Do Ohio SDs pay for additional year of special-ed pre-K if you hold back?

[Guest guest]

Hi there,

Can anyone tell me if a school district is required by law to

allow/provide your child another year of special-ed preschool if you

decide you don't want your child to transition to kindergarten at age

5? I know some states don't require them to provide another year of

intervention preschool but other states do. What about Ohio? Or is it

the district's decision? My 4 1/2 -year-old son currently attends

special-ed preschool at our local district's elementary school and I am

thinking I might like to hold him back a year and not start

kindergarten until age 6 but I am not sure and I would rather not ask

the school at this point. Thanks for any info you can provide or if you

can point me to some website that might tell me!

[Guest guest]

My SD asked me what I wanted to do. My daughter did 3 years of pre-school. You can also choose to do 2 yrs of preschool and 2 yrs of kindergarten. If you want to know any specifics, I can find out. I work as an aide in a special ed preschool.

From: ajaymcp2000 <jaelmck-craigslist@...>Subject: [ ] Do Ohio SDs pay for additional year of special-ed pre-K if you hold back? Date: Thursday, December 4, 2008, 2:05 PM

Hi there, Can anyone tell me if a school district is required by law to allow/provide your child another year of special-ed preschool if you decide you don't want your child to transition to kindergarten at age 5? I know some states don't require them to provide another year of intervention preschool but other states do. What about Ohio? Or is it the district's decision? My 4 1/2 -year-old son currently attends special-ed preschool at our local district's elementary school and I am thinking I might like to hold him back a year and not start kindergarten until age 6 but I am not sure and I would rather not ask the school at this point. Thanks for any info you can provide or if you can point me to some website that might tell me!

[Guest guest]

Hi , It's great to hear that they asked you your preference. I

got the feeling that I would be told what to do. They sort of

said, " Since he'll be going to kindergarten next year we will need to

have a transition meeting in the next couple of months... " It would

be great to know more, if you have the time. I would really

appreciate it. I love the local school's special ed pre-K; I think he

might benefit from another year.....but I am not sure at this point.

Also: If you, or anyone else out there, is willing to share their

decision making process with recpect to transition to K at 5 vs 6, I

would love to hear it. Is it common? I feel like I should be

confident in knowing what is best for him, but I really don't. I sort

of feel like I am guessing most of the time. Thanks!!

Janice

>

> From: ajaymcp2000 <jaelmck-craigslist@...>

> Subject: [ ] Do Ohio SDs pay for additional year of special-

ed pre-K if you hold back?

>

> Date: Thursday, December 4, 2008, 2:05 PM

>

>

>

>

>

>

> Hi there,

> Can anyone tell me if a school district is required by law to

> allow/provide your child another year of special-ed preschool if

you

> decide you don't want your child to transition to kindergarten at

age

> 5? I know some states don't require them to provide another year of

> intervention preschool but other states do. What about Ohio? Or is

it

> the district's decision? My 4 1/2 -year-old son currently attends

> special-ed preschool at our local district's elementary school and

I am

> thinking I might like to hold him back a year and not start

> kindergarten until age 6 but I am not sure and I would rather not

ask

> the school at this point. Thanks for any info you can provide or if

you

> can point me to some website that might tell me!

>

[Guest guest]

Janice,

Have they asked you to sign paperwork for them to do an MFE? Our

district only provides preschool services to those children that

still qualify for services. The children that don't qualify for the

third year usually opt for a private preschool the third year and

then go on to Kindergarten. It really depends on your child whether

you think he is ready for Kindergarten. If he doesn't qualify for

the third year of the special needs preschool doesn't necessarily

equate to him being ready for Kindergarten or more importantly, 2nd

grade in 3 years. A lot of children are ready for Kindergarten, but

once they hit 2nd grade, parents have regrets that they didn't have

their child do one more year of preschool.

Colleen

> >

> > From: ajaymcp2000 <jaelmck-craigslist@>

> > Subject: [ ] Do Ohio SDs pay for additional year of

special-

> ed pre-K if you hold back?

> >

> > Date: Thursday, December 4, 2008, 2:05 PM

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> > Hi there,

> > Can anyone tell me if a school district is required by law to

> > allow/provide your child another year of special-ed preschool if

> you

> > decide you don't want your child to transition to kindergarten

at

> age

> > 5? I know some states don't require them to provide another year

of

> > intervention preschool but other states do. What about Ohio? Or

is

> it

> > the district's decision? My 4 1/2 -year-old son currently

attends

> > special-ed preschool at our local district's elementary school

and

> I am

> > thinking I might like to hold him back a year and not start

> > kindergarten until age 6 but I am not sure and I would rather

not

> ask

> > the school at this point. Thanks for any info you can provide or

if

> you

> > can point me to some website that might tell me!

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Colleen,

Thanks for yor answer; it was extremely helpful. No, nobody at his

school has mentioned an MFE or even the idea of holding him back.

Just to confirm I understand you correctly: My son may or may not

qualify for a 3rd year of preschool (depending on what an MFE says),

and if he does not qualify according to the MFE and I still feel that

he is not ready I may have to place him outside the school district

paying for all services out of pocket. In other words, so even though

when he moves on to kindergarten he will still have an IEP, OT,

Speech etc., the school's MFE can say in effect " he doesn't need a

3rd year of special-ed Pre-K, so if you want to continue getting

services from us next year, you must put him in Kindergarten.

Otherwise next year you have to get your own school, OT, SLP, etc. " I

sort of understand the logic as difficult as it is for us. Every

other parent gets to decide if their child goes at 5 or 6, but it

seems we don't have that choice unless we want to forsake all

services. Do you happen to know if each district has a different

policy on this (i.e. policy is not dictated by state law)?

I think you are right about being ready for K doesn't mean he won't

fall behind very quickly. When you say that many parents opt for a

private preschool, does that mean an autism school or just a regular

preschool, or does it depend on what is available and what they can

afford (since the " no 3rd year " from the MFE would prevent you from

getting the scholarship, I presume). I am not sure we can afford a

private autism school without the scholarship and I am not sure it

would be good to leave him on his own in a regular school with no

services for a whole year. But like you say, maybe it would be better

than moving him forward when he isn't really ready? Thanks so much,

Janice

> > >

> > > From: ajaymcp2000 <jaelmck-craigslist@>

> > > Subject: [ ] Do Ohio SDs pay for additional year of

> special-

> > ed pre-K if you hold back?

> > >

> > > Date: Thursday, December 4, 2008, 2:05 PM

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > > Hi there,

> > > Can anyone tell me if a school district is required by law to

> > > allow/provide your child another year of special-ed preschool

if

> > you

> > > decide you don't want your child to transition to kindergarten

> at

> > age

> > > 5? I know some states don't require them to provide another

year

> of

> > > intervention preschool but other states do. What about Ohio? Or

> is

> > it

> > > the district's decision? My 4 1/2 -year-old son currently

> attends

> > > special-ed preschool at our local district's elementary school

> and

> > I am

> > > thinking I might like to hold him back a year and not start

> > > kindergarten until age 6 but I am not sure and I would rather

> not

> > ask

> > > the school at this point. Thanks for any info you can provide

or

> if

> > you

> > > can point me to some website that might tell me!

> > >

> >

>