Home School Homepage | Contact Information

Assessment of Home School Students With Disabilities

Oregon State law provides that children with disabilities be evaluated for "satisfactory educational progress" according to the recommendations of an individualized education plan (IEP) or privately developed plan (PDP). 

To remain in compliance with home school laws, students must be assessed at the end of grades 3, 5, 8, and 10 by August 15th.   The same assessment schedule applies to disabled and non-disabled children.   Parents are free to teach their child at any grade level, however for assessment purposes the LBL will assign the student a grade level and assessment-due year calculated by the child’s chronological age, per OAR 581-021-0026(6).  If the LBL-assigned grade and assessment-due year do not correspond with your calculations, please feel free to contact us for clarification.

Under OAR 581-021-0029(b) "Child with a disability” means a child between the ages of 7 and 18 whose parent or guardian seeks exemption from compulsory school attendance under ORS 339.030(1)(c) or (1)(d) [registered for home school through ESD] and who meets eligibility criteria for a specific disability category under OAR 581-015-0051.    Therefore, if you believe that your child has a disability, and you want have your student assessed according to a current IEP or PDP in lieu of standardized testing, your child must have had an evaluation by his/her resident school and have a current Statement of Eligibility for special education.

Qualifying disabilities under OAR 581-015-0051 include:

• An autism spectrum disorder
• A communication disorder
• Deaf blindness
• An emotional disturbance
• A hearing impairment
• Mental retardation
• An orthopedic impairment
• An other health impairment
• A specific learning disability
• A traumatic brain injury
• A vision impairment

Children who have a mental or physical impairment, which substantially limits one or more major life activities, are considered disabled under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

If a student is found to have a disability by the resident public school, he may qualify for an IEP, a written, individualized education program, developed for the student by a special education team at the resident public school.  For students with a current IEP, parents may submit a report in lieu of standardized test scores.  This report consists of:

1. A current Statement of Eligibility for Special Education from student’s resident public school.  To maintain this the student must be reevaluated by the public school every 3 years. 
   
2. A statement that Student has a current IEP on file at the resident public school.
   
3. A statement signed by the student’s IEP team indicating whether or not the student has made satisfactory progress, appropriate to their age and disability.
   

Parents may choose to use the format of the LBL “Sample IEP Report Form” ( 82K).  If not, all the required elements must still be included in the report.

For parents who are not interested in receiving IEP services for their child through the resident public school, a privately developed plan (PDP) is an option for meeting the needs of their disabled student. State regulations define a PDP as “an individual plan developed by a team including the parent and one or more private service providers to address the educational needs of a child with a disability”.  OAR 581-021-0029(1)(d) The parent must choose one or more private service providers to address the educational needs of the child. The parent and private service provider(s) make up the student’s educational team.  This team must then create a PDP for the student.  Under state law, a PDP shall include individual educational goals for the student and a statement indicating how satisfactory educational progress will be determined for that student. “Satisfactory educational progress” means “educational progress across academic and/or developmental areas appropriate to the child’s age and abilities.” State regulations specify that the student does not have to meet all of the plan goals for the team to determine that the student is making satisfactory educational progress.  OAR 581-021-0029(1)(d) For students with a current PDP, parents may submit a report in lieu of standardized test scores.  This report consists of:

1. A current Statement of Eligibility for Special Education from student’s resident public school.  To maintain the student must be reevaluated by the public school every 3 years. 
   
2. A copy of individual educational goals for the student.  Educational goals are specific statements, written in measurable terms that describe what the student can reasonably accomplish academically and/or developmentally, in light of student’s age and abilities, in a school year ending August 15th.  There should be a direct relationship between the goal statements and the student’s present levels of educational performance.
   
3. A statement indicating how satisfactory educational progress has been determined for the student.  "Satisfactory educational progress" means educational progress across academic and/or developmental areas appropriate to the child's age and abilities. The student need not complete all individualized educational program or privately developed plan goals for the team to determine that the student is making satisfactory educational progress.
   
4. A statement signed by the student’s educational team indicating whether or not the student has made satisfactory progress, appropriate to their age and disability.
   

Parents may choose to use the format of the LBL “Sample PDP Report Form” ( 87K).  If not, all the required elements must still be included in the report.

It is the parent’s responsibility (not the other members of the student’s education team) to turn in the IEP/PDP report to LBL. Parents should keep a copy of all reports they turn in to LBL. 

If any sections of the report are incomplete or unclear to the LBL Home School Program staff, parents will be contacted and requested to provide further information.  The report will not be accepted until all required criteria are clearly met, in accordance with OAR 581-021-0029.

For more information about home schooling students with disabilities, please visit Oregon Department of Education’s website or call the LBL Home School Program.  If parents, education team members or home school community members have Special Education or IEP/PDP questions that cannot be answered by LBL Home School Program staff, their concerns will be forwarded to appropriate contacts at the Oregon Department of Education.

Legal Reference(s):
ORS 339.030
ORS 339.035(5)
OAR 581-015-0051
OAR 581-021-0026
OAR 581-021-0029