Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Out of school options?

Good morning! I am new to the boards. my DS is 12 and went to private school through 4th grade until werealized they would not accomodate his giftedness. We then transfered him to public school but he was bullied for being a private school kid that didn't curse etc. We knew public middle school would be a nightmare so we put him in Charter. What a mistake! After almost completing his second year there, he has been bullied by a teacher (which they will not address), they will not complete the IEP I requested in December and in fact lost most of the pages of the private psychosocial I got done to expedite the process. They repeatedly violate IDEA and 504 and the public school system will not get involved because it's a charter school. I was told to find an attorney but I am also told there is no such thing as an "education attorney". I own my own business and DS is very social. I do not think homeschooling would be good for him. I found one option. A private school in the area that specializes in gifted children.. 20K a year!!!! Advice??? Please??

1) The private school may have scholarship funds.
2) The middleschool may not as bad as anticipated
3) Homeschooling may be more socially enriching than you think.

Look for outside scholarship sources.
Keep trying new school situations until you find one that works sort of. Your goal isn't to find the best but to find the 'least bad' option.

Best wishes
Grinity

BTW. Their certainly are attornies who are skilled at education law. Just be crystal clear what your goals are. You can have all the IEPs in place and still get a teacher who won't read them. Can you keep your child away from that particular teacher next year?

You may want to check out this website for the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates. It is a non-profit that specializes in special ed rights and advocacy. They may have some references for attorneys in your area.
http://www.copaa.org/

What about homeschooling middle school and then enrolling him in FAU's dual enrollment HS? I have a friend with a HG-PG child who is doing that program next year. I'll let you know what they think after they've had some time in the program, if you want.

http://www.fauhigh.fau.edu/