STATEMENT OF RIGHTS FOR PRIVATE SCHOOL/HOME SCHOOLING STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

If you are a parent of a child with disabilities, or suspect that your child may have a disability that is covered by state or federal special education laws, and your child is in a private school or an approved home schooling program, you have the following rights:

A. A parent/guardian has the right to have his/her child located, identified and evaluated by Beals
    School Department as a possible special education student, including referral of the student to a Pupil
    Evaluation Team (PET) to determine whether the student qualifies as a special education student.
    Beals School Department’s child find and referral obligations toward the student while he/she is in a
    private school/home school program are the same as for students enrolled in public school, as
    described in Paragraph 3 of IHBAC (CHILD FIND).

B. Students with disabilities enrolled in private schools or in home schooling programs do not have an
    individual right to special education and related services while enrolled in the private school or home
    schooling program.

C. Beals School Department has an obligation to consult with representatives of private school and
    home schooling students with disabilities on how to carry out Beals School Department’s duty to
    locate, identify and evaluate all private school/home schooling students with disabilities and also to
    consult in a timely way on:

    1. Which students will receive services;
    2. What services will be provided;
    3. How and where the services will be provided; and
    4. How the services will be evaluated.

D. Beals School Department has a duty to expend on the pool of identified private school/home
    schooling students with disabilities an amount at least equal to the percentage of federal special
    education dollars received by Beals School Department as that group of students represents of the
    overall number of special education students.

E. Beals School Department shall make the final decisions with respect to the services to be provided
    to eligible private school/home schooling students with disabilities.

F. For any private school/home schooling student with a disability that Beals School Department
    decides that it will provide services, Beals School Department shall initiate and conduct a meeting of
    the PET to develop, review and revise a services plan detailing the special education and related
    services to be provided and including goals for measuring the outcome of such services. To the
    extent appropriate, the Team shall develop the services plan in a manner consistent with development
    of an Individualized Education Program.

G. Parents may file a complaint with the Maine Department of Education, Division of Special Services
    (624- 6650) alleging that Beals School Department has failed to comply with any of its obligations
    toward private school/home schooling students. Parents have a right to a due process hearing from
    the Maine Department of Education only on issues relating to Beals School Department’s duty to
    locate, identify and evaluate all private school/home schooling students with disabilities.

H. As a resident Beals, the parent/guardian has a right to enroll his/her child in the local public school. If
    at any time the parent chooses to do so and his/her child is a student with a disability, the PET will
    meet to review and/or develop an IEP for implementation upon enrollment of the child in public
    school. If the child is enrolled in public school, the parent/guardian and his/her child are entitled to all
    the rights set forth in Beals School Department’s attached special education Statement of Rights.

I. If a parent would like a complete copy of the state and federal regulations addressing the duties of
    Beals School Department toward private school/home schooling students with disabilities, please
    contact the special education office at Beals School Department or the Maine Department of
    Education, Division of Special Services (624-6650). If a parent has any concerns about his/her child,
    please address those concerns in writing to:

            Director of Special Education
            139 Snare Creek Lane
            Jonesport, ME 04649


            or telephone the Director of Special Education at 497-2882. Questions may also be addressed
            to the Maine Department of Education, Division of Special Services, at 287-5950.

Legal Reference: 20 U.S.C. § 1412(a)(10)
                          34 CFR § 300.450-.462 (March 1999)
                          Me. Dept. of Ed. Reg. ch. 101 § 4.7 (Nov 1999)

DATE ADOPTED: July 1, 2003