Private Schools

Children who are enrolled by their parents in private schools may participate in publicly funded special education programs. While school districts have the clear responsibility to offer a free appropriate public education to students with disabilities, recent changes to federal law have significantly limited the school district’s responsibility to provide services to students whose parents have chosen for them to attend private schools. Federal law limits the amount that school districts must spend of the federal entitlement to a proportionate share of federal IDEA funds.

Parents are entitled to reimbursement for costs associated with the private school placement only if a court or hearing officer determines that the public agency had not made a free appropriate public education available to the child. (20 USC 1412[a]; EC 56175; 34 CFR 300.453)

The court or hearing officer may reduce or deny reimbursement if you did not make your child available for an assessment upon notice from the school district before removing your child from public school. You may also be denied reimbursement if you did not inform the school district that you were rejecting the special education placement proposed by the school district and gave notice of your concerns and intent to enroll your child in a private school at public expense.

A parent's notice to the school district must be given either:

  • At the most recent IEP meeting you attended before removing your child from the public school; or
  • In writing to the school district at least ten business days (including holidays) before removing your child from the public school. (20 USC 1412[a]; EC 56174, 56176)

A court or hearing officer may not reduce or deny reimbursement to you if you failed to notify the school district for any of the following reasons:

  • Illiteracy and inability to write in English;
  • Giving notice would likely result in physical or serious emotional harm to the child;
  • The school prevented you from giving notice; or
  • You had not received a copy of this Notice of Procedural Safeguards or otherwise been informed of this notice requirement.
(20 USC 1412[a]; EC 56177[a][b][c][d]) NOTICE OF PROCEDURAL SAFEGUARDS 7

If a parent unilaterally places a child in a nonpublic school and the parent proposes the placement in the nonpublic school to be publicly financed, the school district must be given the opportunity to observe the proposed placement and the child in the proposed placement.

The school district may not observe or assess any other child at the nonpublic school without permission from the other child’s parent or guardian. (EC 56329[d])

To obtain more information or to file for mediation or a due process hearing, contact:

    McGeorge School of Law
    Special Education Hearing Office
    3200 Fifth Avenue
    Sacramento, CA 95817
    Telephone: 916.739.7053
    Fax: 916.739.7066

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