NYC Schools

When families choose a private school education, many assume they are stepping completely outside the special education system. No IEPs. No district support. No legal protections.
But that assumption is only partially true, and misunderstanding the difference can cost families opportunities, services, and leverage they didn’t realize they had.
In a recent episode of Be Evolved, Mary Miele sat down with special education attorney Tracey Spencer Walsh, Esq., to unpack one of the most misunderstood realities in education: private school families do have rights. They just look very different from the rights public school families are used to hearing about.

Applying to private school? Your list matters more than you think.

Every family who walks into our office has a list. Sometimes it lives in a Google Doc. Sometimes it’s a mental note built up over years — names whispered at birthday parties, mentioned by a neighbor, pulled from a ranking found at one in the morning on a Tuesday. The list almost always looks reasonable. It has the schools everyone talks about, maybe a slightly safer option or two, and a sense of momentum behind it.

When it comes to choosing an education consultant, families have lots of options. Here are the differences and what questions to ask before hiring an education professional.