How do I get my daughters public county school to pay for her to go to a private school for the blind. What do I fo to get them to change placement on her IEP to be at a Private School.?

Answer 1

I am a retired special educator with 28 years experience. The first thing that you need to know is that many public schools do not want to pay for a placement at a private school as it is extremely costly and they have to provide special transportation for your child to get from your home directly to the private school. For starters, you need to examine her individualized education plan (IEP) thoroughly. Pay special attention to the long term goals and objectives that are listed on it. You need to be positive that her school has done absolutely nothing for her by providing reasonable (they try to get you with this word every time) accommodations and adaptations for her to succeed in her current educational setting. If they have even provided a specialist to work with her on a limited basis, they could say that they have provided a reasonable accommodation to succeed. Examples of this might include: a specialist that teaches her to read using Braille; a tutor that reads material out loud to her; preferential seating; use of an Alpha Smart or computer. A lot of times these services are delivered on a very limited basis which might include a schedule of 30 minutes weekly on a one to one basis. You need to be able to prove that the school district has provided no services beyond what a child in a regular education setting has received to achieve the goals and objectives that are listed on her IEP. I personally would advise you to consult with an attorney. You can find one at a relatively low cost if you look in the phone book under Individuals with Disabilities or if you look under your local listings for a representative from United Way. I would look through the records concerning testing that has been done on her over the years to compare academic growth that she has made or not made and compare these results to those children at her grade level that are in the normative range (right in the middle of the bell curve; normal). If you see a significant discrepancy then, an attorney could use this as evidence that they have not made reasonable adaptations and accommodations so that she has been provided with opportunities to close the achievement gap between her and children in the same educational setting. Changing your child's educational setting is often hard to do, but can be accomplished if you are a persistent advocate for her. Many times the mere threat that you are contacting an attorney will get an immediate response from a special education director in your school district if you contact them and let them know what plan of action you are planning to pursue such as a lawsuit against the district. I wish you the best of luck in your endeavor. You sound as if you truly care about your daughter and her education. Many people will try to put you down, discourage you, and make you feel that you cannot change anything for your daughter. This is not true and you need to surround yourself with individuals that will be supportive of you and your cause. I know that this is a lot of information. Hopefully you can print it out and refer back to it as a basic reference. Good luck and keep your chin up as this might prove to be a hard and lengthy battle. I know in the end you will be victorious!!!

Sincerely,

Forest298