ODE Jon Peterson and homeschooling

[PeterPan]

I'm just putting this in here to keep track of it, because we get this question on the boards.  People want to know if they need to finish the IEP process through the ps before applying for the Jon Peterson scholarship.  Because the scholarship has windows, people are trying to get the IEP done before the window closes.  Their ps might say they don't have to eval homeschoolers.  They might take longer than the time legally allowed, saying they want to do RTI, etc.  The ps might not know the LAW, and because the homeschooler doesn't either, they have no recourse.  So here's some law.

 

it is confusing how to handle homeschoolers within the structure of the IEP process and scholarships.  I went to the education.Ohio.gov site to see if I could find some clarity.  

 

 

District FAQs | Ohio Department of Education  

 

It seems to indicate it is the responsibility of the school district of residence to conduct evals and provide the IEP for the scholarship process, irrespective of school.  It even stipulates that the district of residence should prepare the IEP within 30 days of receiving the request for an IEP.  â€œIf the child has been identified as having a disability, but does not have an IEP because he/she is not currently enrolled in a public school, the district shall prepare an initial IEP within thirty calendar days of receiving a request for an IEP from an applicant. That request can be made directly to the district by the parent or by the submission of an application for the JPSN scholarship through the on-line application system.â€

 

 

So homeschoolers in Ohio are allowed to apply for the JP *before* having a completed IEP.  You can apply directly through your provider, simply because you have a diagnosis, and use this to drive the IEP process.  And then, according to the ODE website, they MUST do the ETR and IEP, and ODE even seems to be saying that their window is SHORTER!!  This is why ODE sets it up as a process where people can apply and literally finish the entire process to qualify for the scholarship before the fiscal quarter ends, because by law it should be happening.  But the school doesn't know the law, doesn't care about the law.  So you look it up, quote it to them, REMIND them.  You must call ODE and you must remind the ps of the law.  And then have the stomach to make them comply, sigh.

[nature girl]

I've never heard of this! Is it only for kids going to private school, or can it be used for curricula, co-ops and therapies?

 

ETA: Oh, wait, it's only in Ohio. Ah well...

[Storygirl]

It's only for Ohio. But to answer your question, it cannot be used by children enrolled in public school. Children must be homeschooled or enrolled in private school to get scholarship money. The scholarship can pay for various academic and therapy things, including school tuition, depending on the level of disability and the services listed in the IEP. But service providers must come from a list of approved providers; you can't use just anyone you want.

[nature girl]

Yeah, realized that after looking closer at the page...Almost enough to make me want to move. (Okay, not really.) I wonder if the govt. has ever looked at setting up their own scholarships...If they offered families a few thousand bucks for homeschooling special needs kids, they might even break even and the kids would probably be better adjusted and educated.

[PeterPan]

AM, this is a state level scholarship, and yes the system should save money with every child that does this.  It's a win-win in that sense, because the parents get choice of providers and the ability to make the dollars go farther (by doing some of the instruction, by shopping around and the states actually save money.  You give up your FAPE for as long as you take the scholarship, but even the lowest tier of the JP is significantly less than ANY of the counties in our state are spending per student.  

 

Other states offer disability scholarships.  I don't know how many and what their strings are.  There significant hoops to jump through for this, and reality is it can take the better part of a school year to get your documentation, go through the IEP process, etc.  It's also very stressful.  There have been abuses of it already, and so they've had to crack down.  The software they use is antiquated, so it doesn't even have basic features like the ability for me to log in as a parent and see my student's account.  

 

But yes, I'm very grateful our state does this.  And, you know, as a homeschooler I didn't realize how helpful the ps IEP process could be.  Getting a lot more eyes on my ds, not just private therapists either but people working in the schools, was amazing.  They saw potential in there that I didn't see, saw how his issues differed from his peers.  I was still caught up in oh he's so little, and they're immediately like WOW, he couldn't function in our school without interventions.   :svengo:   

 

In my experience, private therapists string you out.  The ps therapists are all about results, what needs to happen so this child can function in the classroom, how do we quantify our goals and progress.  It's a really nice change from the voodoo of some of the private therapists.