I didn’t even know what special education was until I took a psychology course in my last semester of college. If there were students with disabilities in my classes at the private Christian K-12 school that I attended, I wasn’t aware of them. There were maybe one or two students with noticeable learning differences, but it’s easy for children to accept this as normal when the adults in the room don’t make a huge deal about it.
While my teachers may not have been the most tolerant of ideas that they felt went against the Bible’s teachings, they always affirmed and supported the students themselves. This promise of acceptance contributed to my parents’ decision to send me to that private school in the first place.
Special education in private schools is complicated
Unlike public schools, private schools can accept or reject any students they choose to. Many families with children with more complex needs (whether behavioral or medical) are frustrated by the fact that private schools in some states receive some government funding while also excluding students.
According to a 2016 report by the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates called “School Vouchers and Students with Disabilities: Examining Impact in the Name of Choice,” seventeen states offer school voucher programs specifically for students with disabilities. Some of the key findings of the report were:
- Parents will choose a voucher program regardless of the availability of civil rights protections because of the urgency of their child’s need to change schools
- Voucher funding is rarely enough to cover the full cost of the child’s education, meaning that only parents with adequate finances actually have a choice at all
- Some schools accept children with disabilties (and voucher funds) and then expel them, forcing them back into inadequate or inappropriate school situations
While a voucher can get a student with a disability through a private school’s doors, it does not guarantee them special education services. According to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, private schools are not required to deliver the same standard of services as public schools. Any services that students with disabilities receive in private schools are different from having an Individualized Education Program, or IEP, which students with disabilities receive at public schools.
One of the most common ways that private school students receive special education services is through service plans. Speech, occupational, or physical therapists provide services for students in private school or home school environments. In some instances, depending on arrangements with the school districts, services could look like special education teachers consulting with private school staff via disability-specific training. Additionally, students eligible for special education in private schools may receive services rendered by a teacher or consultant from a nearby public school.