I cannot believe what Abeka Book told me!(they don't take disabled children)

[summer]

As you may have read in my posts before, my 6 yr old has some special "issues." I have gone back and forth over his curriculum and unsure what to do. Well, I finally decided it might be best to use Abeka Academy for this next year (2nd grade) because I might return him to school the year after and also, I would have help knowing if I am doing too much, too little, and so on.

 

My son goes to PT, OT, and Speech. Cognitively, he is actually quite advanced. But his muscle strength and motor skills are a bit low. The only different I would need to use Abeka is for him to be allowed to use the handwriting program that his OT has him on. This should not be a big deal as it in no way inferes with the content of the course material. In fact, Abeka's course material is so simple academically, that when I showed DS their 1st grade history book (I purchased it from the homeschool store which carries used things) he spent 1 day reading it and managed to read it all on his own. He pulled out his globe, student atlas, and small handimap and went back and forth between these and the textbook comparing where everything was on each map and asking questions and talking about it and commenting on other things in the surrounding area. He also has another book called People Around the World which shows pictures of the people, but also things in those countries and flags and such that he was looking at. He enjoyed this so much and spent the day on it and with ease, read the entire 1st grade level textbook. So I figured that maybe Abeka Book Academy would be the way to go with him.

 

To the contrary. When I contacted Abeka Book about it but then explained that I just wanted him to use the handwriting book from the OT, they said they will not allow someone like him to enroll. I explained again that I am not asking that he not do any of the content at all, just be allowed to do his own handwriting with his OT. The American Disabilities Act requires that people with disabilities be accomodated. They told me they are exempt from the law because they are private. This is not true. They are accredited by Sacs and Cita and therefore, required to follow federal law in order to keep their accredidation. They said they do not care, they will NOT accept a child with a disability in to their academy program. They informed me that I am welcome to purchase their materials and use them on my own, but that no child with a disability that requires any sort of accomodation, not even as minor as the one my child requires, will be allowed to enroll in their program. They cannot take risks of lowering standardized test scores or anything. So, the bottom line is, they will NOT accept my child or any other children like him with a disability, in to their academy program. (FYI, my son's Stanford Achievement scores for this past spring were 98th percentile, so there is no risk of him not being able to handle the work).

 

Fine. They are breaking the law, not to mention how horrible and offensive this is. So I called SACS and CITA to file an official complaint against them and their accredidation.

[scrappyhappymama]

Wow! That's really incredible. I can't believe they were so blatant.

[shell in SC]

Good for you. I have heard (only 2nd hand so I don't know details) that they discriminate against religions as well. The one I heard of was a Mormon that was denied enrollment.

 

Please keep us posted!

shell

[Brindee]

Wow! I'd never heard of any of this!

 

I'm sorry that happened to you! I'm not sure how they could get away with doing that!:001_huh::glare:

[teamturner]

I mean your post is only stating something that you experienced first hand and how you are responding to it. It sounds like you are being reasonable to me. What gives with the one star rating? Weird....

 

By the way, I'm sorry you are having this problem and I hope you have a resolution soon! Blessings!

[Tracey in TX]

Yikes, not good publicity for a Christian school. Very poor management decision which hurts a young child. Shame on them.

 

:grouphug:Hugs to you and DS:grouphug:

[Ellie]

Good for you. I have heard (only 2nd hand so I don't know details) that they discriminate against religions as well. The one I heard of was a Mormon that was denied enrollment.

 

ABeka does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, or national origin. Although there is nothing on the site excluding other religions, ABeka Academy does have a detailed statement of faith, much of which Mormons would not agree with.

 

As you say, you heard the story second hand, so we don't really know the details.

 

ABeka Book, ABeka Academy and Pensacola Christian School are clearly Christian entities. I can understand why there would be reluctance to admit people with strongly held differing beliefs better than I can understand people compromising their own beliefs to enroll with the schools.

[Tracey in TX]

I mean your post is only stating something that you experienced first hand and how you are responding to it. It sounds like you are being reasonable to me. What gives with the one star rating? Weird....

 

 

Don't know about star rating system, but I thought anything with a star was automatically rated higher than the 'naked' posts sans a star.

[Jami]

I mean your post is only stating something that you experienced first hand and how you are responding to it. It sounds like you are being reasonable to me. What gives with the one star rating? Weird....

 

By the way, I'm sorry you are having this problem and I hope you have a resolution soon! Blessings!

 

It might be that someone's reaction to the OP was "that's terrible"! Meaning Abeka's policy (though many private schools are up front about not having the resources to work with special needs children, not for standardized scores, but because of budget and manpower) is terrible, not that the OP posting about it is terrible. That's why the stars can be a little confusing. Is it the content being agreed with as terrible earning the one star? Or is it that the OP posted it at all and someone disagrees?

 

Jami

[*anj*]

A couple of things....

 

 

• How many people did you speak with there? Did you ask for a supervisor or a manager? It seems strange that the Official Statement from Abeka Book Company is "(We) do not care, (we) will NOT accept a child with a disability in to (our) academy program."
  
• (And this one is changing the subject ever so slightly) I am not a big fan of Abeka. I have friends who use their stuff, I know that some people like it. But I would just like to encourage you to go ahead and do your own thing with your ds. If you put him in ps next year they will be no more impressed by Abeka Academy than they will by your own carefully put together records. If your ds was easily able to read through their history book and so forth as you said, why not just do it yourself? If you really like their perspective, go ahead and buy their books. But you're kind of moving your focus from your child and his needs to taking on Abeka due to a conversation with a telephone operator.
  
• (This one isn't for the OP) I agree with Ellie. I don't think it's fair to add "Won't sell to Mormons" as one of the "sins" against Abeka. I'd like to see it in writing that they won't sell to certain groups. Again, I am not one of their fans, but there is a whole theological piece to that decision and I'm not even going into it here. I wouldn't expect a Catholic or Jehovah's Witness to want to use Abeka Books, and it surprises me that given the enormous pool from which to choose, a Mormon would want that either.

 

[DB in NJ]

From what I heard, they WILL sell their materials to anybody who wants to use them independently. However, they have (reportedly) refused to ENROLL mormons or those with disabilities into their Academy (not sure if it's just the one where they keep records or if it's the one where the parents keep the records).

 

I'm thinking about calling them and asking about it....

[WagsWife]

Is it possible that their "policy" is in place because there is no way for them to monitor children with special needs? In a public or private school, a SN child would have a team of people who would be monitoring and keeping a file on the child. This would help pin point what the child's needs were and to help account for any low grades/scores. Abeka would have no way of doing this.

 

*I understand that this would not apply to the OP, but a lot of organizations make sweeping decisions because it is easier to say no to all, than to go on a case by case.

[Ohio12]

I do feel bad for OP and don't understand completely, but I may have a possible partial explanation.

 

I was a Christian school teacher and so are many people on both sides of my family so I have experience with many different Christian schools. I think one issue is that if they take special needs kids kids (especially if they have been tested and classified) then they must by law offer certain modifications for that student. Many private schools cannot afford the manpower it takes to have someone on staff doing IEPs and monitoring the modifications etc. so they choose not to offer services to kids who would need them.

 

Also as far as the religious aspect, private schools can discriminate on religion. I do think schools should probably be able to choose to accept who they want and exclude who they want because usually a main part of their mission is to create a community of like minded families. This is a freedom.

 

Now, if these rules tick off and offend people than the schools may be forced to rethink them.

[charlotteb]

Is it possible that their "policy" is in place because there is no way for them to monitor children with special needs? In a public or private school, a SN child would have a team of people who would be monitoring and keeping a file on the child. This would help pin point what the child's needs were and to help account for any low grades/scores. Abeka would have no way of doing this.

 

 

I was going to say something very similar. I know of several private christian schools who can't accept children with disabilities for the same reason.

[amary]

I'm sorry you have to go through this type of thing. Take a look at setonhome.org They have been around for ages, their program is similar to Abeka and they offer excellent special ed. help and work with disabled children too. They are accredited and will work with you if you are of another denomination. Check out their books online and give them a call.

[Niffercoo]

Is it possible that their "policy" is in place because there is no way for them to monitor children with special needs? In a public or private school, a SN child would have a team of people who would be monitoring and keeping a file on the child. This would help pin point what the child's needs were and to help account for any low grades/scores. Abeka would have no way of doing this.

 

 

I was going to say something very similar. I know of several private christian schools who can't accept children with disabilities for the same reason.

 

And I was going to say the same thing as well. In fact, last year Georgia passed a law allowing any child with an IEP to take his or her federal money for the implementation of that IEP to a private school on this list. The private schools had to make an application process. The folks in my local autism support group were thrilled... until they couldn't find a private school to take their child, even the ones on the approved list. The children who were able to move to a private school were very high functioning children who could manage the academic load of a private school without needing modifications aside from the smaller class size that the private school allowed.

[Bee]

with the disability act.I always thought private schools that operated with private funds were exemptI'm sure there are other companies that provide hsing oversight wouldn't be so particular.

[Robin in Tx]

Is it possible that their "policy" is in place because there is no way for them to monitor children with special needs? In a public or private school, a SN child would have a team of people who would be monitoring and keeping a file on the child. This would help pin point what the child's needs were and to help account for any low grades/scores. Abeka would have no way of doing this.

I was going to say something very similar. I know of several private christian schools who can't accept children with disabilities for the same reason.

 

I used to work for a private school and we didn't accept SN kids. It wasn't a discrimination issue... we were simply unable to accomodate special needs. We were not required to change that policy when we went through accreditatio, so I'm not so sure that a private school MUST offer a special needs program. We also had a statement of faith that parents had to sign off on... I think private institutions are free to do this, aren't they?

 

The way I can see this relating to the OP is the possibility of ABeka admitting this student into their program, but then still not allowing other (more serious/complicated) special needs. That is what would probably open them up to a discrimination complaint. So they have to say no SN at all, regardless of how minor... no modifications whatsoever.

 

I'm not sure if Academies like this (who grade and offer transcripts) *ever* allow a student to opt out of any of the courses (and take those courses through other means). You're either fully enrolled or not... not much is available for anyone who wants to be partially enrolled in a program. This might be the real issue with them... they won't allow opting out of a course regardless of the reason.

[dangermom]

 

I wouldn't expect a Catholic or Jehovah's Witness to want to use Abeka Books, and it surprises me that given the enormous pool from which to choose, a Mormon would want that either.

I'm LDS and wouldn't want to use Abeka. But perhaps that should be up to me to decide, not them? If for some reason I decided that enrolling in Abeka was the best thing for our family, why should they discriminate against me?

[angela in ohio]

 

And I was going to say the same thing as well. In fact, last year Georgia passed a law allowing any child with an IEP to take his or her federal money for the implementation of that IEP to a private school on this list. The private schools had to make an application process. The folks in my local autism support group were thrilled... until they couldn't find a private school to take their child, even the ones on the approved list. The children who were able to move to a private school were very high functioning children who could manage the academic load of a private school without needing modifications aside from the smaller class size that the private school allowed.

 

That makes sense to me. DH is a principal at a school for autistic students. Each student costs WAAAYYY more than the money they bring in from their funding. Even with the federal money, I'm sure the school still wouldn't be able to afford all that would be mandated for the students.

[*anj*]

I'm LDS and wouldn't want to use Abeka. But perhaps that should be up to me to decide, not them? If for some reason I decided that enrolling in Abeka was the best thing for our family, why should they discriminate against me?

 

~gently~

I think that sometimes we throw the word "discrimination" around pretty easily. They (as a private school, and one to which I have no allegiance at all) have a right to decide who can enroll and who cannot. And it works both ways. If for some reason I felt that an LDS cyber school was the best thing for my family and they said that I could not enroll because their school is an LDS school, for adherents to the LDS religion, well who am I to blow against the wind? If you or I walk into a Catholic church and want to take communion, we would be told that while we are welcome to come and sit and be present in the mass, we are not welcome to take communion. Is that discrimination? No, it is not. It is a private organization (in that case, a church) exercising its right to allow only members to participate in certain functions.

 

Discrimination is when you're not allowed to sit where you want on a bus or drink from the nicer water fountain, or vote because of your gender, or rise to another social strata because of your family's caste.

[angela in ohio]

 

The way I can see this relating to the OP is the possibility of ABeka admitting this student into their program, but then still not allowing other (more serious/complicated) special needs. That is what would probably open them up to a discrimination complaint. So they have to say no SN at all, regardless of how minor... no modifications whatsoever.

 

I'm not sure if Academies like this (who grade and offer transcripts) *ever* allow a student to opt out of any of the courses (and take those courses through other means). You're either fully enrolled or not... not much is available for anyone who wants to be partially enrolled in a program. This might be the real issue with them... they won't allow opting out of a course regardless of the reason.

 

Bingo! This would be my bet as well.

[chiguirre]

Agreeing with everyone else. Private schools don't have to take special needs kids. They don't have the resources and that's just the way it is.

 

Seton does have an extensive special needs program, in fact it's probably more than you need if your only academic problem is handwriting. Calvert may work for you because they will accept other hwing even for their ATS service. I don't know what K12's policy is, but they're very computer oriented so that might work too.

 

IMHO, if your ds can blow through the whole 1st grade text in a day, you'll find yourself modifying any boxed curriculum beyond recognition just to keep him interested.

 

Good luck!

[Kelli in TN]

~gently~

I think that sometimes we throw the word "discrimination" around pretty easily.

 

Discrimination is when you're not allowed to sit where you want on a bus or drink from the nicer water fountain, or vote because of your gender, or rise to another social strata because of your family's caste.

 

This bears repeating, I think!!

 

I know of one local private Christian school that does not take special needs children. My son would not be admitted into their school. However he is made very welcome in their Cub Scout pack and would be welcome in many of their after school activities. But he could not attend their school. It is not because they don't like special needs kids. It is not because they wish to discriminate. It is because they are not set up to provide what is needed by a special needs student, they know this and they are honest and upfront about it.

 

On the other hand I have attended a meeting with our school system's special needs administrator that was open to private school personel and homeschool parents. The hoops that homeschoolers and private schools must jump through to receive funding is a major headache. Not every school wants to invest the time, energy and personel for this endeavor.

 

Private means private. Private schools are private so that they can make their own decisions about curriculum, enrollment policies, etc.

[fivetails]

I wonder how they would handle it if a child has a disability that only effects them physically...? What would they do if they enrolled a child and then found out later that said child uses a wheelchair due to (solely) physical issues? They wouldn't require any modifications - they're working at home, so they don't require lifts or widened doorways or larger washrooms or any of the things that a 'brick & mortar school' would need to provide......

[Kelli in TN]

I wonder how they would handle it if a child has a disability that only effects them physically...? What would they do if they enrolled a child and then found out later that said child uses a wheelchair due to (solely) physical issues? They wouldn't require any modifications - they're working at home, so they don't require lifts or widened doorways or larger washrooms or any of the things that a 'brick & mortar school' would need to provide......

 

I seriously doubt they would refuse to admit that child. I don't know this for sure as I have no affiliation with Abeka and no intention of EVER having any affiliation with Abeka (other than the one used Abeka history book I bought once to discover that it was as dry as unbuttered toast!). I am guessing that their policy is not so much to deny enrollment to "disabled" children as it is to deny enrollment to "special ed." children.

 

But that is just a guess and I could be wrong.

 

Maybe someone can clarify Abeka's enrollment policy.

[Ellie]

I'm LDS and wouldn't want to use Abeka. But perhaps that should be up to me to decide, not them? If for some reason I decided that enrolling in Abeka was the best thing for our family, why should they discriminate against me?

 

You may *use* all the ABeka publications you want; that isn't the same as enrolling in their school. (Not that I'm convinced that ABeka Academy would not enroll LDS, as we only have hearsay evidence to that.) Any private entity surely has the right to decide who may enroll and who may not.

[Ellie]

Is it possible that their "policy" is in place because there is no way for them to monitor children with special needs? In a public or private school, a SN child would have a team of people who would be monitoring and keeping a file on the child. This would help pin point what the child's needs were and to help account for any low grades/scores. Abeka would have no way of doing this.

 

But why would a distance-learning program have the need to monitor dc with special needs??? I would say that wasn't their responsibility, given the nature of their program.

[Kelli in TN]

But why would a distance-learning program have the need to monitor dc with special needs??? I would say that wasn't their responsibility, given the nature of their program.

 

I think she is was saying the same thing as you are, Ellie. That particular program is not set up for meeting the needs of special needs kids and they have no legal obligation to meet those needs. Whether a private school (day school or distance learning program) decides to enroll special needs kids is their own decision.

 

 

I think the two of you are actually in total agreement here. I'm just sayin'.

[Renee in NC]

But why would a distance-learning program have the need to monitor dc with special needs??? I would say that wasn't their responsibility, given the nature of their program.

 

 

It seems to me that the only thing Abeka HAS said is that they won't make accomodations for any kind of learning disabilities. If your special needs child can enroll in an appropriate Abeka program (they have age limitations for each grade) and complete the program, then I can't see that they are going to have a problem in any way, shape, or form.