Getting State Funds For Private School

I wish you the absolute best…I only want to comment because I feel you!! And very interested in how you find out about funding for private schools.. If they have it in my state, I have never heard of it. You have inspired me to find out!! I just left a long post about my issues with public shcool teachers.

I would make him eat those words…I would file a complaint at least. Its not fair to our children or us. Even if we didnt make it better today, we could at least aide in making a difference in tomorrow. It would be worth it to, to me, to be a part of something that made a difference for other parents and kids. and the state cant pay for all children to go to private schools. They will cut funding first, before they make the schools better. unless they put more money into schools…which would cost more. I know in my state (Alabama), our teachers are among the lowest paid in the nation. and our stingy voters think its ok because they keep voting NO on every school tax bill. from lottery to small increases in property tax (which is also among the lowest in the nation) Anyway…sorry, i get a little carried away… :0) At least file a complaint….Me, I am ready to go to court in your behalf…lol

OH!!! just had ab idea. i bet there is some federal grant, if not state you could get to send him. Thanks for mentioning it, i am gonna check it out. if anyone else knows, let us know. I know you can get a federal grant for lots of things you would never even think about…i cant see WHY not this.

I’ve never heard of federal grants for this type of thing. Loans might be available.

I’ve never heard of a school volunteering for spend big $$ to send a child to private school. It is possible to get an out of school placement if the EIP team decides the public school can not educate the child. If we can’t even get them to provide aides, extra text books, proper tutoring etc, good luck on the big ticket item of a private school.

“His tone completely changed and he gave me 3 options. I could file a complaint with the state board, go to mediation or we could go to court”

Yep, with one exception, the only way I’ve seen people get public funding is to follow these routes. Know that these may take years, you better have darn near perfect documentation of everything anyone has ever said or tried, it can be costly, and in the majority of time the parent still loses.

Sorry to be pessimist. If you decide to go this route, get all the advise you can before hand, be careful of what you tell or say to the school and think long and hard if your family can handle the extra stress.

Barb

There are Federal funds for this (at least in our state). I know 2 people who fought long and hard to get it and they did get it. My son had mycoplasma meningitis as an infant and that caused hydrocephalus which caused them to have to place a shunt. He’s had the shunt since he was 5 weeks old. His neurosurgon told me that these problems are the reason he has the LD. I have a strong faith and I’m going to fight for this. I’m a strong minded hard headed person and I will fight as long as I have to. It’s worth it to me for my child to have the education he deserves and should be given to become a sucessful adult. My husband and I have discussed this for many years and we’re sticking to our guns and we’re going for it now. We’re grabbing the bull by the horns and we’re going to face the system head on. I’m a fighter and I refuse to give up. I know it’s going to be a long hard battle but I’m ready to face it.

Good!

You sound ready to go for it!

Schools *do* get federal funds for special ed, just not anything specific for private schools placement….I was unclear before.

It is practically a state secret but one CAN get a school district to pay for even residential treatment (most likely kind they will pay for). But there is quite a catch. I have been thru this with my nephew, and he had been kicked out of several schools and programs. The catch is that YOU have the entire burden of proof, not that this is the BEST program for your son but the ONLY one. You also must make the case that this particular school (rather than one cheaper one) is the ONLY one (not BEST).

The public schools are under no requirement to provide the best education to any child. So any public school system which has an ld room, resource room, inclusion teacher has an appropriate (not MOST appropriate) setting for your child. Whether or not they are really teaching him anything or not.

Unless your child is so disturbed or uncontrollable (as my nephew was).
I feel you don’t have much of a prayer.

The only other thing might be if the school is in the extreme redo stage (don’t know the term) under No Child Left Behind. You might be able to take it to court to prove that the school is not educating your child. (Might be able to do that, even without the school being at such a level.) The thing is that the legal fees will be about equivalent to a Harvard Education or tuition for four years at the finest ld school in the country. Schools can’t afford to lose these, and you know they will put there best guns out.
Maybe some legal group would enjoy taking this on?

Best of luck. I don’t mean to be flip but you will need it.

—des

The other thing is that you might use that money to pay for really good tutoring for your kid in an Orton based (or other research based system) reading system. Not just tutoring with a nice lady or with Sylvan. This is useless and a waste of money.

I think that that would be the best use of money. But if you really need to champion a cause, you couldn’t pick a better one. But the land mines are all set up.. Just be careful. No doubt the school will be able to “prove” your child is making progress whether or not he is. Many schools are not opposed to cooking the books.

—des

IN New York city its not uncommon to get at least some of the tuition paid. Everyone I know who has been successful however has hired an educationall attorney.

You know what they say, anyone who would defend themselves has a fool for a client. :-) You know the school systems willl bring out their big guns. You have to match them (or exceed them). There are lawyers who specialize in such things.

—des

I don’t know much about the process at all, but I do know that folks trying to get financial aid at the private school where I taught filled out the same kind of FAF that college aid uses. I don’t know if it was a private deal that just borrowed the forms or whether there was a closer link and there were federal monies in there (but I could certainly understand somebody thinking there were, filling out the same kind of forms).

Getting the district to pay for a private school is possible. And it happens a lot more that everyone thinks because it is done under the cloak of mediation with an ensuing gag order on the parents. There is no public documentation to find out how OFTEN this happens in any school district unless the case makes it to Due Process and then the decision becomes public, usually accessable on the web.

It CAN be done!
One: you should have lots of good documentation.

Two: you should have a good advocate with a lawyer waiting in the wings.

Three: you should have a an excellent report form a neuropsychologist that documents the dissability, lack of progess and the recommendation for the type of school your are proposing.

At this point in the game, I don’t recommend tutoring only because the work gets exponentially harder. you best bet on spending money is on the neuropsychologist and any other expert (like a speech pathologist) that can support your case and on a lawyer.

The good news is if the district does not offer you an decent settlement in mediation and you go to due process and get a better decision than the school offered settlement then the school MUST pay your attorney fees.

Been there!! Done that!!! Twice!!

Yes, I should add that about 25% of my students were there via public school funding. A significant number didn’t have to do due process - the school systems actually, occasionally, recognized that the student really had a need they couldn’t meet. (Too bad that’s a surprise…)