By John Tuma, former MÂCHÉ board member and attorney

Q: Do I need a teaching certificate or special licensure to homeschool my child who has a disability or special need?

A: No. Your requirements are no different than any other homeschooling parent. 

Q: Does the law require me to provide any special testing for my child who has a disability or special need?

A: Essentially no. Minnesota Statutes 120A.22 Subd. 11 requires homeschooling parents to give all their children a nationally norm-referenced standardized test annually. Again, this requirement is no different for a child with special needs. This statute also requires parents to "obtain additional evaluation of a child's abilities and performance for the purpose of determining whether the child has learning problems" if the child scores at or below the 30th percentile on the total battery score for the child's age level. This additional special needs testing does not have to be done by a public school. Unlike the normal standardized test, you do not need to seek approval from the superintendent regarding what additional testing must be done.

Q: My child currently has an individual education plan (IEP) at the school where he/she receives special education services; can we still use the school's services if we homeschool?

A: Minnesota Statutes 125A.19, Subd. 4(b) requires public schools to provide special education services to nonpublic school children in their district if the parents request services. The district can provide the services at the location of their choosing so long as the services are appropriate. At present, the district does not have to provide special education in the nonpublic schools unless, at their discretion, the district chooses to provide the services there. The district is required to provide transportation to the location of the special education services. In most cases you cannot require the district to pay for special education services that are provided by a third party (such as a private tutor or a therapist through your healthcare provider) unless they agree to those services and there are no appropriate services available at the public school. If you avail yourselves of these public services, it would be wise to join an organization that advocates for the disability of your child to ensure you are informed of the types of appropriate service.

Note that both the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) and MÂCHÉ urge caution when considering use of services offered by the public school. There is an understandable tendency among those providing services for special needs children to try to direct all the education you are providing your child and to potentially invade some of your privacy.

Q: My child currently has an IEP at school; the services are unsatisfactory and I want to homeschool my child. Am I legally bound to abide by the IEP?

A: No. Nonetheless, you need to recognize that those providing services to those with special needs are oftentimes very passionate about their work and may take it personally if you withdraw your child in such a situation. On occasions school officials have filed child neglect charges against families who have chosen to remove their child from the public school system. It may be helpful to call an IEP team meeting prior to the withdrawal of your child from public school system in order to create some closure. This is not an opportunity for the district staff to give you advice, but a chance for you to clearly advise them that you have a placement plan for your child and no longer need their help. Have a well-developed plan of what services you are going to obtain separately from the public school and make it clear that you plan to place your child in another more suitable education at your own expense. This will allow the administrators who are responsible for the budget to see that you are taking care of your child. The administrator will be less likely to want to proceed with expensive litigation to meet their federal mandate despite the possible hurt feelings of the well-intentioned staff.

Q: Can I as an untrained parent really provide the necessary services for my child with special needs?

A: Absolutely yes! As an individual who proceeded through the public school system labeled “learning-disabled” and from several years of providing legal advocacy for families with special needs children in public education, I recognize that the decision to home educate a child with special needs is a challenging one, but almost always the right one. From what I've seen of the choices that are available, a parent cannot lose by providing focused, loving, one-on-one instruction to their child. Nonetheless, it is a decision to be made with much prayer, study, and support.

Finally, individual homeschooling families and support groups should, as a Christian witness, seek out ways to help families with special needs children in their church and community. “Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up . . .” 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Providing an education for a child with special needs will have its challenges regardless of the educational approach taken. Homeschooling provides a wonderful educational opportunity for these children and their families, and I would go as far as to say that it is the best educational option for a child with special needs.

My personal involvement with the educational system included being diagnosed as having dyslexia; becoming involved in advocacy for the development of special education programs in school; and later, following graduation from law school, becoming a legal advocate for families of children with special needs. As a legal advocate, I would advise parents navigating the special education system of one overriding element to a successful education plan--identify the most committed, caring, and compassionate teachers at the school and demand that they be on your education team regardless of their qualifications. Those individuals would always be the ones searching hard to find the best solutions and would not be afraid to experiment to find real avenues for success.

Though professionals will have knowledge from which you can glean to help make your child’s educational experience successful, no professional can match the commitment, care, and compassion parents have for their own children. Therefore, parents should feel confident that they are equipped with the most important elements to successfully educate their special needs child.

The federal special education law was not created to force parents to care about the education of their children with special needs. Instead, Congress found that public schools were turning away or simply “warehousing” children with special needs. The solution was to empower parents to have specific rights to force a public school district to provide a free and "appropriate" education for their child. Unfortunately, when the federal government passes laws, the provisions are washed through several layers of bureaucracy and the results are not always what was originally intended. Therefore, on occasion, school districts can use the special education law to interfere with the rights of parents to freely home educate their child who has special needs. Don’t hesitate to remind those officials that these very laws were meant to strengthen parental rights for the protection of our children.

We hope the following resources will be helpful to families taking on the rewarding challenge of educating their special needs child.

• MÂCHÉ is a wonderful local resource for any questions or information you need. 
• The National Challenged Homeschoolers Associated Network (NATHHAN) is another good resource. They can be contacted at PO Box 310, Moyie Springs, ID 83845 or at www.NATHHAN.com
• We strongly encourage all families and particularly the families of children who have special needs to become members of HSLDA. They will be helpful to families who may face legal challenges, and the membership also allows access to a special needs coordinator. www.hslda.org

Please contact MÂCHÉ with any questions or concerns you may have regarding available resources in Minnesota and any difficulties you may be having with public school officials or county social service agencies.