Department of Education Approves New Regulations that Deny School Districts the Ability to Evaluate Homeschoolers without Parental Consent

(CHICAGO) On October 13th, the U.S. Department of Education placed regulations into effect that explicitly deny school districts any ability under the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA) to override a parent’s refusal to have their homeschooled child evaluated for disabilities.

Advocacy groups such as the Home School Legal Defense Association have seen an increase in such cases over the last several years where homeschooling parents deny consent for an evaluation and the school district files a due process procedure against the family.

The new regulations are in part a result of HSLDA’s victory in the case Fitzgerald v. Camdenton R-III School District (2006), where the trial court ruled that a school district did not have the right to override a parent’s consent.

“Where a home-schooled child’s parents refuse consent [for an evaluation], privately educate the child, and expressly waive all benefits under the IDEA, an evaluation would have no purpose. . . . [A] district may not force an evaluation in this case.”

After the Fitzgerald decision, HSLDA inspired thousands of homeschooling parents from across the country to attend meetings and sent in comments regarding the Department of Education’s proposed regulations.

The Fitzgerald case, in conjunction with the comments of HSLDA and it's members resulted in an expansion of the language that was already in the comments on the proposed IDEA regulations.

Now, it appears that a completely new section in the IDEA regulations provides protection for parents who homeschool. The new regulations state that if a homeschooling parent does not provide consent for any initial evaluation or reevaluation of their child, the school district cannot even initiate a due process procedure to override that consent.

<>“Our hard-won victory in Fitzgerald brought this matter to the attention of the Department of Education,” according to HSLDA Attorney Jim Mason. “Even the DOE acknowledged that this has always been the intent of the law. Now they say it clearly.”