Are anyone familiar with the special needs scholarship? (Atlanta: how much, elementary school)

[carol72]

I would like to know if anyone has a special needs child that has the scholarship and went to a private school. What is the outcome since they went from a public school to a private one. Where are some good private schools located that accepts the scholarship?

[kaday]

Originally Posted by carol72

I would like to know if anyone has a special needs child that has the scholarship and went to a private school. What is the outcome since they went from a public school to a private one. Where are some good private schools located that accepts the scholarship?

I am trying to remember how it works.............I think your child has to have an IEP on file for a year at his or her current elementary school (by Oct if I remember correctly). If you chose to send them to a private school that can better address their needs the county will give you an estimate of how much...the max is somewhere around $7500 (again this is my memory) but not the norm. I know that Dyslexia schools in the area accept this The Atlanta Speech School, The Schenk School, Swift and I believe St Francis. Most of these schools can help you through the process. I know there is a website somewhere that can give you the details.

[lastminutemom]

Here is the website where you can find out lots of information.

Keys to remember -- your child must be enrolled in a GA public school by October 1st through the end of March the same year. The child must have an IEP in place by October 1st.

Most families, even those whose students have severe needs, are finding that the vouchers aren't enough to cover the costs of an appropriate public school. Most are coming up 1000s short, especially when looking at the schools that are really designed to serve special needs students. For example, the school that Kaday listed all cost about 15,000 annually. The average voucher has been aournd 5,000 I think.

While I know some families who have been pleased with the transition, I know some parents who put their kids back in public school within a few weeks, as the private school they selected couldn't really meet their children's needs. Keep in mind, that the private schools don't have to provide any services at all. By using the scholarship, you give up your child's IEP and the services and related services that have been supplied in public school. This doesn't necessarily mean that the change will be a good thing, but if your child is getting speech therapy in school and this is not a service that the private school includes in tuition, you will be expected to pay for it yourself if you need to continue it.

Here is the website:

Georgia Department of Education - Georgia Special Needs Scholarship (http://www.gadoe.org/sb10.aspx - broken link)

[evcollins]

Note to any parents reading this, if you transition from public to private via the scholarship fund and you have an IEP, the private school does not necessarily follow your IEP because usually you have found a school that has the resource(s) available that public did not and they have their own educational plan to move forward; however, if you choose a school to build a foundation and then go back to mainstream, once you go back into public, you will have your IEP remain in tact as long as you let the counselor at your designated school know to keep his/her file open. Very important! You have to tell them to keep it open every year and once you come back, they will reassess what the current needs are and update the IEP.