Question: what percent of those in private schools for LD

We are currently looking to move our 11 year old son to a private LD school. Per this school, and its the only LD school in a large metro area, 6 of thier 186 students were placed there by the school districts.

We were told, by someone who should know, that if we followed the letter of the law and had a very strong case, the district would probably offer to pay 25%. Then it would be a take it or leave it situation with them betting that we wouldn’t spend the time and money on going after the rest.

We are still thinking about options.

thanks for responding. Im in the NY area and i looked up
private school tuition today and to say im in “sticker shock”
is an understatement.

Appparently the going rate for day tuition in the upper grades
is approx $20,000 plus per year. THat is way out of reach and I
doubt we’d qualify for aid.

I will keep searching but i was quite discouraged when i started
looking thru Peterson Guide to Seconday Schools in my area.

I was until recently living in NYC and normal private school there is over $20K. Most families I knew sent their children to private school, forgoing vacations, camp, cars and bigger homes due to the sorry state of our public schools. (And bear in mind that in general salaries are higher here, so while the tuition is steep, the whole scale of things is higher than in other parts of the country.)

The private LD schools in the NY metro area are even more,.

What I learned is that the NYC board of ed. pays private tuition for special ed. frequently, and in fact 98% of the children at one school we looked at were fully funded. There are several well known educational lawyers that are very very effective at getting funding, and this particular school really works with the parents to get the $$. As a result, they serve a fairly broad group of children.

My son’s school on the other hand has a very narrow focus , and doesn’t try to help parents get funding. The attorney I mentioned has been successful at getting Manhattan parents partial reimbursement. When we decided to move to the suburbs (closer to the school) he told me that the board of ed. out here wouldn’t cough up a dime. They feel they are better equipped to handle LD kids, and in my case, hadn’t actually failed my child.. I do know of some parents that have gotten some money, but not much.

All the schools in the area do offer financial assistance, and I’ve also learned that tuition can be tax deductible.

At the large LD school my son attends, none. No one is there courtesy of the school district.

Even if a school paid the $13,500 tuition, do they cover $600 for books, $250 for uniform, class trip fees, parent’s fund, $4/day for lunch, $200/month for after school care if you work, employee gift fund, teacher lunch fund, auction gift contribution, $65 yearbook, class mom fee, uniform shoes, play costumes, supplemental therapies (ie PT/OT is $150/hr). How much would the district pay, I wonder? It’s not just tuition.

Re: Tax returns and LD school cost

We are looking into this right now. LD school can be considered a medical expense in some circumstances.

Let us know what you find out. That is what I was told as well. An accountant friend of mine said he had also helped clients deduct tutoring expenses such as lindamood bell.

Check schwablearning.org. It says that both the tuition and tutoring are medical expenses if you itemize, plus transportation. We are fortunate to be able to pay for private school ourselves. Our schools tuition is @12,000. The monetary and emotional cost of getting our district to pay was too high and we would be forever listening to that district try to tell us what to do, etc. Our peace of mind and control of our situation has made the price manageable for us.

im not a tax expert but i was told that you have to calculate

7.5% of your Adjusted Gross Income and then any expenses

over that are allowed as a Medical Expense on Schedule A

Itemized Deductions.

Another Thing i read while researching this states that

disability has to be of a neurological nature not a developmental

delay.

Anyone else have any info about tax deductibility?

I do not use it since my son’s tuition is paid by school, but I was told it has to be a school exclusively for LD children and you should have a medical recommendation for such school to qualify for tax break.

In my son’s school ~70% is paid by LEA (local educational agency). I believe what makes a difference is whether the school is approved by State’s dept. of education as private placement. In such case the LEA in principle “own the IEP” and can intervene. It did not happen in our case at all, but by law it could have. Other LD schools might be approved as private school but not as alternative placement approved by State.

The easiest probably would be medical expanses as flexible benefits (if one has such option) since than the money is just pre-tax money. I am not sure however whether such expense will qualify.