[blindkid] re equitable services

Sat Jun 2 01:52:23 UTC 2012

Richard, there is a formula the school district must follow to determine the proportionate share of the IDEA funding to set aside for privately placed children. Equitable services "for children aged 3 through 21, an amount that is the same proportion of the LEA's total subgrant under section 611(f) of the Act as the number of private school children with disabilities aged 3 through 21 who are enrolled by their parents in private, including religious, elementary schools and secondary schools located in the school district served by the LEA, is to the total number of children with disabilities in its jurisdiction aged 3 through 21." 34 CFR 300.133(a)  

 Here is an example I stumbled across:   $400,000 funds  divided by  200 (180 eligible public school kids & 80 eligible privately placed kid) = $2000 per student X 8 privately placed children = $16,000 to be expended on privately placed children.  

Note that the number of eligible children is based on the previous year child count.  So let's say this year there is  12 children privately placed but  $16,000 is still the amount available for services.     If during the previous year there were NO children  privately placed but this year  the total is 10 kids?  The amount to be expended is 0. 

It is my understanding that the school district does not have to provide services to every privately placed child nor does it have to spend a certain amount on each child.   If, for example, the district does not provide O&M to parentally placed children, then your child does not receive O&M.  

A district is limited to how much federal funds it spends for privately placed children but they could use state funds (if state allows) to provide additional services.

Clear as mud? 

Chantel 

Chantel Alberhasky, Esq.
419 Boonville Avenue
Springfield, MO 65806
417.865.4444

The Missouri Bar Disciplinary Counsel requires all Missouri attorneys 
to notify all recipients of e-mail that (1) e-mail communication is not a
secure method of communication, (2) any e-mail that is sent to you or 
by you may be copied and held by various computers it passes through as it
goes from me to you or vice versa, (3) persons not participating in our
communication may intercept our communications by improperly accessing
your computer or my computer or even some computer unconnected to 
either of us which the e-mail passed through. I am communicating to you via
e-mail because you have consented to receive communications via this
medium. If you change your mind and want future communications to be
sent in a different fashion, please let me know AT ONCE.

________________________________
 From: Richard Holloway <rholloway at gopbc.org>
To: "Blind Kid Mailing List, (for parents of blind children)" <blindkid at nfbnet.org> 
Sent: Friday, June 1, 2012 7:15 PM
Subject: Re: [blindkid] blindkid Digest, Vol 98, Issue 1

Chantel, I wonder what defines the specific meaning of "Equitable Services". There always seems to be an "out" in these matters for the school systems.

The explanation here in our county was they only have to offer a certain amount of required support (budget wise) to the community (in the area(s) THEY choose, and that is it. Further reading does suggest the amount also relates to income level as you (or someone) suggested earlier. I am unclear if the specific people who get services  must qualify that way or not. (We were never told so if that is the case.) At a quick glance, I wondered if the amount is tied to budget based on community income levels but perhaps not the specific income levels of the particular student's family-- I saw something about the percentage of private school students who were from low income families being involved in what the LEA must offer. I'm mainly basing this on our experience with our child 5 years ago and a bit of web surfing, so everyone please take my suggestions as a possible area for further research only. There is much to read on this and it is complicated.

Here is one thing I just saw on-line about "Equitable Services":

"Services are considered to be equitable when the LEA meets the expenditure requirements in Sec. 1120(a)(4)"

Again, I'm no expert, but that sounds to me like there is a cap of some kind, and that goes right back to what we were told about 5 years ago here in Georgia. You might start with a Google search on Title I Education, and check further into Title I Sec. 1120(a)(4).

Our feeling was that Kendra's private school was becoming  resistant to working with us. While at first they seemed very willing to accommodate our needs, after a couple of years they seemed less and less anxious to continue to do so. As the years go by, at least as we have found to date, there is more and more to adapt and manage, so it gets harder and harder from the school's standpoint to keep up. They need more support and there is no mechanism in place to offer appropriate help. The last thing we wanted to do was try and force a situation with the school. That is hard enough with a public school, but the nature of a small private school that is reluctant to work with parents just seemed such that our best solution was to move to a public setting. Looking back, I expect that even if we'd had public school services to continue, at some point it would have been too much for the private school to deal with. For example, even with TVI and O&M support,
 what is the chance of getting the state to supply a paraprofessional at a private school if you need one?

We were very hesitant about changing to public school before pre-K. Looking back as we enter 4th grade, I think it was absolutely the best possible decision for our particular situation.

On Jun 1, 2012, at 5:32 PM, Chantel Alberhasky wrote:

> Note that school districts are still required to provide "equitable services" if a parent unilaterally enrolls a child into a not-for-profit private school.  
>  
> Chantel L. Alberhasky, Esq
> 419 Boonville Avenue
> Springfield, MO 65806
> 417.865.4444
> 
> The Missouri Bar Disciplinary Counsel requires all Missouri attorneys 
> to notify all recipients of e-mail that (1) e-mail communication is not a
> secure method of communication, (2) any e-mail that is sent to you or 
> by you may be copied and held by various computers it passes through as it
> goes from me to you or vice versa, (3) persons not participating in our
> communication may intercept our communications by improperly accessing
> your computer or my computer or even some computer unconnected to 
> either of us which the e-mail passed through. I am communicating to you via
> e-mail because you have consented to receive communications via this
> medium. If you change your mind and want future communications to be
> sent in a different fashion, please let me know AT ONCE.
> 
> 
> 
> ________________________________
> From: Jill Fass <jillfass at gmail.com>
> To: "Blind Kid Mailing List, (for parents of blind children)" <blindkid at nfbnet.org> 
> Sent: Friday, June 1, 2012 2:42 PM
> Subject: Re: [blindkid] blindkid Digest, Vol 98, Issue 1
> 
> The school district pays for the services the child gets, that's why we pay taxes, when you choose to go to a private school the district will not pay for services.   I wish you luck it is a tough situation
> _______________________________________________
> blindkid mailing list
> blindkid at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindkid_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for blindkid:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindkid_nfbnet.org/rholloway%40gopbc.org

_______________________________________________
blindkid mailing list
blindkid at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindkid_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for blindkid:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindkid_nfbnet.org/chantel%40alberhaskylaw.com