Speech Services Thru School District for Kids in Private School

Updated on April 02, 2013
E.O. asks from Lomita, CA
10 answers

My son just turned 5 and will be starting kinder in the fall. He has a speech delay with an articulation problem, and initially was in a psm class, but last fall due to his articulation problem was transferred to an aphasia class with a speech pathologist as the teacher. It has made a world of difference, but he is still not where he is supposed to be in terms of his speech. He has his IEP coming up in 2 weeks, and his teacher has informed us she will recommend to transition him to regular ed with speech pull out. He has been tested every 6 months by the speech department through our insurance, and when he last went in in January, the speech pathologist was amazed at the progress he'd had in the last 6 months. He had improved so much, that he did not qualify for speech services through our insurance (Kaiser just started providing those services last year with the new laws that came into effect, but apparently they apply for only severe cases, and he is now moderate).
We are hoping to send him to a private school that is close to our house, where there is 1 class/grade, and there is a teacher and a full time aid, as well as volunteer parents in the kinder class. The current class size is 10, and they usually don't have more than 15 kids/class. We think he will benefit from a more nurturing environment with a better teacher:student ratio. All the schools that I have looked at in our area have 23-24 students/class and just a teacher (which is still better than other school districts, but still).

At any rate, my question is this: does anyone know of any laws or resources that I can take to the IEP, in order to ask that he still gets speech services provided by the school district at his home school , while attending a private school? We can't afford both private school and speech therapy. The places that I have looked around for speech therapy in my area, are on average $125 per session. I was told by the speech pathologist and a psychologist that he has a diagnosis and a disability and that it his right to receive those services through the school district, especially since he already has an IEP. I asked the vice principal at his current school, which is not his home school, and one of the people who does the IEP's, and he said that to his knowledge, it may have been that way before, but that the school district does not have the funds to provide speech therapy for kids who are not attending their schools. I called TASK (Team for Advocates for Special Kids) today to ask about it, and they said someone will call me back with some information, as the person I spoke with was not sure, but she said she thought there is some funding available for that at schools, but it might be less than what he would get if he were a student enrolled in the public system.
Thanks in advance!

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So What Happened?

Thanks everyone for taking the time to answer. I did notice that things vary greatly from state to state. I got a call back from TASK, here in Anaheim, They informed me that there are some funds available for helping students going to private schools, and that instead of an IEP, you get an ISP (Individual Service Plan). Unlike IEP's, you can't disagree or contest what services they decide to provide you with, but like an IEP, it gets reevaluated each year. Also, the scope of the services is less for kids with ISP's. I called his home school and asked, and they said that if the disctrict approved services, the local schools can provide them, most likely at the student's home school, but ultimately it is the district's decision as to where the services will be given. I also spoke with his teacher to see how much speech she was going to recommend in her portion of the IEP, and the maximum he will get is 30 minutes/week; she said the district frowns upon it when the teachers recommend TWO 30 minute sessions/week. That sucks. Especially for us, coming from a class given by a speech pathologist, where basically he was getting almost 18 hours a week of speech. I also found a great website called Understanding Special Education.com. They actually had a section on services for kids who were homeschooled, and another, which I did not initially see, on private schools. I emailed them, and they answered promptly and said basically the same thing, that they don't HAVE to receive services, and if they are provided, would be limited...though how more limited can it get, if he will only be receiving 1/2 an hour at the most?? Which makes me think he probably won't get ANY services if we send him to private school. I also called another place called NICHCY (nichcy.org), located on the East Coast, and they called me back and left a message, basically recommending I contact TASK, who I was talking to when they called. Everyone was very nice and helpful, so at least it was great to see that there are lots of resources for parents who might have much more important problems or questions than my own, and people who will email and call you back to try to help. :)

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R.K.

answers from Boston on

Have the IEP written for services as if he were going to the public school. If it is recommended that he receive services 2x a week, then the IEP should be written that way.

When, and if, he is accepted and enrolled in a private school, my understanding is that the public school system is required to honor the IEP at a public school. (Rarely, they will send someone to a private school, but this not required.) Then it will be up to you to provide transportation to the public school for services.

Congratulations on his progress. It sounds like he and the system have done a great job!

2 moms found this helpful

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K.P.

answers from Miami on

Every state is different... sort of. IEP services are governed largely by Federal Regulations and if states receive Federal money, they must comply at minimum with Federal Regs. Yes, I have worked as a Special Education administrator.

So, here's the deal... your child's eligibility for services is NOT determined by his enrollment. Either he needs speech or he doesn't. If he is eligible for continued services, then arrangements will be made to provide your child with speech DURING the school day. How each district interprets this varies greatly, depending on "pockets of need" and funding.

Please keep in mind the following:
- School aged eligibility is VERY different than preschool. It goes from looking at "how delayed" your child is into "educational impact". Essentially, your child can still be delayed, but if the impact on his ability to learn or demonstrate his understanding is not substantial, then he may be dismissed.
- The district has to provide therapy, but they do not have to provide those services at a private school. Some elect to do so if there are a bunch of kids who need speech- they hire an itinerant therapist who works exclusively with parentally placed private school children. If there isn't a group, then they will make arrangements to transport your child to the closest elementary school for therapy.
- Most districts to NOT respond positively to a parent bringing an advocate for no reason. You haven't even given them a chance to say "yes"... you are already assuming that they will deny a request. When a parent attended my meetings with an advocate without ANY history of denial of services, it usually resulted in the child getting the "minimum" required b/c advocates tend to be overly rigid and unwilling to think outside of the box.

Good luck and remember that when you elect to enroll your child in a private school, you do NOT relinquish your right to a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). That is your regulatory "leg" so to speak. That has changed notably over the last 30 years.

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R.L.

answers from Los Angeles on

Hi E.,

You can't go by advice from non-CA moms -- every state has different funding and legislation on this matter. I'm not sure what the law says now, but when we moved our daughter from public to private school in the Los Angeles area (LA City Schools) in 2004, we lost our right to speech services. As I recall, this was mainly because speech is a pull out program that requires the child to have access to the therapist at the public school. Neither the private nor the public school was allowed to provide transportation, thus the services could not be delivered during school hours. I'm not sure if we could have had services if we had shuttled our daughter back and forth, but we weren't able to do this anyway (I worked over an hour away and my DH was in graduate school at the time). We couldn't afford both private school and private speech therapy, either, but we did find that Cal State U Northridge offered speech services at a cost that was the fraction of the cost of private care, and they offered evening services that we could work into our schedule.

I would check with the district office of whatever public school district you're in. They will be able to tell you what your options are, if any. If you have to get private speech therapy, check out the local universities, and see if any offer speech services at discount prices -- but do understand that your child will be seeing a student therapist under the direction of the professorial staff. At the time, CSUN had one of the best speech therapy schools and treatment programs in the country, although I understand that's changed since so much funding has been lost.

If the only option is to stay in public school to receive the speech services, personally, I would stay with the public school until the speech issues are resolved. You can supplement your child's education at home if need be far more economically than you can paying for speech services, and those speech skills are not only essential for later success in school and career, but can also make a huge difference socially. My daughter had a difficult time making friends for the first couple of years of school until her articulation improved -- the kids simply couldn't understand what she was saying, so it was very difficult to build relationships.

Good luck!

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S.H.

answers from Salinas on

I do know a few families who send 2 of 3 kids to private school. The public school child get the special services through the state. I am not sure if they could do both (but there must be a reason the child with services is not in private school with siblings). I would like to hear more if you do get answers from TASK. Sorry I could not help, hopefully you can help others though.

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P.K.

answers from New York on

Did he start getting speech therapy thru the school district before he was three? Yes, I am almost 100% sure, he should be able to get them thru the district. However, you will have to bri g him to the public school.

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A.C.

answers from Los Angeles on

It was told that if you go to private school, no services can be granted to the kid. This is action of OPT-OUT.

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S.A.

answers from Chicago on

Yes, you can do this. The IEP will carry over. Just call the school district that your private school is in. They will have a speech therapist call you to set it up.

When my son was in preschool at our private school, I would pick him up 10 minutes early and take him one block down to the public school where he would receive his speech therapy.

I was lucky that our private school started offering in house speech therapy once he got to kindergarten. A speech pathologist from the school district would come to our school one day a week to provide therapy.

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G.♣.

answers from Springfield on

My son is 4, and he does attend the local elementary school (in PreK), so I'm not sure. I can tell you that last year (when he was not enrolled) he still qualified for speech therapy. He has an IEP.

The school district was obligated to provide services at the school, but they had no obligation to provide transportation. I had to take him myself. School started at 8:00, but the speech therapist met us at 7:30 am. So once a week, we had speech at 7:30 am! This meant for a crazy morning each week, but we made it work.

Laws very from state to state, but I thought this was a federally mandated service. Don't quote me on that, but talk to the school district about trying to work something out. Also, I wouldn't completely rule out the possibility of sending him to public school. I totally understand your reasons, but you might want to consider it as one of your options. Just keep an open mind, as helping him with his speech is a huge part of him getting a good education.

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M.H.

answers from Chicago on

My understanding is that Private schools are not held ot the law on that stuff.. Like the public school.

With that said, my private school does have math, reading and speech help. but each one is different.. Check a few differnt private schoools, you might find one that can offer him the right help he needs.

Good luck

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J.W.

answers from St. Louis on

He has a right to those services, at a public school. You can't compel the public school to pay someone to go to a private school and give you child services.

Most communities have means and need tested programs but it doesn't sound like you can qualify.

It is a choice, private school no services or public with services. We sent our third to public schools because the services were more important than the private school structure.

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