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From the HSLDA E-lert Service...
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July 25, 2008
New York: Special Education Services--Notification Required
Dear HSLDA Members and Friends:
As many of you know, Assembly Bill 11463 was signed into law earlier
this month by Governor David Paterson. This bill restores special
educational services to homeschool students who desire to seek
services through their local public school district. Parents who
prefer to obtain services for their children through private sources
may still do so and will not be required to meet their child's needs
through the local school district.
In order to request services, homeschool parents must notify their
local school board by August 6 in order to get special education
services for this school year. For future years, a homeschool parent
will have to send a written request for special education services on
or before June 1. When you move to a new school district, you will
have 30 days to submit a written request for special education
services.
Once a request for special education services is made, your child will
have to be evaluated and identified for a special educational need in
order to be eligible for services. Your child will be evaluated in the
same manner as all other public and nonpublic school students.
Under the new law, a homeschool student receiving special education
services will be treated as any other nonpublic school student
eligible to receive services. In order for a homeschool student to be
eligible to request services they must reside within the school
district and eligible to attend the public school for free.
The homeschool student must also have an Individualized Home
Instruction Plan (IHIP) form submitted to the school district that is
in compliance with Section 100.10 of the Commissioner's Regulations.
School districts are required to notify you within 10 business days of
receipt of the IHIP whether it is in compliance or not. If your child
is over the compulsory attendance age, you would still be required to
submit an IHIP to the school district in order for them to receive
services.
Remember, while homeschool students will now be eligible to request
special education services from your local school district, you are
not required to obtain services from the district. Instead, you can
continue to obtain special education service from private sources if
you desire.
If you would like more information, you can visit the website of the
Office of Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals with
Disabilities (VESID) at the New York State Education Department here:
http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=5334 . The guidance letter that was
sent out to all of the school districts can be found here:
http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=5335 .
BACKGROUND
In January, the New York State Education Department (NYSED) wrote a
letter to every school district in the state informing them that
special education services were not authorized to be provided to
homeschool students.
On July 7, 2008, Governor Paterson signed into law Assembly Bill
11463, providing homeschool students the right to request special
education services.
This was only possible because of many phone calls, letters, and
personal visits to Albany by many people like you. Shortly after the
action in January, several state homeschool leaders, interested
parents and other key individuals came together to form a special
education task force. These individuals put in an enormous amount of
time to help in the efforts to restore services. Both HSLDA and LEAH
were involved in the task force.
If you have any additional questions on how this change in the law may
affect you, please don't hesitate to contact us. Many thanks to those
who took action on behalf of homeschooled special education students!
Sincerely,
Thomas Schmidt
HSLDA Staff Attorney
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-> Will your children's inheritance retain its value?
If you pass on a legacy of freedom, your children and their
children's children will thank you. But freedom is never secure;
it must always be guarded. Membership with HSLDA is an investment
in the future that can be passed on to future generations of
families wanting to teach their children at home.
More reasons to join HSLDA...
http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=1944
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Home School Legal Defense Association
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Phone: (540) 338-5600
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Web: http://www.hslda.org
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