Tennessee family switches to homeschooling after public school fails special-needs son

A Tennessee school district was failing a special-needs student, so his family decided to homeschool him instead.

Seven-year-old William Rose has autism, ADHD, anxiety and depression, but the lack of specialized care at school was causing even worse problems, such as seizures and short-term memory issues.

His parents worried William’s school, Beaumont Magnet Academy of Knox County Schools (KCS), wasn’t always informing them when things happened at school.

“We fear what we don’t know,” said his father, Robert Rose.

Once, William even fell off a stage but the family only found out because they were acquainted with a school staff member. And their child wasn’t eating enough at school, either.

“He was on his way to being on a feeding tube,” recalled Jennifer Rose.

Jennifer – and other parents of special-needs students – pled with KCS to get their children the help they needed. “We’re here to help. We want support,” Jennifer told the school board in September. “We don’t want to fight.”

Knox County’s failure to help special-needs students rose to prominence in 2023 when a federal judge ruled in favor of a special-education family whose son’s rights were violated by KCS.

After the court case, KCS launched a special-education task force, which wasn’t shy in criticizing the district’s practices.

“This is a challenge that requires more than a few dozen band aid solutions produced by one task force in less than three summer months without full engagement from KCS leadership, the special education department leadership, and staff,” said task force member and parent Cortney Piper.  

“It’s time to reimagine special education to ensure teachers, educators, administrators, parents and students across Knox County have the supports and structures in place to thrive.”  

The task force made several recommendations, including establishing a “student first” mentality and being less hostile to parents who file legal complaints over lack of accessibility.  

But the changes proved too little, too late for the Roses, who started homeschooling William in October.  

“Everything is going better since I’ve been homeschooled,” William told local media.  

And the Roses aren’t the first family to find a reprieve in home education. One Nebraska girl with autism and anxiety switched from public to homeschooling after being attacked by one of her classmates.  

“Our whole experience with the public school was horrible,” said her mother. “I trusted them with my child, and she came home injured and traumatized. 

“Homeschooling was as if heaven opened up for us. Whenever I meet someone new, I tell them about the wonders of homeschooling.”