[blindkid] Health insurance for braille instruction and equipment

Sat Nov 23 00:22:46 UTC 2013

Hi Aliza,

In New Jersey, there is a mathematical formula that governs the 
services provided to children placed in private schools by their 
parents.  I do not know if every state operates this way, but you can 
check in your state.  I have pasted in a section from a NJ guidebook 
written by our Education Law Center and sponsored by the NJ State Bar 
Foundation.  Maybe there is a similar book with info for your 
state.  Here is the link if you'd like to look further:
<http://www.edlawcenter.org/assets/files/pdfs/publications/Rights_SpecialEducation_Guide.pdf>http://www.edlawcenter.org/assets/files/pdfs/publications/Rights_SpecialEducation_Guide.pdf 

Hope this is of help.

Carol
Carol Castellano
Parents of Blind Children-NJ
Director of Programs
National Organization of Parents of Blind Children
973-377-0976
carol_castellano at verizon.net
www.blindchildren.org
www.nfb.org/parents-and-teachers

SERVICES FOR CHILDREN PLACED BY THEIR PARENTS IN PRIVATE SCHOOLS

School districts must provide limited special education services to 
children with
disabilities who are enrolled by their parents in private (nonpublic) 
schools or early
childhood programs.634 School districts are required to locate, 
identify and evaluate all
children with disabilities attending private schools within the 
school district to the same
extent as children in public schools.635 However, children who are 
placed in private schools
by their parents do not have the same right to receive the special 
education services they
would receive if enrolled in the public school system.636 Rather, the 
school district is
obligated to provide services to some children in private schools 
based on a mathematical
formula related to the federal funding the school district receives 
for all children with
disabilities within the school district, and the proportion of these 
children who attend
private schools, and the school district has great discretion in how 
and to whom these
services will be provided.637
In designing and developing special education and related services 
for parentally-placed
children with disabilities, the school district must, in a timely and 
meaningful way, consult
with private school representatives and representatives of parents of 
parentally-placed
private school children.638The subject of such consultation must 
include: (1) how children
will be identified, located and evaluated; (2) how parents, teachers 
and private school
district officials will be informed of the process; (3) the 
determination of the proportionate
share of federal IDEA funds available to serve parentally-placed 
private school children with
disabilities;(4) how, where and by whom special education and related 
services will be
provided;(5) the types of services that will be provided; and, (6) 
how special education and
related services will be apportioned if funds are insufficient to 
serve all children.639 Services
to parentally-placed children with disabilities may be provided by 
school district personnel
or through contracts with individuals or approved clinics or 
agencies.640 Such services must
be secular,neutral and non-ideological.641
Through the process developed in consultation with private school 
representatives and
representatives of parents, the school district will make the final 
decision with respect to
services that will be provided to eligible parentally-placed private 
school children.642 For each
parentally-placed child who will receive special education and 
related services, the school
district must initiate and conduct meetings, similar to IEP team 
meetings, to develop, review
and revise a "service plan"that describes the special education and 
related services that will
be provided to the child.643The school district must ensure that a 
representative of the private
school attends the meeting.644 Services may be provided on the 
premises of private schools,
including religious schools.645 If necessary for the child to benefit 
from, or participate in, the
services included in the child's service plan, transportation must be 
provided, but
transportation need not be provided from the child's home to the 
private school.646

An important difference between the right of children with 
disabilities enrolled in public
and private schools is the complaint procedures available to each. 
For children enrolled by
their parents in private schools, mediation and due process 
procedures, discussed in this
manual at pp. 32, 38, are available only to address complaints with 
respect to their location,
identification, evaluation, determination of eligibility and 
reevaluation.647 Mediation and due
process procedures are not available to complain about special 
education or related
services.648 Such complaints must be addressed through the complaint 
investigation process,
discussed in this manual at p. 39.649 Parents and private schools 
representatives may also file
complaints with respect to any failure by a school district to comply 
with requirements
related to the provision of special education and related services to 
children with disabilities
in private schools, including those related to the school district's 
obligation to consult with
private school officials and parents, as mentioned above.650
In addition, all eligible children, including, parentally-placed 
children with disabilities, are
entitled to "remedial" and "auxiliary" services to "be assured the 
fullest possible opportunity
to develop their intellectual capacities."651 School districts are 
responsible for determining the
eligibility of private school children with disabilities for speech 
and language services by a
certified speech-language specialist, and for the provision of those 
services.652 School districts
are also responsible for determining the eligibility of private 
school children for
"compensatory education," English as a Second Language services and 
home instruction, as
well as for the provision of those services.653 "Compensatory 
education," as the term is used
here, consists of supplementary preventive and remedial programs 
designed either to
improve a child's computational skills or communication skills.654 
Before providing any
services described in this paragraph, a school district must obtain 
parental consent.655
Children with disabilities who receive services described in this 
paragraph are also entitled
to a service plan.656 Children with disabilities receiving services 
described in this paragraph
may request mediation or a due process hearing only with respect to 
their location,
identification, evaluation, determination of eligibility and 
reevaluation.657 Disputes regarding
the provision of services described in this paragraph must be 
addressed through the
complaint investigation procedures described in this manual at page 39.658
Children placed in private schools by their school district are 
entitled to all the same
rights as if they were attending public school.659

At 03:22 PM 11/22/2013, you wrote:
>Insurance companies do not pay for braille instruction or technology.
>What state do you live in?  Will the local school district pay for
>braille instruction by a certified TVI outside of the school hours?
>This is where creativity is needed.  You can also email me off list at
>Marianne at denningweb.com.  I am a TVI and blind.
>
>On 11/23/13, Bernadette Jacobs <bernienfb75 at gmail.com> wrote:
> > Sweetheart:
> >
> > I hate to be a forecaster of doom and gloom.  but I've never in my
> > entire life seen this happen before.  Don't hold your breath.  I don't
> > think insurance companies regard literacy as a medical issue.
> >
> > Don't lose hope here though.  My next suggestion is that you have people
> > either rewrite you offlist or call you at home.  Not knowing where you
> > live, I'm not sure how to plug into the resources around you.  However,
> > my home phone is: 443-315-5080.  You can call me and we can get started
> > from there.
> >
> > Have a wonderful day!!
> >
> > Bernie
> > On 11/22/2013 10:30 AM, aliza sperling wrote:
> >> Hi Everyone,
> >> I am looking to find out if you know of any health insurance or vision
> >> insurance plans that would pay for private Braille instruction for an
> >> elementary school aged legally blind student, or for the necessary
> >> technology.  My daughter is now in private school (yes, we have already
> >> tried public school) and getting it through the school district is not an
> >> option at this point.  Her IEP/ ISP calls for 10 hours of Braille
> >> instruction per week.
> >> Thanks so much for your help,
> >> Aliza
> >> _______________________________________________
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> >> 
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> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
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> >
>
>
>--
>Marianne Denning, TVI, MA
>Teacher of students who are blind or visually impaired
>(513) 607-6053
>
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