Homeschooling and IEP

[jen&james]

I posted this in special needs but no one seems to know the answer. My son recieved a IEP for next fall for K. I was going to send him to our local public school since I was a bit intimidated starting homeschooling with a 2yr old and a new baby coming. I have since decided it is the best decision for us and I have applied to a local charter school thru the state. If we get accepted to the charter they will honor the IEP but if we don't get in and I homeschool him myself does that mean i forfeit my IEP? Does anyone know f I have to be in a state funded program to recieve my IEP or do they have to give it to me regardless? Any help would be apprciated.

[kristin0713]

This will vary by state, but the bottom line is that the public school system is required by law to provide for your child the services outlined in the IEP, and a charter school is not bound by law to do that. In some cases, you can homeschool and still receive services in the IEP, but it depends on the state, district, and really a case-by-case basis for each child.

Now, if the things in the IEP are accommodations that can be made easily by the staff of the charter school, it may very well happen that they do their best to work with you and your child to meet his needs. They will not necessarily have the funding to provide therapies, equipment, etc. Without knowing what is in your child's IEP, it is hard to say what they may or may not do.

You don't "forfeit" your IEP if you homeschool, but the public school may or may not provide additional services if you are not sending him there for school. If you decide to homeschool him and then change your mind and send him there, you may have to go through the legal process again of putting the IEP in place but I don't think they would necessarily put him through all the testing, etc. if not too much time has passed and if it seems that the IEP as it was written before still offers your son the "least restrictive environment" for learning.

I hope that was helpful, although I know it doesn't answer specifically for your situation.

[chiefmir]

I don't know about homeschooling at all, but I work in a charter school in PA and my DD will be attending one in NJ next year. Charter schools ARE public schools and they are legally bound to honor all IEPs. The might not have the exact resources of a public (like a special ed class or autism class) but if they can't meet an IEP or write an appropriate one that they can fulfill, then they must help you find an alternative placement (sometimes back in the district, sometimes at an approved private school) at their expense.

[Momma Aimee]

Originally Posted by jen&james

I posted this in special needs but no one seems to know the answer. My son recieved a IEP for next fall for K. I was going to send him to our local public school since I was a bit intimidated starting homeschooling with a 2yr old and a new baby coming. I have since decided it is the best decision for us and I have applied to a local charter school thru the state. If we get accepted to the charter they will honor the IEP but if we don't get in and I homeschool him myself does that mean i forfeit my IEP? Does anyone know f I have to be in a state funded program to recieve my IEP or do they have to give it to me regardless? Any help would be apprciated.

depends on the services. it is a question of pratical ..

by law the state / school has to provide sevices to a homeschooled child as long as the family mets all homeschool legal requiremnts in that state.

But if the accomadation in the IEP don't apply -- then they can't do anything for you.

My son has an IEP and his "home classroom" is listed as "homeschooled" on the IEP.

he gets one-on-one "tutoring" 1x a week -- i take him to teh school for his meeting with the teacher when she is not in the classroom. if he was in school she would pull him out 2x a veek for 15 minutes each time; i take him in once a week for 30 minutes.

he gets 2x a veek ST -- 45 minutes each time. Again i take him in for it. if he was in class she would pull him out for that time.

but there are other accom dation that he COULD have if he was in the classrooms -- extra time, picture chart of the daily shdule, aid ....

but he is at home, he is not in class, so thoese accomadation do not apply.

[jen&james]

So I guess it will come down to if we get into the charter school. i just hope having a IEP doesn't affect their choice to accept us. If we don't get in I will have to contact my school district and ask if they will honor the IEP if I homeschool him. We live in CA but I'm not sure how other states do it. i have been told that for K I don't have to file any paperwork and I was just going to use the K curriculum i bought. My son's IEP gives him 1 hr a week of OT and 25min a week of speech all of which I could take him to the school for. it also gives him a sensory diet and special seating which of course would not be needed if he isn't in class. i would just really like to take advantage of the OT and speech because so far it has been out of pocket and its expensive.

[ikesmom]

Our charter here doesn't provide special services. If we want we can continue to homeschool and get them through the district. Our district stinks..it wasn't worth it for us.. but I knew that from experience of going to the ps. Is there any way for you to connect with a homeschool group in your area and talk to some moms who might know or have special needs kids?

[heatherdeg]

Per HSLDA regarding SpEd rights for homeschoolers in CA:

"Homeschoolers are classified as private schools and are entitled to the federal funds specifically earmarked for private school students. This funding is minimal and how those funds are spent is entirely at the discretion of the school district."

In other words, the district should provide services even if the child is homeschooled. Fed funding is usually not the majority of the funding for SpEd anyway.

Now, in NJ, we have no such luck to be granted a specific status (like a private school, etc). BUT, we DO have a case that sets precedent for receiving services if WE bring the child to the school for services vs. the district sending someone to the house. I was able to do this for 2 years.

[jen&james]

thank you heatherdeg I guess I will just wait to see if we get into the charter and if not then i will contact our school district about the IEP services and if they will still provide them despite our choice to homeschool.

[mykdsmomy]

Originally Posted by jen&james

So I guess it will come down to if we get into the charter school. i just hope having a IEP doesn't affect their choice to accept us. If we don't get in I will have to contact my school district and ask if they will honor the IEP if I homeschool him. We live in CA but I'm not sure how other states do it. i have been told that for K I don't have to file any paperwork and I was just going to use the K curriculum i bought. My son's IEP gives him 1 hr a week of OT and 25min a week of speech all of which I could take him to the school for. it also gives him a sensory diet and special seating which of course would not be needed if he isn't in class. i would just really like to take advantage of the OT and speech because so far it has been out of pocket and its expensive.

I'm in Ca. too. We just finished up another year with CAVA (California virtual acadamy with K12). I know for sure they would accept you if you went that route. Both of my ds's have IEP's and they worked with us and even allowed us to use my son's VI teacher from our local school that he was used to already
We are currently hoping to get into Sky Mountain (IEM) because you can hand pick your curriculum and they give you an "allowance" to use (through your ES). It has to be approved from the vendor list but it's a pretty thorough list of curriculum. I'm waiting to see if my youngest gets accepted since his IEP is the most complicated. Good luck and PM me if you want to chat or need more info on either school

ETA: There are different "types" of Charter Schools. We have a local Charter school in our district but it doesn't have an at home option. It simply is a brick and mortar school publicly funded but the "school" decides how the funds are distributed. (IIRC)