letter is the "Child Find" requirement of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which applies to every public school in America that benefits from federal funding. Under the law, public schools must try to track down every child in their district who has a disability. Somewhat surprisingly, however, the law does not require parents to cooperate with this search.

If homeschool parents in Arizona want special education services, they can ask the public schools to evaluate their child for special needs, and then request public services to meet those needs. If parents do not believe the evaluation and services are in their child's best interest, however, they are under no obligation to cooperate with Child Find. Parents are free to obtain evaluations and services from private sources instead.

Home School Legal Defense Association repeatedly defends parents who object to their children being "labeled" as having special needs. While this labeling may make a child eligible for additional benefits within the public school system, it adds nothing to homeschool parents' ability to teach that child. Unless the child needs specific services (such as speech, occupational, or physical therapy), he or she may benefit most from "learning without labels."

HSLDA is committed to helping families provide their children with the right education, whether that means seeking additional resources or avoiding the coercive imposition of labels. By working together, HSLDA members are helping Arizona families get just what their children really need—one-on-one instruction from a caring, committed parent.

— by Scott W. Somerville