Home-Schooling as a Placement Option
More than 3,600 students in Maine are currently being homeschooled.
Although many of these students have special needs, districts
vary widely in how they deal with this placement option.
In the homeschooling application available for parents it states,
"applications for equivalent instruction programs may be
submitted by parents or guardians, regardless of the special education
status of their children."
A school administrative unit is responsible for locating, identifying
and evaluating all private schooled and home schooled students.
The provisions of special education services may occur at home,
at school, or at another neutral site at the discretion of the
school district.
Each school administrative unit shall at least annually:
- Inform the parent(s) of the unit's responsibility
to offer Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE), including
special education services;
- Review the special education needs of an identified
student, enrolled in a home instruction;
- Develop a proposed Individual Educational Program
(IEP) for the parent(s) consideration; and
- Advise the parent(s) of the Procedural Safeguards
required under Maine State Education Regulation (MSER) as well
as those under Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
'97.
If you are interested in this placement option call the Maine
Department of Education (MDOE), (207) 624-6600 to get an application.
FMI: See MSER Chapter 101, Section 4.7,
p. 17-20.
“A school unit
shall provide special education services to all students
with disabilities whose parents reside within the school
unit and to all adult students who reside within the
school unit. This shall include all students who attend
the public schools of the unit, or who attend other
public schools or private schools on a tuition or contract
basis at public expense.
In the case of students attending home schools, religiously
affiliated schools, or other private schools at private
expense, the school unit shall provide a genuine opportunity
for equitable participation in the unit’s special
education services. Amounts expended for the provision
of these services by a school administrative unit shall
be no less than a proportionate amount of Federal funds
made available to the unit under the IDEA, (see §4.7,
Responsibility for Students with Disabilities Enrolled
by Their Parents In Private Schools or Receiving Home
Schooling).
In the case of a student who is homeless as defined
by 20-A M.R.S.A. §1(13-A) the parents, the student’s
social worker if the parent is unavailable, or the adult
student may chose to attend school at either the school
of origin or the school district of residence for the
remainder of any school year, or in any case in which
a family becomes homeless between academic years, for
the following academic year. Services for homeless students
shall be comparable to other students in the school
of choice and shall be provided consistent with the
requirements of Maine Department of Education Regulations
14 regarding School Board Policies on Exceptions to
the General Residency Rules and Education of Homeless
Students” (MSER, Chapter 101, Section 4.2, p.
14) |
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