Private School Participants in Programs under the No Child Left Behind Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act: Private School and Public School District Perspectives

摘要

Public school districts are required to provide equitable services to eligible private school students through the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as reauthorized by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), reauthorized in 2004. Twelve major ESEA programs require public school districts to provide services and benefits to private school participants on an equitable basis. IDEA requires that public school districts conduct a child find process to locate students with disabilities enrolled by their parents in private schools, and to expend a proportionate amount of funding on special education and related services to such eligible children enrolled in private schools. Both ESEA and IDEA also require that public school districts engage in timely and meaningful consultation with private schools about the provision of services to private school students and their teachers and parents. This consultation must occur before any decision is made that impacts the opportunities for participation of private school students, teachers, and parents and throughout the design, development, implementation, and assessment of those services.1 This report describes participation of private school participants in federal education programs, the consultation process between private schools and public school districts, and public school district allocation of federal funds for services for private school participants. The results presented in this report are based on surveys conducted in 200506 among a nationally representative sample of public school districts with at least one private school located within their boundaries and a nationally representative sample of private schools located within the geographic boundaries of the sample districts.