From Indiana Education Scholarship Account Program
"The Indiana Education Scholarship Account (ESA) Program has created a process to allow families who are in the process of requesting an evaluation for an IEP or other special education eligibility document to apply for an ESA pending the creation of this document. Indiana law requires that an Eligible Student must have a valid individualized education program (IEP), a Service Plan, or a choice special education plan (CSEP) developed before they can become eligible to participate in the ESA Program. We understand that it may be difficult or impossible for students who have never received one of these required documents or those with expired documentation to obtain an updated version of the required documentation before the application deadline of August 16, 2022.
In an attempt to alleviate these time constraints, we will allow students who would otherwise be eligible to apply for the ESA Program as long as they have taken the necessary steps outlined below to receive an IEP for this school year prior to the application deadline.
In order to apply for an Indiana ESA scholarship for the 2022-23 school year, a parent/guardian must take the following steps:
1. Complete the application process and submit all required documentation verifying the student’s eligibility.
2. Contact the student’s local public school and request an evaluation.
3. The student’s local public school must either accept or reject the evaluation request within ten (10) instructional days.
4. If the local public school accepts the referral, they will send a Notice of Initial Evaluation to the parent/guardian for signature, indicating the parent/guardian’s consent to evaluate the student. The Notice of Initial Evaluation must be sent back to the local public school with the parent/guardian signature before the school can proceed with the evaluation.
5. A parent/guardian must notify an ESA Account Specialist through email (esa@tos.in.gov) once the Notice of Initial Evaluation is signed. The ESA Account Specialist will unlock the student’s account so that the Notice of Initial Evaluation may be uploaded to the ESA portal. A parent/guardian will be required to indicate an expiration date for this notice. Please select November 18, 2022, or earlier as the expiration of this consent document.
NOTE: THIS EVALUATION NOTICE MUST BE UPLOADED INTO THE STUDENT’S ACCOUNT BY AUGUST 16, 2022.
6. Within fifty (50) instructional days, the school will conduct the evaluation and convene a case conference committee (CCC). Decisions of eligibility and services for the student will be determined by the case conference committee.
7. Once the evaluation is completed, the CCC will develop an IEP and provide the parent/guardian with an offer of Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). In order to be ESA eligible, parent/guardian must refuse FAPE but will receive the IEP document which was created.
NOTE: This IEP document will NOT be implemented by the local public-school corporation if refused by the parent/guardian. The parent/guardian takes sole responsibility for the special education provided to their student.
8. Finally, the parent/guardian must notify an ESA Account Specialist through email (esa@tos.in.gov) once this new IEP is received. The Account Specialist will unlock the student’s account and the parent/guardian must upload the document into the student’s account portal, indicating the expiration date of the IEP which is located at the top of the first page of the IEP. At this time, the account will become approved if it meets all of the other program requirements, and the scholarship amount will be determined at that point. An Eligible Student will be entitled to his/her full grant amount for the school year if his/her account is approved.
IMPORTANT: Students seeking to have their ESA application status deferred until the new or updated IEP is created may NOT participate in the Indiana Choice Scholarship Program or attend a public/charter school for the same school year. Also, while following this process may allow the student to become eligible, ESA funds are limited and allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, and therefore, there is no guarantee that the student will receive ESA funds until the final award is determined."
Comments