November 3, 2006
District Seeks Evaluation
Ms. White* recently decided to teach her daughter at home because she was not doing well in school. After starting a new school year, Ms. White received a letter from her local school district stating that officials would like to evaluate her daughter for special education needs.
While her daughter was in public school, Ms. White became concerned about her physical and educational needs. In trying to find what would best help her daughter, Ms. White had spoken to several school personnel over the past few years.
Even after she had determined that she would homeschool her daughter, Ms. White still had occasional conversations about various private programs with the district’s coordinator for special education services. However, Ms. White was surprised to receive this letter from the school district.
Deciding that it would not be beneficial to have the district evaluate her daughter when she intended to have her daughter’s needs met privately, Ms. White turned to Home School Legal Defense Association for help.
HSLDA’s attorney on staff for Oregon contacted the district and informed them that Ms. White was declining their offer of a special education evaluation. We advised the school district that Ms. White was designing a privately developed plan (PDP) for her daughter in compliance with Oregon law.
Under Oregon Administrative Rule 581-021-0029 a parent can design a PDP with one or more private service providers to address their child’s special educational needs. The PDP outlines the child’s individual educational goals and determines what satisfactory education progress is for that child. Parents may use the evaluation of their child’s progress by the PDP to satisfy the testing requirement in grades 3, 5, 8 and 10.
Ms. White has received no further requests for evaluation by her school district.
* Not her real name.
 Other Resources
|
Two Steps for Protecting Your Special Needs Homeschool
Printer Friendly Version
