By Jean Murrell Adams, Esq.

Imagine this: your child is bright, eager to learn, and loves school—when they can get there and access the right services and supports. But due to a dual disability (deafness and blindness), certain medical needs, and anxiety, they struggle with getting on the school bus at home or refuse to get out of your car at school. Rather than helping your child overcome this challenge, the school district decides to pull them out of school completely and place them on “homebound instruction” with untrained teachers, reduced services, and little oversight.

That’s exactly what happened in a recent Nevada case, F.S. v. Clark County School District (June 15, 2025) argued by attorney Jennifer Ferris for ADAMS ESQ.  The Hearing Officer ruled that the school district denied F.S. his right to a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE).  F.S. is both deaf and blind and has physical challenges that impact his mobility.  He qualifies as a student with a “low-incidence” (rare) disability.  The Clark County School District has a low incidence department and special education law provides for additional funds to school districts to educate children with low-incidence disabilities as the costs can be higher.  F.S. made good progress in the classroom with these in-school supports.

🧭 What Went Wrong?

In short—just about everything:

✅ No Real Plan: Instead of addressing F.S.’s anxiety with a behavior intervention plan (as required by law), the district simply gave up and sent him home.

✅ Unqualified Teachers: Unlike school-based instructors, the teachers assigned to work with F.S. at home had no training in working with children who are deaf, blind or both.

✅ Missing Services: IEP-mandated services like occupational therapy, physical therapy, and mobility training were delayed or simply ignored.

✅ Parents Left in the Dark: F.S.’s mom argued that the school didn’t properly inform the family about the change in placement or involve them in meaningful decision-making.

✅ Reduced Learning Time: The homebound program (generally a non-special education option) slashed instruction time, limiting learning opportunities, the ability to make school pals and preventing meaningful educational progress.

🛑 Why It Matters

In Nevada, when schools label a child as “too hard to serve,” they may place that child on homebound instruction—often without offering alternatives.  (In California, parents have more rights to challenge this “take it or leave it” approach.)

But homebound isn’t a solution. It’s a last resort and is rarely appropriate. For students with disabilities—especially those who are deafblind—homebound can rob them of their education and post-school adult independence.

💡 What You Can Do

If your child is missing school due to behavior, anxiety, medical needs or safety concerns:

• Ask for a Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA)and a behavior intervention plan (BIP) if warranted.
• Don’t sign an IEP without fully understanding it—especially if it includes homebound instruction.  Document your concerns respectfully but firmly.
• Insist on trained staffwho understand your child’s needs (e.g., tactile ASL, braille, mobility support).  Ask for credentials and check them on your state’s credentialing websites.
• Request compensatory educationif services weren’t delivered.  Keep a log of dates and times of missed services.
• Reach out to a special education attorney—especially if your district seems to be pushing your child out of school or is failing to ensure your child’s safety at school.