Can you ask that a child be exempt from homework?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would think most 4th grade teachers, when presented with all of that, would be just fine with your daughter not doing homework. Just talk to the teacher and let her know your plans and rationale.
And who cares if it effects her grades? It's 4th grade. She won't need to submit her elementary school grades on her Harvard application.
But if you really wanted to be "offiical" you could probably get it included in her 504 or IEP (I assume she has one or the other for ADHD - if not, that's the first step)

She doesn't have an IEP or 504, her grades are too good, but only because I work with her at home so much. It seems like a double-edged sword. She can only qualify for a 504 if her grades are bad, but if I work with her to make sure they're not, she doesn't qualify.

Why don't you post this question on the special needs forum? Folks there might have some advice, especially about getting a 504 even when grades are fine. People do it. It does sound to me like your kid might have dyslexia and ADHD (they go together very frequently) and so she might need some understanding and accomodation from her teacher, especially when you are working so hard to get your kid what she needs! Good luck, OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would think most 4th grade teachers, when presented with all of that, would be just fine with your daughter not doing homework. Just talk to the teacher and let her know your plans and rationale.
And who cares if it effects her grades? It's 4th grade. She won't need to submit her elementary school grades on her Harvard application.
But if you really wanted to be "offiical" you could probably get it included in her 504 or IEP (I assume she has one or the other for ADHD - if not, that's the first step)

She doesn't have an IEP or 504, her grades are too good, but only because I work with her at home so much. It seems like a double-edged sword. She can only qualify for a 504 if her grades are bad, but if I work with her to make sure they're not, she doesn't qualify.

Why don't you post this question on the special needs forum? Folks there might have some advice, especially about getting a 504 even when grades are fine. People do it. It does sound to me like your kid might have dyslexia and ADHD (they go together very frequently) and so she might need some understanding and accomodation from her teacher, especially when you are working so hard to get your kid what she needs! Good luck, OP.

I have asked questions on that board about qualifying for a 504, but what I'm really curious about is if a parent has a right to say no to homework, and if anyone has heard of this being done before.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would think most 4th grade teachers, when presented with all of that, would be just fine with your daughter not doing homework. Just talk to the teacher and let her know your plans and rationale.
And who cares if it effects her grades? It's 4th grade. She won't need to submit her elementary school grades on her Harvard application.
But if you really wanted to be "offiical" you could probably get it included in her 504 or IEP (I assume she has one or the other for ADHD - if not, that's the first step)

She doesn't have an IEP or 504, her grades are too good, but only because I work with her at home so much. It seems like a double-edged sword. She can only qualify for a 504 if her grades are bad, but if I work with her to make sure they're not, she doesn't qualify.

Why don't you post this question on the special needs forum? Folks there might have some advice, especially about getting a 504 even when grades are fine. People do it. It does sound to me like your kid might have dyslexia and ADHD (they go together very frequently) and so she might need some understanding and accomodation from her teacher, especially when you are working so hard to get your kid what she needs! Good luck, OP.

I have asked questions on that board about qualifying for a 504, but what I'm really curious about is if a parent has a right to say no to homework, and if anyone has heard of this being done before.

Eta. Even if it turns out she's not special needs, I would still rather supplement her after school my own way, instead of doing homework.

[Anonymous]

What's more typical for children with a 504 or an IEP in the later years is to get modified homework -- e.g. do every other math problem instead of the entire set.

It really needs to be tailored to each child's specifics but OP you should pull back now so that hte school will see the issues more clearly.

The suggestion to limit how much time you spend on it (30 minutes or an hour) is good. Then SAVE copies of that work, and include it in a written request for an IEP.

You should also provide the information documenting her ADHD diagnosis. She may be doing well enough that the IEP isn't needed - but asking for that (instead of for a 504) and showing that without supports she can't do the work independently -- is essential.

You definitely want to have this in place before middle school.

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What's more typical for children with a 504 or an IEP in the later years is to get modified homework -- e.g. do every other math problem instead of the entire set.

It really needs to be tailored to each child's specifics but OP you should pull back now so that hte school will see the issues more clearly.

The suggestion to limit how much time you spend on it (30 minutes or an hour) is good. Then SAVE copies of that work, and include it in a written request for an IEP.

You should also provide the information documenting her ADHD diagnosis. She may be doing well enough that the IEP isn't needed - but asking for that (instead of for a 504) and showing that without supports she can't do the work independently -- is essential.

You definitely want to have this in place before middle school.

Good luck.

Teh reason you ask for an IEP not a 504 is that it comes with strict time tables for the school to convene and discuss the request with you. 504s are can be a much looser process.

[Anonymous]

4th and 5th grade are pretty important transitional years in school. You are no longer the "babies" and you are getting ready for middle school. When I was in 4th grade 25 years ago, I easily had 2-3 hours of homework per night. I think it's crazy for parents to think their kids should have no homework! You will be hurting your kids for when they transition to middle school and high-school.

[Anonymous]

You're not just asking about HW. Seems you want to replace (at least) the math and spelling programs. If it's just the HW, sure, skip it. If it lowers the grade, so be it. It's elementary school. But you seem to want different math and want your own spelling words. Then what do you want your kid to do during the first 15 minutes of math every day (when my 4th grader goes over the HW with his class)? And what about during spelling drills or spelling tests when your kid has different words? You should think through what it is you need and want.
And, you're wrong when you say "grades are too good for 504".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You're not just asking about HW. Seems you want to replace (at least) the math and spelling programs. If it's just the HW, sure, skip it. If it lowers the grade, so be it. It's elementary school. But you seem to want different math and want your own spelling words. Then what do you want your kid to do during the first 15 minutes of math every day (when my 4th grader goes over the HW with his class)? And what about during spelling drills or spelling tests when your kid has different words? You should think through what it is you need and want.
And, you're wrong when you say "grades are too good for 504".

I would still expect her to do the math that they are learning at school, I would just rather give her my "own" homework, than what the teacher gives. With spelling, truthfully, I would like to opt her out of the spelling tests. Her spelling is poor and I would like to start her on an adaptive spelling program at home that is designed to fill in her needs I feel this would be much more beneficial than the time she spends on words for a quiz that are too hard for her (although she earns A's on the quizzes because of time spent drilling) It's just frustrating to spend time on homework that I feel isn't as beneficial as what I would give her myself. Again, this is NOT an approach I would expect to be able to take in middle school.

[Anonymous]

I think socially it's not a good idea, and my dd has ADHD. How would your dd feel to be sitting there during spelling tests or spelling practice when everyone else is doing one thing, and she's doing another. Unless you get pull outs, I don't think it's a good idea. I know my dd wouldn't like to be in that position at school. My dd is also in 4th grade, and this is the grade where the teachers are really emphasizing to the students to take responsibility for their own homework, and I am very proud in how my dd has stepped up in this regard. She even does quite a bit of her homework in afternoon SACC when she would never have done that last year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think socially it's not a good idea, and my dd has ADHD. How would your dd feel to be sitting there during spelling tests or spelling practice when everyone else is doing one thing, and she's doing another. Unless you get pull outs, I don't think it's a good idea. I know my dd wouldn't like to be in that position at school. My dd is also in 4th grade, and this is the grade where the teachers are really emphasizing to the students to take responsibility for their own homework, and I am very proud in how my dd has stepped up in this regard. She even does quite a bit of her homework in afternoon SACC when she would never have done that last year.

They don't practice the spelling at school, and even if they did, I wouldn't mind her practicing them. She could even still take the spelling quiz along with the rest of the class, I just don't want the grade held against her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Before everyone starts attacking me, let me explain the situation. My daughter who is in 4th grade has adhd. She is above grade level in reading and makes good grades, but only because I spend A LOT of time supplementing her at home. She has issues with spelling and math that need to be remediated. This year, she is given a weekly spelling test, which we spend a great deal of time studying for, but honestly the word patterns don't make a lot of sense and I would rather, put her on another spelling program that would help her with basics she doesn't have. She is also required to spend four nights a week on a math website, which is a decent website, but personally I have found ways of supplementing her that are even better. She has one more year before she starts middle school, and I have seriously considered homeschooling her next year, except I do feel that she benefits from going to school.
I have absolutely no intention of making this request once she hits middle school, basically I feel that at this age, she benefits more from being supplemented by me, than from doing the homework her teacher assigns, and before I decide to take her out school, I want to know if this is even an option.

It's surprising how spelling and math are the hardest things your child is doing. These are usually the easiest and require little planning which is something ADHD kids have difficulty with. My fourth grader has long projects, long reading comprehension and writing assignments. Those are harder. Spelling lists. Not so much. In fact, they just do vocab in 4th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think socially it's not a good idea, and my dd has ADHD. How would your dd feel to be sitting there during spelling tests or spelling practice when everyone else is doing one thing, and she's doing another. Unless you get pull outs, I don't think it's a good idea. I know my dd wouldn't like to be in that position at school. My dd is also in 4th grade, and this is the grade where the teachers are really emphasizing to the students to take responsibility for their own homework, and I am very proud in how my dd has stepped up in this regard. She even does quite a bit of her homework in afternoon SACC when she would never have done that last year.

They don't practice the spelling at school, and even if they did, I wouldn't mind her practicing them. She could even still take the spelling quiz along with the rest of the class, I just don't want the grade held against her.

Basically, I don't mind her being exposed to that material at school, I just don't want to have to spend 20 minutes a day to study words for a spelling quiz, that she will never remember. I would have her spend that time at home working on a spelling program that is useful for her. I wouldn't expect the teacher to do anything different with her, other than to not grade her spelling tests.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Before everyone starts attacking me, let me explain the situation. My daughter who is in 4th grade has adhd. She is above grade level in reading and makes good grades, but only because I spend A LOT of time supplementing her at home. She has issues with spelling and math that need to be remediated. This year, she is given a weekly spelling test, which we spend a great deal of time studying for, but honestly the word patterns don't make a lot of sense and I would rather, put her on another spelling program that would help her with basics she doesn't have. She is also required to spend four nights a week on a math website, which is a decent website, but personally I have found ways of supplementing her that are even better. She has one more year before she starts middle school, and I have seriously considered homeschooling her next year, except I do feel that she benefits from going to school.
I have absolutely no intention of making this request once she hits middle school, basically I feel that at this age, she benefits more from being supplemented by me, than from doing the homework her teacher assigns, and before I decide to take her out school, I want to know if this is even an option.

It's surprising how spelling and math are the hardest things your child is doing. These are usually the easiest and require little planning which is something ADHD kids have difficulty with. My fourth grader has long projects, long reading comprehension and writing assignments. Those are harder. Spelling lists. Not so much. In fact, they just do vocab in 4th.

She also has tests to study for (which take a lot of time and I need to help her with) and she is required to work to do nightly work on a math website, and I personally would rather have her use a different program (but work on the same skills). Basically, I want to know if parents of elementary school age children have the right to say no to the school about homework (without repercussions) for whatever reason they see fit. In my case, it's because I feel the supplementation I give her is more beneficial than the homework she is assigned, and I don't want to have her do both.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would think most 4th grade teachers, when presented with all of that, would be just fine with your daughter not doing homework. Just talk to the teacher and let her know your plans and rationale.
And who cares if it effects her grades? It's 4th grade. She won't need to submit her elementary school grades on her Harvard application.
But if you really wanted to be "offiical" you could probably get it included in her 504 or IEP (I assume she has one or the other for ADHD - if not, that's the first step)

+1. And, even if the grades are good, that does not affect her entitlement to a 504. (They use that excuse for the IEP, but the 504 is different.) I got modified assignments for my child on his 504. I didn't even bother getting a modification for his homework -- we just basically don't do most of it. It takes all of our energy and time in the evenings to do the basics of daily living, so I can't get into a big fight about him doing some worksheet every night. He knows if he does it, he gets screen time. But he'd rather just not do it, and not have any screentime.
I think I would only care about the grades if you're thinking about applying to private.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh, and I didn't ask. I informed them.

Tell me how you did this. I have an advanced degree in education and I am totally against mandated homework for kids under 10 -- but that seems to be the norm in VA. Want to hear from other parents how you messaged this to the teacher and what effect it had.

Different poster but I just wrote a note saying, "As you know, this is only second grade. Going forward, Zack will not be spending more than 25 minutes after school on homework. He reads for pleasure each day, but if his second grade homework takes more than a half hour, you should be able to see what is giving him such a hard time so it can be taught differently or broken into more manageable pieces, or some other solution. I'm sure you agree it's absurd for a child who has never gotten lower than a 96 on any test, to spend over two hours on homework. Please let me know if you'd like to discuss this further. Thank you."