Hello! I am new here. I hope to begin hs in the fall. I have 2 children in ps right now. My son is in 6th grade and on a 504 because of ADHD and some hearing loss. My daughter is in 8th grade (I am so frustrated with ps I want to pull her out right now!). I have had her privately tested for the 2nd time now and believe (hope) she may be put on a 504 as well for ADD and/or learning disability in math. My questions are: Is there anything special to do with a child currently on a 504 from ps? And if school continues to do nothing for my floundering daughter, can I make my own 504 and hs? Neither child is currently passing the state's proficiency tests and I am concerned about what will happen if they dont pass when homeschooling if she isn't on some kind of "plan", such as a 504 or IEP. I live in Ohio and the laws are somewhat stricter, but I can't find any real info on this.
Wish I could help but...I have no idea what a 504 is or what the laws in Ohio are. I'd say your best and surest bet would be to contact www.hslda.org and see what they say. Good luck!!! :lol:
From: http://www.chtu.org/504.html Q. What is a 504 plan? A. A 504 plan is a legal document falling under the provisions of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. It is designed to plan a program of instructional services to assist students with special needs who are in a regular education setting. A 504 plan is not an Individualized Education Program (IEP) as is required for special education students. However, a student moving from a special education to a regular education placement could be placed under a 504 plan. ******* I don't know anyting Ohio either, but I do have a friend here in Florida who homeschools AND takes her son to special programs offered through the ps system because her son is special needs. --- From the look of it, being on a 504 is just for the teacher's and school system to be legally obligated to meet the child's needs. I don't see how it would affect homeschooling. Again, I don't know anything about homeschooling in Ohio. [/url]
My son had a 504 in public school. He has Tourette's Syndrome and it was interfering with his ability to take timed, computerized tests because his eyes would move away from the screen and he would be spending most of his time refocussing. Definately check out the HSLDA site mentioned above. It will give you a run down of your state laws. I'm assuming you have a copy of your child's 504. If there are provisions in it for testing considerations, I would assume it would be carried out by the school if the child were to test there, even if homeschooling. It is my understanding that the only reason 504's are allowed in public schools is because they recieve monies from the government. 504's tend to be for physical limitations as opposed to an IEP for specific educational needs. You might also see how often the 504 needs to be renewed/reevaluated if you want the child to continue to have special considerations when testing at the school. If you can't get help from your local district (many are not well versed in homeschooling laws), don't be afraid to call you state board of education. Someone there is usually assigned to just handle homeschooling questions. Hope you like it here and best wishes!
Hi, Annmairi! I am a former special needs teacher in central Ohio. I'll be starting my 7th year of HS'ing this year. I'm familiar with an IEP, but am not sure about the other thing. My understanding is that all the requirements of IEPs, etc., are NOT REQUIRED OF ANY PARENTS THAT CHOSE NOT TO!!! You can simply tell the government "No, thankkyou!!!" Someone suggested HSLDA; that is ALWAYS good advice about anything connected with the law. You will find that schools fight you harder for special needs kids, since they get more money for each one. I would also contact Melinda Boring at www.HeadsUpNow.com Melinda is a speech pathologist, homeschooling mom of three in central Ohio, two of which have special needs. I'm sure she can give you lots of information. Finally, let me put a plug in for our conference coming up in June. It is June 23-25 in Columbus. Thursday night the curriculum hall is open (a must for us in Central Ohio!!!), and then the conference itself will be all day Friday and Saturday. It will be a BIG ASSET for someone just starting out! (They also have a special session for those just starting out!) The CHEO (Christian Home Educators of Ohio) website is: www.cheohome.org Oh, one more thing I've learned! If your child is recieving any therapy through the school... If you pull a child, the school is no longer REQUIRED to give your child free therapy. Some still do, while others do not. I know of one lady that returned her kid to public schools for that reason alone. (Also, she was from a very small town with absolutely NO support!) Feel free to contact me with any questions! Jackie
