Special
Needs - Legal Advocacy
Understanding your legal rights when
you homeschool your special needs child. Advocating for additional
rights. Area-specific support may also be on your Regional
page.
Advice for Homeschooling
Homeschooling
Children with Special Needs
Lenore Hayes has been homeschooling her special needs son for
16 years. She is also an active homeschool leader in California.
She has advice what to do if you are denied service and have
an IEP in place.
Advocacy Sites
Council of Parent Attorneys
and Advocates
An independent, nonprofit, tax-exempt organization of attorneys,
advocates and parents established to improve the quality and
quantity of legal assistance for parents of children with disabilities.
IEP -
Getting Out
Legal
Information
Schools also do not like for IEPd children to leave because these
students bring in more money for the schools. Therefore,
it is important to know your legal rights! NHEN.
Special
Needs Children: Pulling Your Child Out of School
Just because a child has been determined to be a special needs
child and an IEP has been prepared for her, does not mean that
her family loses their constitutional right to choose the best
educational alternative for their child. Parents can elect to
place their child in a private school or facility. By Linda J.
Conrad Jansen, Esq.
Your
Child's IEP: Practical and Legal Guidance for Parents
If you are like many parents, when you receive a telephone call
or letter inviting you to an IEP meeting, you respond with anxiety.
Few parents look forward to attending IEP meetings.
IEP
- While Homeschooling
The
IEP Meeting
The school district can make recommendations, but the parent
must approve every syllable of the documentation. If you're not
happy with what's in the IEP, don't sign it until you are! By
Melissa Wiley
An
Introduction to The Individualized Education Plan For Home Educators
Developing an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) for you child
with special learning needs is beneficial to the home educator
and the child with special needs. by Amy Dunaway.
Legal
Resources
Americans
with Disabilities Act Home Page
From the U.S. Department of Justice. Resources available through
the government.
Answers
to Questions about Special Education Protections: FAPE, LRE,
IEE, Due Process
Here are some recurring questions and answers about the protections
offered under Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
SchaubLearning.
Special Education
Law & Advocacy Strategies/Reed Martin, J.D
Educational resource where parents, advocates, attorneys
and school personnel come for accurate up-to-date information
and strategies to secure rights of children with disabilities.
Join us for our chat every Thursday Night 9:00 - 10:30 PM,
EST.
Wrightslaw
Parents, educators, advocates, and attorneys come to Wrightslaw
for accurate, reliable information about special education law,
education law, and advocacy for children with disabilities. Wrightslaw
has thousands of articles, cases, and free resources about dozens
of topics.
Online
Association
of Homeschool Attorneys
This association is a network of attorneys and legal experts
that are concerned with litigation pending and threatened against
homeschoolers. Moderated by Linda J. Conrad Jansen, an attorney
and Legal/Legislative Chair of the HomeSchool Association of
California.
Publications
 Education
Advocacy: A Self-Help Tutorial for Parents
The tutorial is written for parents who want to learn how to
advocate for their child's educational needs. I wrote it as a
parent who has been through the special education wars first
with her own child and then as a volunteer advocate for my local
chapter of the Tourette Syndrome Association. by Leslie E. Packer.
Special
Ed Advocate
Low cost Advocacy Package available through Wright's Law
can help you determine your need for legal assistance.
Regional Information
Organized by State Name
Homeschooling
the Special Needs Child
Illinois: As a parent of a child with special needs, you
can receive special services from your school district at no
further cost -- you have already paid for them with your taxes.
This includes speech therapy, physical therapy, occupational
therapy, audiologists' and social workers' services. These are
all covered by Public Law 94-142.
Massachusetts
Special Education Law
Eligible Massachusetts homeschoolers still have right
to special services through the public schools if they desire
them. But if a homeschool parent does not provide consent for
an initial evaluation or a reevaluation, the school may not override
that decision and is not required to consider the child eligible
for services. AHEM.
Home
Instruction - Q&A
New York: Read from Question #70 - #84. Students with
Special Educational Needs: May the parents of a student with
a disability choose to provide home instruction for the student?
Oregon
Department of Education Guidelines for Home School Students With
Disabilities
Oregon: State law provides that children with disabilities
be evaluated for "satisfactory educational progress according
to the recommendations of an individualized educational program
(IEP) or privately developed plan (PDP).
Homeschooling
Your Gifted or Special Needs Child
Virginia: My child has a current IEP. I know he is entitled
to received speech services, but I how do I proceed? VA Homeschoolers.
Special
Needs at Home in Washington
Washington: The good news is that Washington's home-based
instruction law does not discriminate! It was written to include
ALL kids in the state with no extra hoops to jump through for
those with extraordinary challenges. WHO.
See also ~ Laws
& Legalities
Special
Ed Attorneys
Who also have keen understanding of state homeschool law.
Dorene
J. Philpot Attorney At Law
An attorney who represents children with special needs and their
parents in Indiana and Texas.
Sussan & Greenwald,
Esqs., Special Education Attorneys
The Firm's practice is limited to the representation of disabled
children and their parents in matters involving disputes with
New Jersey school districts.
Still
In School
Learning
Problems at School: Whose FAULT Is It?
If you believe that you and/or your child are being blamed for
your child's learning problems, this study suggests that you
may be correct. And, if you believe that school factors (an inappropriate
curriculum, faulty teaching, or ineffective school administration
and management practices) are contributing to your child's problems,
this is probably an accurate assessment. by Pamela Darr Wright,
M.A., M.S.W. Licensed Clinical Social Worker
Special
Needs Children
If services are offered, the family is not required to accept
them. Many families do just fine without government help, but
if you need it, special needs services are available to homeschoolers.
By Linda J. Conrad Jansen, Esq.
Additional Resources
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