Purcellville, VA—On Thursday, June 19 the New York Legislature restored much needed special education services for homeschooled students. “This is great news for New York homeschool families. We hope the governor quickly signs this much needed legislation,” said T.J. Schmidt, attorney for Home School Legal Defense Association.

Services were stripped away from special needs homeschool students earlier this year by the New York State Department of Education, when they claimed that because the federal Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) was clarified in 2004, New York state law forbid them from continuing to provide services.

Recognizing that many children who are medically fragile and learning disabled, including autistic, ADD, cerebral palsy, brain-injured, speech and vision impaired, will be without services, the NYSED began working with many homeschool groups and proposed a legislative solution.

This non-controversial legislation now awaits the signature of the governor. We hope he approves the restoration of services to homeschoolers.

Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) is a 25-year-old, 83,000 member non-profit organization and the preeminent national association advocating the legal right of parents to homeschool their children.