A private school is a private business or nonprofit that provides educational instruction for students at the elementary, middle, or high school level. Private schools tend to operate independently, beyond the jurisdiction of the California Department of Education (CDE) and most state regulations. Meaning, these types of schools make and play by their own set of rules, regulations, and curricula.
There are two possible methods for private school placement: 1) parents independently place their child in a private school (parentally placed), or 2) placement by the school district at a non-public school (NPS), which is a specialized private school that is contracted by a public school and certified to provide special education for students with disabilities. While this article will mainly focus on parentally placed private schools, you can learn more about NPS in our article Non-Public School (NPS) 101.
Each private school presents unique offerings, so it's important to have a clear understanding of what you do or don’t desire from your child's educational institution. This begins with grasping the various types of private schools available. Here's a brief list of the different types of private schools.
Parents or guardians have the authority to place their children in a private school without needing approval from their school district. However, if your child requires additional educational support, this decision isn’t as easy as it may seem, mainly because private schools that aren’t receiving government funding aren't obligated to accept children with disabilities or offer them special education services. In fact, Bryan Winn emphasizes that private schools can outright deny enrollment to your child or decline to offer special education services. Private schools are required only to provide reasonable accommodations under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). However, the private school has the discretion to determine what is and is not reasonable.
In this video clip, special education attorney Bryan Winn expands on the obligations (or lack thereof) that private schools have in providing special education services.
If you decide to place your child in a private school, you will have to navigate the search without help from your child's IEP team, but don’t be discouraged! Using the online School Directory through the CDE is a great way to start finding schools in your area. You can filter for private schools local to you. The list of schools contains essential information such as available private schools in your county, contact information, education program type, and more. You can also explore our picks of the 10 Most Sought-After Private Schools in the US for Kids with Disabilities.
Think about the supports and services your child with a disability might need from a private school. It’s important to ask the right questions to assess whether the school can provide what your child needs or whether it’s not the right fit. You can gather valuable information, but it’s also important to recognize that even when you ask all of the right questions, there is no guarantee that your child will receive everything they need (even if the school tells you otherwise). However, by advocating and actively engaging with the school, you're taking important steps towards ensuring your child's success and well-being.
Questions to ask when touring a private school:
If you're thinking about sending your child to a private school, you might be asking yourself, "Do I have to pay for it all?" For many parents in this situation, the decision to send a child to public school or opt into a private school can come down to cost. The reality is, once your child gets accepted into your preferred private school, the responsibility of paying for your child’s education falls on you.
The cost of private school
Unless your child’s private school education is getting paid for by the public school system, you will have to pay for their education out of pocket. In California, the yearly tuition for private school ranges anywhere from $35,798–$90,842. Keep in mind that this total excludes the additional costs of transportation, materials, aides, therapies, etc. For children with disabilities, the average tuition can be around $56,000, depending on the additional services they may need. For many families, tuition can be a significant financial burden. Make sure to check whether your desired private school offers financial aid, such as grants and scholarships, which can potentially help offset some of the cost.
If you’re on the hunt for something a bit more tailored to your family, reach out to learn how you can get our custom research report on grants and scholarships as an Undivided member!
You could potentially receive payment or reimbursement for the cost of your child’s private school tuition from your public school district, but this happens only in very rare cases. Firstly, the IEP team must have explored all alternative options and concluded that a private school environment is the most suitable placement for your child. Secondly, parents may subsequently seek tuition reimbursement through a due process hearing.
However, parents must take some steps when seeking tuition reimbursement. First, parents must tell their IEP team at an IEP meeting that they are rejecting the proposed IEP, and why, and that they intend to enroll their child in a private school at public expense. Bryan Winn recommends giving a 10-day written notice to your child’s IEP team before pulling your child out of their public school.
Forgetting this step could up the odds of reimbursement being denied, and the district school can deny funding if you don’t share your concerns or intent to pull your child out of public school in advance. You can then file for due process. A due process hearing will be held to decide whether the school district should pay for your child’s private school education. The district may agree to fund a private service in a settlement agreement at mediation or prior to the due process hearing. Or, if the family prevails at the hearing, the judge could order the district to reimburse the parent for a private service.
Check out the video clip below, where Winn shares some helpful tips on what to do when seeking reimbursement (and about annual IEPs).
For further insights on seeking reimbursement, explore our article Seeking District Reimbursement for Private Services.
Realistically, the likelihood of the IEP team voluntarily placing your child in a private school (without the need for due process) is incredibly unlikely. Public schools are often cautious about their spending and prefer to defer major decisions, such as sending a child to a private school, to the courts. This decision-making process can be lengthy, which is why many parents opt to parentally place their child and seek reimbursement through due process later on. By parentally placing your child, you can skip the uncertainty of waiting for the IEP team or the courts to decide whether they'll place your child in a private school. Unfortunately, even if you are seeking reimbursement, there's no guarantee you’ll receive full, partial, or any reimbursement at all. Meaning, in the end, you may have to cover the cost of your child’s education yourself.
Additionally, there are other valid reasons why you and your family may want to seek tuition reimbursement from the school district:
The list above highlights just a few reasons why parents may choose to seek reimbursement. It's important to remember that when choosing a private school placement, parents must select a school that addresses the specific issue for which they are seeking remedy. For instance, if the case involved a due process dispute over inclusion, the placement must be inclusive.
Parents who opt to send their child to private school might wonder whether their child will still have an IEP or how their child will receive the necessary support and services. The absence of federal funding means private schools don’t have to provide free appropriate public education (FAPE) or an individualized education plan (IEP). Typically, an IEP and all its services are available only if a public school places your child in a private school as part of their IEP. In this case, your district of residence (the district you live in) bears the responsibility for ensuring that your child’s IEP is being implemented accordingly.
If you choose to parentally place your child in a private school, the school isn't required to follow your child’s IEP or provide any special education services beyond reasonable accommodations. However, it's important to note that even if your child attends a private school, their IEP remains intact, just not implemented. For parentally placed students who are transitioning from a public school to a private school within their public school’s district, education advocate Cherie Dorreen emphasizes that your district of residence is still responsible for conducting an annual IEP and triennial assessments. If your child is attending a private school in a district other than their district of residence, then the district where the private school is located is responsible for managing the IEP through an individualized service plan. Often, they'll evaluate your child's progress and then recommend placement options at a district school. Dorreen strongly advises parents to consent to these assessments, as they report on your child's progress at their private school. These assessments are a great way to make sure that your child is staying on track and hasn’t fallen behind in their private schooling.
Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), private schools are obligated to provide only reasonable accommodations, modifications, and access to educational services. Yet, that doesn't mean private schools can't offer more if they have the right credentials and state accreditation to support the needs of your child. In private school, a student eligible for services under IDEA is not served through an IEP but a service plan for “equitable services.” Usually, though, ISPs aren't handled by the private school but by their local education agency (LEA) through Child Find, a process in which the school district is responsible for identifying eligible parentally placed private school children who are in need of special education services. For instance, if your child is starting school for the first time without an existing IEP or service plan, or is currently enrolled in a private school and has recently been identified as needing special education services, they will be set up with an Individualized Service Plan (ISP) through Child Find. Upon parental consent, the LEA is obligated to locate, identify, evaluate, and spend a proportionate share of IDEA funds for equitable services (i.e., a service plan) for parentally placed children.
The Child Find process makes it so that students with disabilities have access to necessary services, but not all services that would be offered through a public school district. Under IDEA, local education agencies (LEAs) have funding set aside for special education services (equitable services) for students with disabilities whose parents choose to send them to private school. In some cases, private schools may provide extra services like an individualized service plan (ISP) or an instructional service plan for kids with disabilities. However, depending on funding, the LEA may not be able to provide all of the necessary services that a public school would. Ultimately, parents or guardians must decide whether the services offered by the LEA will suffice if the private school does not provide any or the appropriate amount of special education services.
Even with an ISP, your child may not be able to receive the same services as they would in a public school. Here's a breakdown to help you understand what exactly an individualized service plan involves, with a focus on what it doesn't include:
These are just a few ways in which ISPs differ from the services offered by public schools. Again, private schools don’t have to provide any special education services beyond reasonable accommodations. So, when picking a private school, make sure that it can properly support all of your child’s needs.
Private schools have the freedom to provide and set their own diploma criteria since they're not governed by the CDE. This ultimately means that unless a private school is accredited (which is very rare), they lack the authority to grant diplomas widely accepted by colleges, employers, the military, and other institutions. For kids with disabilities, it’s important to see whether your private school will even offer the necessary support for your child to obtain a diploma.
Regardless, every private school student gets a chance for their diploma to be recognized by the CDE. But here's the catch: it depends on whether they pass either the California Proficiency Program or the High School Equivalency Test. So, if your child doesn't pass these exams, their private school diploma might not be widely accepted.
Ultimately, while the process of finding the right school for your child with disabilities can feel as challenging as climbing Mt. Everest, having the information you need will hopefully help lead you to a school that meets your child’s needs. In truth, a private school placement may not be the best fit to properly support a child with certain disabilities. We spoke with Adriana Roze, Undivided’s research team lead and parent, who shared that when considering private schools, extensive research is necessary to ensure the right fit. Understanding the tone and policies of the administration is important to ascertain whether the private school can effectively support your child’s needs. Every now and then, you stumble upon exceptional schools that wholeheartedly embrace diverse abilities in their classrooms, paving the way for remarkable success stories among students.
On the flip side, there are schools with entirely different approaches. Some may promise to support your child but fail to deliver, while others may outright deny them the support they need or enrollment altogether. Ultimately, your child’s success depends on factors such as the teacher, the administration, and the school’s ability to meet your child’s needs. Doing the research, connecting with families at the school, and asking your desired private schools the right questions is a great way to be proactive when selecting your child’s future private school.
Remember, you’re not alone in this journey! If you need additional support, feel free to connect with an Undivided Navigator. Private schools are just one of the many options for your child with a disability, and examining all your options is a great way to make sure you’re picking the right school (or identifying which ones to avoid).
