Home schoolers to lose special education aid in New York

School districts across the state will soon be ordered to stop providing special education services to home-schooled students, according to state Education Department officials who say the change is mandated by federal law. “Some parents are going to be very concerned about it,” Deputy Education Commissioner Rebecca Cort said January 14, 2008, after explaining the changes to the state Board of Regents. Because of revisions in 2004 to the federal Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, public schools aren’t supposed to pay for services to students with disabilities whose parents choose to home-school them, according to an Education Department memo. The memo also says officials will soon notify districts of the change. Read more in The Times Union online.