Independent Study 101

Independent study has grown significantly in the past few years. Before the pandemic (yes, the word still sends shivers down our spines, too), it was a scarcely used form of education, most often used by child actors, athletes, or students with health concerns who couldn’t attend school in person at all or for certain periods of time without missing major parts of their curriculum. Independent study helped to make sure that these students stayed on track by allowing them to complete coursework asynchronously, while fulfilling their other responsibilities.

Of course, following the pandemic, a world of virtual or asynchronous learning opened up for so many of us. And now, independent study is used by 227,000 students in California in grades TK-12.

To help us learn more about independent study, we spoke with Mark Woodsmall, lead attorney at Woodsmall Law Group in the San Gabriel Valley area of Los Angeles; Dr. Sarah Pelangka, BCBA-D, owner of KnowIEPs and non-attorney special education advocate; and Kelly Hatfield, Undivided Navigator and parent to a child with a disability.

Independent study in California is an alternative instructional strategy that lets students learn outside a regular classroom — often online at home — while still remaining enrolled in their home district. Not every district is required to offer independent study, so availability can vary. Depending on what’s offered locally, students may access independent study through their home district, a county office of education, an interdistrict transfer, or a public charter school that provides this option (we will touch more on this later).

As Dr. Pelangka explains, “Independent study is a more self-directed, student-led approach to learning, hence the name. Generally, the assumption is that the student can work more independently, manage the pacing of their assignments, and stay on track with completing their work.” Meaning, the student is responsible for completing their lessons and coursework virtually (and on time), without the support of an in-person teacher.

In this video, Dr. Pelangka shares more about what independent study is and what to expect.

It’s important to note that independent study is supported by your local education agency (LEA), which includes county offices of education, school districts, and charter schools. LEAs are responsible for funding at a level comparable to classroom instruction, making sure that the curriculum being used is aligned to grade-level standards, and ensuring that teachers meet at least the same professional requirements as classroom-based teachers.

Short-term vs. long-term independent study

In districts where independent study is offered, students must voluntarily enroll. Meaning, the district cannot simply decide to place your child in independent study without your and their consent.

There are some extreme situations — like COVID — where independent study can be the only placement left if, say, a massive pandemic breaks out and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommend that everyone should work from home.

Outside of extraordinary situations like that one, independent study is intended to be a family-driven choice, not a placement decision made solely by the district. If you’re reading this article, you’re most likely wondering whether independent study might be right for your child. To help to determine this, it’s important to determine whether you’re seeking short-term independent study or long-term independent study.

• Short-term independent study is typically used when a student needs to be out of school temporarily — such as for extended travel, illness, or mental health challenges — and is expected to return to in-person instruction. In these situations, independent study helps students avoid being marked truant and/or violating the total number of days they can be absent from their district (typically about ten) before they are penalized.

  In most cases, independent study has set start and end dates, and the student will return to in-person classes once their short-term independent study period has ended. For students with an individualized education program (IEP), this typically means that before the independent study begins an IEP meeting will be held to document the temporary change of placement and outline how services will be handled during this period. When the independent study period ends, the IEP team will then meet again to transition the student back to their prior placement (in-person at school) and update the IEP accordingly. This allows for the student’s placement, services, and support to be properly documented once they return to campus.

• Long-term independent study is typically used when a student needs a more prolonged alternative to daily in-person attendance. This decision is made collaboratively between the family and the school (or the IEP team, if applicable) and may be used for an extended period, either full time or as part of a hybrid schedule. (We will dive more into how to write long-term placement into the IEP later.)

Determining whether you are looking for short-term or long-term independent study will help to implement independent study into your child’s education.

While independent study can be an option for any student, individuals with IEPs have other legal considerations that shape how, and whether, independent study can be implemented. Schools are not legally required to offer independent study, as it is not formally considered a “placement” under IDEA.

Students with an IEP are entitled to learn in the least restrictive environment (LRE) under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This law requires that students should be removed from the general education classroom only if supports and services in the general education classroom do not meet the student’s unique needs. The continuum of placement under IDEA is as follows:

1. General ed classroom

2. Gen ed classroom with accommodations/modifications

3. Gen ed classroom with pull-out services (speech, OT, PT, etc.)

4. Separate classroom with only peers who have IEPs

5. Home education options (Independent study falls here)

6. Residential, institutional, or hospital care

Woodsmall notes, “One of the defining attributes of independent study is that it involves a complete removal of the child from other students, making it a very restrictive environment. In fact, it can be even more restrictive than a non-public school, because the child is educated without the presence of even other students with disabilities.”

In practice, the hope is that students with IEPs will remain in a general education setting, to the maximum extent appropriate, with individually tailored accommodations and supports. When a student’s needs go beyond what can reasonably be provided in general education, the IEP team will then consider other placement options that offer increasing levels of support and structure. But it’s important to note that the further a student gets from a general education setting, the more restrictive it becomes.

“The question always has to be: what is the variable that’s preventing [my child] from accessing their education?” Woodsmall explains. “And if that variable can be addressed with supports, then those supports should be put in place [in the IEP].”

We encourage you to read more about the types of placement options in our article Least Restrictive Environment and Placement Options in an IEP to fully understand what options are available for students with disabilities.

In order for your child with an IEP to truly be successful with independent study, Woodsmall encourages you to make this decision with the support and help of your child’s IEP team. Technically speaking, you can choose to enroll your child in an independent study program without your IEP team’s approval, but that could mean losing essential services and support. As Woodsmall shares, “Independent study should never be a decision made out of desperation.”

The first step is to request an IEP meeting. While placement decisions must be reviewed at every annual review meeting, a parent can call an IEP meeting at any time to revisit the placement discussion. Once the meeting is requested, the district has up to 30 days (while school is in session) to hold the meeting.

IEP assessments

At the IEP meeting, you can request comprehensive assessments to help determine your child’s unique needs. These needs, in turn, inform the goals drafted in the IEP, which then impact how the services, accommodations, or placement of your child need to be changed to best meet the goals.

“If there’s no goal, then there’s no need,” Woodsmall explains. “We don’t write IEP goals in areas where a child is already accessing grade-level standards — those are general education expectations. Goals are written when a child is functioning below expectations. From there, the question becomes: what is the threshold skill we need to build, and what supports are required to help the child get there? That’s the order the process should follow — assessments first, then goals, then accommodations, and finally placement and services.”

These assessments help to inform the IEP and therefore, will be referenced when you and the IEP team are looking into independent study as a placement option. If you do not have assessments that you feel accurately reflect your child’s current needs, then you may want to request updated assessments before requesting a change in placement. (Note: your IEP team might recommend this anyway.)

In the video below, Woodsmall explains more about why comprehensive assessments matter when requesting independent study.

As both Woodsmall and Dr. Pelangka explain, most supports and accommodations can be written into an IEP for independent study, but many districts will likely push back — not just because it is one of the more restrictive placement options, but because they may question staffing limitations, cost, progress monitoring, or whether services can be delivered and tracked effectively outside of a school campus. This is why it is so important to have data from assessments ready to back up why this is the best placement option for your child.

Assessments clearly outline a child’s needs, which the IEP team will then review to determine whether independent study is necessary for the child to access their education, goals, accommodations, and supports appropriately — and, if so, for how long. If your IEP team does not do this, it can be considered a rather glaring red flag, since you want the optimal support and placement option for your child . . . not the easiest.

Diagnostic placement in independent study

If your IEP team is on the fence about independent study or you’re looking to explore it as an option, then you’re in luck, because there’s an option in the law called diagnostic placement. A diagnostic placement allows a student to try out different instructional settings (like independent study) without formally changing the child’s IEP placement. The idea is that by doing this, the IEP team can gather data to determine whether the placement is right for your child.

In practice, a diagnostic placement is essentially a mutual agreement that does not trigger a change to the IEP or stay-put. This protects both the student and the school in case a disagreement arises later. In this situation, the stay-put will fall back to the previous placement so that the student does not lose any IEP services or support.

In this video, Woodsmall dives deeper into diagnostic placement.

This also gives you the opportunity to determine whether you can realistically manage the emotional, time, and financial demands of supporting your child’s learning at home — whether that means supervising their classes or virtual therapy sessions or providing transportation to in-person services.

Below is a short list to “check in” with yourself and your child during the diagnostic placement process:

• Is my child engaged with learning without constant adult prompting, or do they need intensive supervision? If so, what will this change require of our family in the long term?

• Does my child benefit from structure, peer interaction, and in-person support, or do they thrive with independence and flexibility?

• How is my child socializing and connecting with other school-aged peers while they’re in independent study?

• How are their goals being monitored for progress?

• Are my child’s IEP services being delivered and implemented successfully?

• How is transportation going for their related services (speech, OT, PT, etc.)?

These are just a few questions you and your family should consider before determining whether independent study is the best fit for your child.

Getting independent study written into the IEP

If the diagnostic trial is successful, you and your IEP team will then meet on the agreed date (set before the trial period) and formally revise the IEP to reflect independent study as the new placement option. According to our experts, the IEP should include:

• The independent study model (traditional or course-based)

• Note: depending on where you live, your district may have different independent-study models

• How instruction will be delivered (hybrid, live, or asynchronous)

• What accommodations or modifications will be offered

• Who will be responsible for monitoring progress

• What related services will be provided (speech therapy, OT, etc.)

• Whether those services will be provided in person or virtually. If in person, what will transportation look like?

  Remember, you do not have to sign an IEP if you do not agree with it. Take your time to thoroughly review the IEP, and make sure there are no questions left unanswered before signing. For more guidance on reviewing your IEP before you sign it, check out our article entitled How to Review Your IEP Before Signing.

Once the IEP has been signed, the IEP team must implement it as soon as possible. Usually, there is an agreed start date, followed by a thirty-day IEP check-in to review how the plan is working and whether adjustments are needed.

If you and the IEP team don’t seem to agree on independent study as a placement option, you may want to speak to a special education attorney who can help advocate for your child. If this is unsuccessful, you may need to go to due process to settle the IEP dispute. To learn more about this, be sure to check out our article IEP Due Process 101: Background, Preparation, and How to Approach Disputes.

"One common misconception about independent study is that everything has to be online. While this is the reality for some students, it’s not always the case. As Dr. Pelangka mentions, “If your child can’t be successful virtually, then they can still receive in-person services, and a lot of parents aren’t really aware of that.”

In Hatfield’s experience, her daughter participates in a hybrid form of independent study, where she attends school in person for most of her classes while taking a PE class online.

Hybrid independent study programs blend independent study at home with on-campus learning and can look different for every student. For some, it could mean being on campus one day a week to check in with a teacher. For others, it could involve going to school in person for specific classes such as labs or electives while completing the rest of their coursework independently at home.

Some districts operate their own hybrid independent study programs, while others might partner (through the LEA) with a home-based charter program. Typically, the charter then becomes the student’s LEA and assumes responsibility for curricula, attendance, and — for students with IEPs — special education services. In these cases, these services are often provided through contracted local providers rather than on a school campus. This might mean speech therapy at a clinic, PE through a community-based provider, or services delivered at a library or other agreed-upon location.

Woodsmall touches more on home-based charter schools in this video.

Unlike with services delivered on a school campus, parents are usually responsible for transportation to and from in-person services — on top of ensuring that their child is completing the necessary assignments. This is an important factor to consider as a family when you are determining whether independent study is the right fit for your child. Scheduling can also be more complex when services are provided by multiple contracted providers.

Home hospital vs. independent study

While we’re talking about placement under IDEA, we need to explain how independent study is different from home hospital, as the two are commonly confused but are legally and practically very different.

For example, home hospital is legally recognized under IDEA as a temporary placement for students with medical or mental-health challenges that prevent them from accessing their education and attending school regularly. Home hospital typically requires medical documentation with specific instructions from the doctor to reduce instructional time — unlike independent study, which does not require medical documentation or medical or mental-health challenges.

Dr. Pelangka explains, “If a student is in the hospital for an extended period of time, the teacher and any service providers on the IEP can go to the hospital to provide instruction. Stamina is a major consideration — minutes are often significantly reduced because the student may not be able to tolerate longer sessions. They’re not going to receive six hours a day of instruction, and services are typically one on one rather than in a group setting.” In practice, this can also look like the school counting one day of attendance for one hour of schoolwork.

In this video, Dr. Pelangka clarifies more about home hospital vs. independent study.

Overall, independent study functions more like a location/instructional setting, not a proper IDEA placement where services and supports are automatically followed. Independent study is a voluntary decision (that can be made without the support of the IEP team) that removes a child from the general education setting and places them in a home-based learning environment. In the scenario where parents move the child into independent study without IEP approval, they forfeit their IEP services and support. Even if they do get IEP approval, the IEP team will need to make changes to the way services and supports are provided (we will touch more on this later).

All in all, even though IDEA does not formally recognize independent study as an official placement, the location of independent study being at home makes it one of the more restrictive options.

Homeschooling vs. independent study

Independent study can also sometimes be confused with homeschooling, based on the fact that they both take place at home. In California, homeschooling can look different. For instance, if a family files a Private School Affidavit (PSA), they are essentially establishing their own private school at home. In this case, the student forfeits public school services and IDEA protections. Families can also homeschool through a public charter program, where students remain enrolled in a public school and may still receive services through their IEP. However, this is still different from independent study as it’s structured to be fully at home. (You can learn more about both in our California Homeschooling 101 article.)

Unlike PSA homeschooling, independent study requires…

• Students to remain enrolled in a public school or charter school

• Curricula to be aligned with state standards and graduation requirements

• Instruction to be provided and overseen by credentialed teachers

• The continuation of special education services and protections under IDEA for students with IEPs

• Attendance, progress, and assessments to be monitored by the school or LEA

• The school to remain responsible for providing FAPE; public schools are required to provide a free, appropriate public education (FAPE) to all eligible students with disabilities in the least restrictive environment (LRE)

Ultimately, it is up to you and the IEP team to decide whether independent study is the best placement option for your child. Our experts encourage you and your IEP team to try every reasonable accommodation, modification, and placement before determining independent study is the best option for your child.

As you’ve learned by now, independent study may work best for some students and not for others. For any student with an IEP, the best placement is solely dependent on their needs and where they can best be supported.

In our experts’ experience, students who typically benefit from independent study are twice exceptional (or 2E) students who have strong academic skills and are able to work independently, but who have disabilities (such as anxiety, ADHD, autism, executive functioning challenges, an emotional disability, etc.) that impact their productivity or learning in a classroom setting.

Hatfield also shares that independent study can be a smart resolution when there’s an ongoing conflict between a student and a teacher. In her case, her daughter was struggling in a class with a challenging teacher, so they decided that completing the class online was a better fit to help avoid the unnecessary stress while also meeting the necessary graduation requirements.

In this video, Hatfield shares more about the pros and cons of independent study.

Independent study can also be a good fit for students with chronic or fatigue-related health conditions that make consistent in-person attendance difficult. In this situation, a hybrid independent study could be a great way to help your student still engage in meaningful instruction while prioritizing their physical needs.

Similarly, students who struggle with school refusal or mental health challenges such as anxiety, depression, or other mental/emotional challenges triggered by the school environment can potentially benefit from a shift (whether it’s temporary or permanent) to independent study.

However, Dr. Pelangka does warn families to be thoughtful when considering independent study for their child dealing with a mental health challenge (such as depression). She shares, “If a student is already withdrawing and then moves to learning at home without people really holding them accountable, I’ve seen that backfire.” For these students, it’s imperative that you are consulting with a mental health professional who can help guide you and your family toward the best decision for your child.

A common feature of students succeeding in independent study is that they are extremely self-motivated and are successfully learning the material on their own. This isn’t to say that students with more support needs can’t thrive in independent study. Rather, your IEP team will most likely want to add or change your child’s IEP supports and accommodations within their current placement before making the switch to independent study.

One of the most significant downsides to having students with disabilities receive their education through independent study is the loss of daily access to school-aged peers.

In Dr. Pelangka’s words, “You’re completely isolated — you’re at home — and the social component is just much more limited. I know families say, ‘Well, I can put them on a soccer team; I can enroll them in this and that,’ but at the end of the day, there’s just a lot more ongoing, continuous social exposure on a school campus than in an independent-study model. Even if you’re not socializing during unstructured time in a classroom, you’re still with peers — you’re whispering, talking, observing, and learning things.”

Another important consideration is the amount of preparation and effort that is required of your family. Woodsmall cautions that while independent study offers flexibility, parents need to think that for every hour of instruction, there could be three hours of preparation. Even with the school district providing the curricula and online instructions, parents still have to make sure that the material is new, engaging, individualized, and aligned to their child’s needs and goals — all while balancing work, caregiving, family responsibilities, and their own social life.

Independent study also does not have the same built-in breaks and supports that exist on a school campus, such as passing periods, lunch, and peer interaction. Without those natural structures, families will most likely need to create intentional opportunities for social engagement, which adds another layer of responsibility.

In this video, Woodsmall shares additional insights on what parents should consider when thinking about independent study as a placement option.

As you know by now, independent study can be a wonderful option for students who are self-motivated and who thrive online. Yet, there are added responsibilities and tradeoffs to consider when you’re looking to enroll your child into home-based instruction. Here are a few key takeaways to keep in mind when deciding whether it’s the right fit for your child.

Understand that services may look different

As Dr. Pelangka mentioned, most related services (such as speech therapy, occupational therapy (OT), and counseling) often continue in independent study. However, the IEP team will determine whether those services will be provided virtually or in person.

Changes in services/supports can look like:

• One-on-one aides, who are typically tied to a classroom environment, not carrying over in the same way when a student is learning from home

• Services that are highly environment-specific, such as certain physical therapy (PT) goals tied to navigating a school campus or playground, being reduced or removed if a student is no longer in an in-person classroom

• Social or speech goals needing to be reworked, potentially shifting to virtual groups or community-based settings rather than a traditional classroom model

  Since the learning environment changes with independent study, the IEP is legally bound to properly reflect and support these changes if independent placement is mutually agreed upon.

Expect a higher demand of parent involvement

Independent study is often described as student-led, but in practice, families play a significant role, especially for younger students or those with disabilities. Parents may need to:

• Help structure the school day

• Support engagement during virtual instruction

• Coordinate transportation to in-person services

• Monitor progress and follow up when things stall

  As Dr. Pelangka notes, even when services are provided, “The parent is responsible for getting the child to and from services and helping ensure they’re able to access instruction at home.”

Try all placement options before independent study

All of our experts stress how important it is to review the continuum of least restrictive environment (LRE) options before landing on independent study. This isn’t to say that independent study isn’t an appropriate choice — rather, it should be a deliberate choice, not a default or desperate one.

Dr. Pelangka dives even deeper in this video.

Assessments inform placement

If you believe independent study could benefit your child, come prepared with data (or come prepared to ask for it). As Woodsmall stresses, when considering other placement options, they should follow a clear order of operation: “It has to be assessments first, then goals, then accommodations — and only after that do you look at placement and services.”

This helps the IEP team evaluate whether independent study is truly the least restrictive environment for your child to be learning in.

Consider diagnostic placement

In some cases, families and districts may agree to try independent study on a short-term or diagnostic basis to gather data. This allows the child and the family to try out independent study without having to fully commit to it in the longer term.

Revisit and reevaluate

Independent study is not an “all or nothing” decision. If it’s not working, families can — and should — reconvene the IEP team to:

• Adjust supports

• Change service delivery

• Explore other placements

• Possibly plan a return to campus

  At the end of the day, independent study can be great for students with disabilities when their needs match what independent study can provide. Yet still, the most important takeaway for families navigating this decision is to carefully consider and collaborate with the IEP team to determine whether independent study is the appropriate placement for their child. Above all else, the right placement is the one that allows your child to access their education appropriately and meaningfully every day.