Questions and Answers for Parents of Special Needs Children
What does Home School Legal Defense Association consider a special need?
Generally, we define a special needs child as one who is working two or more years behind grade level in his subjects, a child who has been receiving special education services, or a child with any other disability that greatly impacts his or her ability to learn.
Do I have the right to homeschool my special needs child?
Parents who wish to homeschool a special needs child have the right to do so under the protection of the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the Constitution. This includes parents who presently have their child in an Individual Educational Plan (IEP) set up by their public school’s special education department.
Parents may feel intimidated by school officials and teachers and are often led to believe that they have fewer constitutional rights to homeschool a special needs child than any other child.
Even though the Constitution protects the right of parents to homeschool, most state legislatures have passed statutes regarding homeschooling. These laws typically come under the compulsory school attendance statutes for the state, and may contain stricter provisions for families homeschooling special needs children.
Do I have the right to therapeutic services offered through the public school?
It depends on the state you live in and the severity of your child’s need. Please be aware, however, that HSLDA generally recommends that families obtain services provided by private organizations or individuals.
What if our family cannot afford to have related services done privately?
The most important consideration is that the special needs of your child are being met. HSLDA members who cannot afford private services are encouraged to contact our Special Needs Coordinator to discuss this.
Does HSLDA require families to use a consultant?
No. However, HSLDA does recommend at least quarterly contact with a consultant if the child’s needs are severe enough to warrant assistance.
How long should families retain the assistance of a consultant or educational program?
It depends. In general, if the special learning need is remediable through homeschooling, you should maintain this assistance until your child is functioning close to grade level. If the special learning need is such that it cannot be corrected, you should probably continue to receive assistance throughout your homeschooling experience or until your child is no longer of compulsory school age. The answer to this question may also vary depending upon the specific statutes and regulations in your particular state.
Must my consultant be currently certified?
No. Parents should not be concerned about whether the consultant is currently certified or certified in their state—only that he or she has credentials and experience in the area of the child’s special need.
What if my consultant is making too few or too many recommendations for me to follow?
It is important to communicate your expectations to your consultant at your initial meeting. If you are a beginning homeschooler, you might want a significant amount of oversight and recommendations from your consultant. If you are an experienced homeschooler, however, you might want a consultant who has a hands-off philosophy. If you find that you are not compatible with the consultant you have chosen, you can locate someone else.
Can I obtain the services of a consultant from another state?
Yes. However, it is best to have a consultant who has met you and your child and is able to meet with you in person. If you choose someone in another state, consider sending samples of your child’s work to that person and then having a follow-up telephone consultation.
What kind of quarterly contacts/evaluations are necessary?
We do not specify what the evaluation should involve. However, there should be a review of the child’s progress. The evaluation should demonstrate that the parent and consultant are aware of the special needs child’s skill levels and how he is progressing with them. There are many ways to do this other than through administering a standardized test. For instance, if you have written down some domestic goals for your child, such as putting away clean clothes, have a checklist to evaluate whether he is doing this independently. If he is not, make notes of what he is unable to accomplish and what steps he is failing to understand. You can share this information with your consultant when you meet quarterly. The two of you can brainstorm ways to facilitate his progress through these steps.
Should I send the evaluations to HSLDA?
No. Just keep copies in your files at home. If your homeschool is ever in jeopardy, we will request these records from you.
Are these evaluations required by the state?
No. HSLDA requests these evaluations for the benefit of the family should they encounter any legal problems as a result of homeschooling their special needs child.
PLEASE REMEMBER: Each state has its own requirements that are separate from these recommendations.
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Am I legally required to have an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) for homeschooling?
The public school system uses IEPs to set up individual teaching plans, obtain related therapeutic services, and make needed transportation arrangements. Homeschooling is a different educational arena. Children no longer have to be transported to class, therapeutic services are done privately, and homeschooling offers individualized education for all students—not just special needs children.
We suggest that parents exercise responsible homeschooling by planning and evaluating each child’s progress. For clarification purposes, we designate an IEP for a home educator as a Student Education Plan (SEP).
In addition to legal representation, what services does HSLDA provide for member families who have children with special needs?
HSLDA provides:
- A special needs coordinator who is available to assist members with their concerns about homeschooling their special needs child. Contact HSLDA at 540-338-5600.
- Names of credentialed professionals who have experience with special needs children.
- Lists of some resources useful for homeschooling special needs children.
Tests members may rent from HSLDA:
- The Woodcock-Johnson PsychoEducational Battery-Revised, Tests of Achievement: This individually administered test is useful for children who may not test well in a group setting. It must be administered by a special education teacher.
- Brigance Diagnostic Inventories: These are tests that parents or professionals may administer to determine what skills a child has or has not mastered. These tests are used routinely in public and private schools to develop an IEP.
Inventory of Early Development (yellow) — birth through developmental age 7.
Inventory of Basic Skills (blue) — grades K-6.
Comprehensive Inventory of Basic Skills (green) — grades preK-9.
Inventory of Essential Skills (red) — grades 6-adult.
Is it important for me to have my child tested for a learning disability?
Whether or not you have your child tested for learning disabilities depends on what you are looking for. Formal tests (WISC IV, Woodcock/Johnson ,DAS, WRAT tests etc.) provide several kinds of information:
- IQ score
- Grade levels in reading, writing, math
- The presence of an auditory processing problem (they are less effective in finding a visual or visual/motor (eye/hand)
processing problem)
- Eligibility for special education services in a public or private school setting if both an IQ and Achievement test are given.
These tests do not provide teaching strategies, or recommendations for addressing your child’s special needs. They do give a list of recommendations, but they almost always are suggestions that the parent is already implementing, such as using visual cues when presenting auditory information (show a picture, or demonstrate how to do something rather than just telling the child); repeat instructions; do much repetition; sit close to the instructor; use the computer to write stories; read tests aloud, etc. The particular type of instruction that will work for this child, and move him forward is conspicuously absent from these reports.
If your child has a speech problem (articulation or speech delay), testing can be helpful to determine what areas of speech need to worked on either by a speech therapist or in a home program.
If you want to formally document that your child has a learning disability, for a variety of reasons.
Formal tests that include both IQ testing and achievement testing can be quite expensive when done privately. If done in the school system they are without monetary cost, but frequently come at a higher cost of involvement by the local school system that is unwelcome.
When parents are primarily interested in how to teach a special-needs child, and is seeking specific strategies to help the child learn, then informal testing as done by a local consultant is sufficient.
In reality, testing done by an outside examiner is often not necessary, especially if the child is experiencing the more common learning glitches that lead to below-level performance in reading, writing, spelling and math. In this case the parent can easily use any of the informal tests (many of which are available on this website), and determine the child’s present level of functioning in reading, writing, spelling and math. This is important to know, because as you implement a different teaching program, or different teaching strategies, you will want to use the same test again in six months or so, to see if the child is making progress using your new method.
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