I need advice on homeschool legislation for LD students. A friend of mine is going to homeschool her child next year. He is 10(should be 5th grade) but because of dyslexia was put in LD classes. His self esteem and reading ability are lower than desired. In fact he tests at a 1st - 2nd grade reading level. This is where my question comes in. The school has never given me trouble with homeschooling my child(never attended public school) but they have given my friend trouble. She is now approved, BUT the superintendant was quick to point out his scores would have to be in the 40th percentile(which in fact is not the law - it is the 23rd percentile). She agreed with us that he needs to be taught the basics this year. He will be taught ABEKA 1st grade phonics, but this will not equip him with the ability to read the 4th grade standardized testing.
Are there any laws or accepted methods on showing a LD students progress?
Thank you.
Desperate for answers.
Re: dyslexia
The principal sounds like s/he’s willing to make things up (or at least not check the facts) to keep the kid in school. HSLDA is one option but some people take issue with their other agendas (other people support them enthusiastically — your call)
http://www.gomilpitas.com/homeschooling/index.html
is one of my favorite overall resources for getting info on homeschooling, legal and otherwise.
That “23rd percentile” probably does *not* apply to special ed kids. Are you in New York? There are probably a whole other set of guidelines and revolting paperwork to endure for special ed — but manageable if you can get organized and do it. Gettin touch with a local support group and find somebody really knowledgeable with the local specifics — sometimes different districts in the same state can be different in the best ways to deal with the bureaucracy.
There are some teacher & admins who still firmly believe that legally and ethically, a “special” kid needs the expertise of “special” teachers. In an ideal world, perhaps… but too often the “special” teachers don’t have the time, training or resources to actually deal effectively with any one kid.
Re: What state are you in?
Every state has a different set of laws. One of the best sources of information is one of your state’s homeschooling associations (every state has at least one, and most have several). I found ours by doing a search at http://www.metacrawler.com on “homeschooling Minnesota”. Homeschooling organizations typically operate “hot lines” so you can call, leave a message, and someone with some expertise gets back to you with the information you need. The information provided by these organizations is much more reliable than what you get from school personnel — who often misunderstand or mis-represent legal requirements.
Homeschooled children represent a loss of dollars to the school district, so a superintendent is likely to be heavily biased towards making homeschooling unattractive to a parent.
In our state, when a homeschooled child falls below a certain percentile on standardized testing (which is required annually, but parents are not required to disclose the test scores to anyone) the parents are required by law to seek outside assistance. Hiring a private tutor for reading would fulfill this requirement, as would many other options. Clearly, since the parents are not required to disclose test results, no one from the department of education can knock on the door and demand to know what outside experts were consulted!
Incidentally, I would strongly recommend the book “Reading Reflex” for your friend. It usually works much better and much faster with dyslexic children than traditional phonics approaches. The book is $16 at local bookstores. Even if your friend decided not to use it, the book offers a wealth of information. Her library may have it on hand too.
Mary
Re: dyslexia
A lot of people on the International Dyslexia Association Bulletin board recomend a legal advice site called wrightslaw. Try researching this site.
Parents need to get all the kid’s records and test results from the school (stand in the office and demand them until they give you copies to get you out of there). Then, if the school or board is stupid enough to go to court, the parents can point out that *with* the school’s help the child was in the fifth percentile, and *without* the schools’ help, he has progressed to fifteenth. An invitation to a reporter from the local paper would help, to make the school board even more embarrassed. Schools and boards of education are very shy about having their failures made public, so this sort of publicity makes most of them wither and crawl away.
Greetings Lori,
Homeschooling laws vary widely from state to state. I suggest you go to the Homeschooling Legal Defense Assocation website for answers about your state’s homeschooling laws. Please note that school administrators/teachers may tell you something that contradicts your state’s laws so you need to be able to refute their sometimes wild claims.
http://www.hslda.org
Blessings, momo