The purpose of Parent Leaders in Inclusive Education, a grant project funded through the Pennsylvania Developmental Disabilities Council (PA
DDC), is to develop parent leadership expanded to children and families who are in public charter schools, including cyber schools and those who are
not part of the public school system including home schools, private and parochial schools.
The fundamental philosophy that underlies this project is the concept of inclusion. Inclusion means that students with disabilities receive their
education primarily in general education settings. The term Least Restrictive Environment (LRE), found in the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Improvement Act (2004), supports the concept of inclusion. LRE means that, to the maximum extent appropriate, school districts and
other public local education agencies must educate students with disabilities in the regular classroom with appropriate aids and supports along with
their peers who are nondisabled in the school they would attend if not they did not have a disability (IDEA, 2004).
Inclusion is research supported as beneficial to students with and without disabilities in achieving both positive academic and social outcomes.
The following comparison chart has been developed to increase the awareness of parents and guardians of the special education rights under federal
and state laws in nontraditional education settings parents have selected for their children with disabilities.
It is important for parents and guardians to understand that the selection of a nontraditional school for their children with disabilities may affect the
rights of the children to a free appropriate public education (FAPE) in the LRE for those children.
Special Education Rights of School-Age Children
FAPE
(Right to a “free
appropriate public
education” )
Referral/Request for
Initial Evaluation
Type of Plan or
Services
Public School/Publicly placed,
Charter and Cyber Charter Schools
The responsible school district or charter/cyber
charter must provide or ensure that eligible children
get FAPE.* FAPE and all other legal protections must
be accorded to all students placed by their school
districts or by charter/cyber charters in private
schools.
Parent’s request must be in writing. School district
must present parent with Permission to
Evaluate/Evaluation Request form within 10
calendar days of oral request. Parent must sign
Permission to Evaluate/Consent form before initial
evaluation can begin.
The responsible school district or charter/cyber
charter must develop an Individualized Education
Program (IEP) with parent as an IEP Team member.
Among other things, the IEP includes the special
education and related services the parent and the
school agree must be provided to the student. The
IEP team must meet within 30 calendar days of a
determination that the child is eligible for special
education. Upon approval of the IEP, services must
begin within 10 school days.
Home Schooling
These students have no right to FAPE.
Parent’s request for an initial evaluation and reevaluations should be made in writing to the
child’s resident school district. The evaluations
should be conducted according to the same rules
as for children attending public schools.
A “home education plan” for a child eligible for
special education must address the specific needs
of the child and be approved by a PA certified
special education teacher or a licensed clinical or
certified school psychologist.
The school district or IU can agree with the
Program Supervisor to provide some services.
There may be a right to some services if the child
is dual enrolled in public school.
Non-Profit Private School/Placed by
Parent
These students have no right to FAPE.
Parent’s request for an initial evaluation
and re-evaluations should be made in
writing to the child’s resident school
district. The evaluations should be
conducted according to the same rules as
for children attending public schools.
Children placed by their parents in a
private school are entitled only to
“equitable participation services” which
should be listed on an Equitable
Participation Services Plan.”** Unlike an
IEP, the IU does not have to provide all of
the services listed on the EP Services Plan if
circumstances change (e.g., the IU
exhausts the state and federal funds for EP
Services). A child may be able to get
In addition, a child with a “qualifying disability” (e.g.,
diabetes or asthma) is entitled to be identified and
must receive “reasonable accommodations” set
forth in a “Service Agreement” or “504 Plan.”
Evaluation
Dispute Resolution
Protection in
Discipline
Transportation
Gifted Students
.
The school district or charter/cyber charter has 60
calendar days (not including summers) from the
date the parent signs the Permission to
Evaluate/Consent form to conduct an initial
evaluation of the student and provide the parent
with the Evaluation Report. If a parent believes an
evaluation by the district/charter school is deficient,
a parent may request an independent evaluation
(IEE) and may challenge a school district’s decision
to deny such a request. A child with special
education needs is entitled to a re-evaluation every
three years or, in the case of a child with an
intellectual disability, every two years.
If parents disagree with the IEP or with any other
proposal or refusal of the school district or
charter/cyber charter relating to the child’s special
education program, they can agree to mediate or
request a formal due process hearing. Parents or
anyone else acting on behalf of a child can also file a
complaint with the Department of Education
alleging a violation of the special education laws
such as not providing the child with all of the
services listed on the IEP.
Complex special rules apply. Among other things,
within 10 school days of a school’s decision to
change a child’s placement for discipline reasons,
the school must hold a “manifestation
determination” meeting and invite the parent.
Charter/cyber charters must also comply with these
rules.
Students with disabilities are entitled to free and
appropriate transportation when necessary to
attend their special education program. When it is
needed, the type and amount of transportation
must be included in the IEP as a related service.
The child’s resident school district must evaluate
the child and explain the results to the parent.
The evaluation should be conducted according to
the same rules as for children attending the public
schools.
School districts are required to provide special
services in accordance with a Gifted IEP developed
at a meeting at which the parent is a member of the
team. However, charter and cyber charter schools
Not required to provide services to gifted
students.
services from local school district if dual
enrolled. Also, non-religious private
schools have a duty to provide “reasonable
accommodations” for children with
qualifying disabilities (a/k/a Service
Agreement or 504 Plan).
The IU where the private school is located
must evaluate the child. The evaluation
must be conducted according the same
rules as for children attending the public
schools.
Any special education services must be agreed
upon by the supervisor (the home school
instructor) and school district or intermediate
unit. Since there is no duty to provide FAPE, the
parent cannot use the hearing or complaint
system to challenge a school district’s refusal to
provide services. However parents can use the
hearing process or mediation if it relates to the
school district’s duty to evaluate the child.
Since there is no duty to provide FAPE,
parent cannot use mediation or the
hearing system to challenge a school
district’s refusal to provide services.
However parents can use the hearing
process or mediation if it relates to the IU’s
duty to evaluate the child.
Not Applicable
Students do not have any special
disciplinary protections.
Any services agreed upon must take place at a
public school or a licensed private school. Services
will not be provided at home. Transportation
services may be agreed to by the school district or
IU with the Program Supervisor.
School district must provide students with
transportation to and from a non-profit
private school that is in the district or
within 10 miles of its boundaries. The IU is
responsible for transportation to a service
it has agreed to provide.
Not required to provide services to gifted
students.
are not required to provide services to gifted
students.
* Free and Appropriate Public Education – children have a right to special education and related services provided at public expense, without charge to eligible preschool, elementary, or secondary students; under the
supervision and direction of a state department of education; and described in an Individualized Education Plan (IEP). – Pennsylvania Parent Guide to Special Education in Charter Schools.
* *The Intermediate Unit is not required to provide all services listed in the Equitable Participation Services Plan. The Equitable Participation Services Plan does not have to include all services (behavioral and academic)
the child needs to succeed.
The Parent Education and Advocacy Leadership (PEAL) Center and Temple University's Institute on Disabilities developed this chart in partnership
with the Education Law Center of Pennsylvania.