Is Special Education a Right for My Child?

Lisa,when we moved from Belding,(Ionia county), to Orleans,Ionia school district,(still same county) my son still received the special education help he needed for emotional and speech help that he had been receiving all along. The only thing I ever had to do was fill out the paper for the transfer every year were in Orleans. We also attended the yearly meetings for the services.I can't remember the name of it. lol

She can get it as long as it's provided by the school district of residence. The extra money her current school district gets is SOLELY for educational services, not support services. Your support services are paid by your property taxes in the school district you live in. So chances are the other kids are not eligible unless they pursue the services through their own, residence school district.

I think the services would have to come from the school district you live in. Contact that district to ask about whether or not they provide the services. They should. By law your child is eligible to receive services.

I am a former special ed teacher and I can tell you that at least in MN and ND (states I've worked in) you must be a resident of that school district to qualify for services in that district. If you have further questions and need clarification, call your states Educational State Department.

I don't know anything about Michigan, but where we live, you have to actually live in your school district boundaries to get the perks for that particular school district. It doesn't matter if you live in the same state or not, it has to be in the school district area where you live.

I would definitely look into it and contact your school board. My sister had a similar experience in Maryland. She sent her kids to private school, but her 2 sons had to go to public school for speech therapy. The school district didn't want to cover it. My sister fought it and won. Eventhough her kids didn't attend a publc school, her tax dollars still went to funding the school so she was entitled to all the benefits that came with it. It was a lot of work for her because this was pre-internet. She made a lot of phone calls and did a lot of leg work, but it was worth it.

The can get the services through their local school (so can you)... which can be either very easy, or a pain, logistically speaking... depending on what the hours are and their parent's availability. Meaning if they have afterschool hours for therapy (or weekends) their parents can take them then, or just like they'd get pulled from class for therapy during school hours, their parents can schlep them to/from their school they go to, to the school they receive services in during school hours. My neice/inlaws have done this twice. She was guaranteed 4 hours a week (whether she was in that school or not), so rather than get the services at the school she attended, on mondays and wednesdays she left school 2.5 hours early to go to their local school for 2 hours of therapy in one place she lived, and a little over 1 hour early 4 days a week in another place they lived.

hmmm that's odd... my son goes to a school that is out of the district we live in and he qualifies and receives special education services...

Every state is different. I'm not sure about Michigan. See if there is a site for Michigan state law requirements for special needs/ disabled children. There is a site in Maryland where you can call or e-mail and they have lawyers that can answer your questions for free and will assist you if necessary in getting the school to abide by the law. If you can get outside speech do so until you can figure out what, if anything the school should provide to your child. There may be a certain percentage your child has to be delayed in order to receive services, I would look into that as well. Good luck.

call your local ARC (thearc.org) and ask them. they help with all disabilities and will know.

try sylvan learning or google speech tutors

My son goes to school in a different district and he gets speech therapy there. As a matter of fact I kind of wanted to leave him in the speech program of our residence school district but they wouldn't let me because all of his funding is going to the school district where he is in school now. Call the school officials of the district your child is in and clarify it. Or call your own local district and find out. Your child is owed these services and you pay the tax dollars to prove it!

I dont know for your exact case, but I attended school in Michigan and needed speech therapy as well. I did receive it through my school when I was in elementary but also lived in district. In high school we had several students with disabilities at my school who were all able to receive the help they needed. Most of them did live out of district because my high school was the only one in the area with a special education program. This may differ from your situation however if the district you live in does provide a speech therapy program. I just know from experience that it is different for student with special needs who can not learn in the same environment as most students. Sorry I could not be of more help. Hopefully that will lead you in the right didection though!

Here is a link to an organization that can help. www.mpas.org
Every state is different in regard to services provided under state special education law. However, there is also federal special education law that each state must follow too.

You can't just say my child needs services and you automatically get services. A child must qualify. So, my advice to you would be to call MPAS and someone will talk to you (for free) and walk you through the process, as well as answer your questions.

Good luck