Special Education Action

Language of IEPs and 504s-All and Before

The Language of IEPs and 504s: The Importance of “All” and “Before”

06.15.2022

Today we’re covering the use of “all” and “before” in IEPs and 504s, and how “all” doesn’t always mean “all”, and how “before” needs its own timeline.

Go into your IEP or 504 meetings ready to collaborate, but understand that clear language, with as much as possible defined in advance, helps everyone. Your child’s teachers don’t attend every IEP meeting. They don’t know what was discussed, which leaves the IEP or 504 language up to interpretation.

Keep it simple and clear—and ensure there’s no room for misinterpretation.

Fairfax County Pay-to-Play Education Continues to Generate Revenue for County; Fails to Address Discrimination

06.15.2022

January 2021, the United States Department of Education (USDOE) Office of Civil Rights (OCR) launched an investigation into Fairfax County Public Schools’ (FCPS) practices of refusing to provide in-person instruction to students with disabilities, while at the same time opening “its schools to in-person child-care for general education students.”

A year and a half after OCR announced the investigation, FCPS’s current actions paint a portrait of a school district aggressive in its efforts to collect education-access fees from general education students, but lackadaisical in its efforts to address the needs of students whose IEPs weren’t implemented in full during its 2019-20 COVID closures.

(June 13, 2022, Update) Due Process Case 22-84, Chesterfield County Public Schools, Virginia: Subpoenas, Motions, Transcripts, and More

06.13.2022

June 13, 2022, Update: Transcripts for due process days March 25th, 28th, 29th, and 30th, 2022, were added.

Thank you to two Chesterfield County, Virginia, parents for sharing their due process experiences and associated documents.

You’ll find the hearing transcripts at the end of this article. In the coming weeks, subpoenas, motions, and other documents will be added, providing readers an example of how due process hearings play out record by record.

The Language of IEPs and 504s: Ban “As Needed”

06.10.2022

If “as needed” appears on any IEP or 504 plan put in front of you, request that the words be removed.

If you’re advised “that’s how we do it”, ask for documentation citing this to be true, and pull out IDEA or Section 504, and point out “as needed” doesn’t appear in either.

A child doesn’t need an IEP plan or a 504 plan as needed.

Children need everything in their IEPs or 504s period.

(6.10.22 Update) Fairfax County Employee Accused of Stealing Students’ Medications; Criminal Investigation Ensues

06.10.2022

June 10, 2022: Article updated to include FOIA response from Fairfax County Police Department and other cited documents.

June 8, 2022: Article first published.

Fairfax County Police Department and Fair Oaks Police Department are investigating Jennifer Carpenter regarding a “discrepancy in medication” that should have been administered to Fairfax County Public Schools students. Carpenter, a health department employee at Greenbriar East Elementary School, is accused of stealing medication such as Adderall and Ritalin, and instead administering an antihistamine to students.

(6.10.22 Update) Fairfax County School Board Heads to Court Over FOIA Request; Delays Publishing of Office of Civil Rights Investigation Records

06.10.2022

June 10, 2022, article updated to include new information, to include information about retaliation and the scheduled hearing date.

June 2, 2022: Article first published.

Fairfax County School Board is headed to court over a Freedom of Information Act request.

This is the second time in nine months that FCSB’s FOIA-response-related actions (and inactions) have resulted in SpecialEducationAction.com being prevented from publishing internal Fairfax County Public Schools documents. In addition, FOIA’d documents related to the first case apply to the case at hand.

In the case at hand, the FOIA’d records relate to the United States Department of Education Office of Civil Rights’ investigation into Fairfax County Public Schools, which it announced January 12, 2021, along with its intention to investigate Los Angeles Unified School District and Seattle Public Schools.

(6.9.22 Update) Fairfax County Public Schools Levies Service Fee for Service it Doesn’t Provide, Fails to Follow and Update Its Own Pricing Guidelines

06.09.2022

(This article was first published May 6, 2022. It was updated May 9, 2022, to include new information provided by School Board Member Megan McLaughlin. Scroll to the bottom of the article to see the update.)

Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) is at fault for the following issues:

1) levying a service fee for a service it doesn’t provide;

2) failing to follow its own pricing guidelines;

3) failing to update its pricing guidelines and failing to have a system in place to identify needed updates;

4) failing to have a system in place to catch fee charging and collection issues;

5) failing to train staff to understand fee charging and collection issues, and to think creatively and critically to identify and/or suggest solutions for such issues; and

6) making the already expensive post-high school graduation planning process more expensive for families and students.

How to Submit a Freedom of Information Act Request

06.02.2022

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) provides the public access to records held by public bodies.

As FOIA.gov stated, the freedom of information act “is a vital part of our democracy.”

Learn how to write and submit a FOIA request, and learn about some of the issues that may arise in response to your request submission.

The Things Hearing Officers Say & Do: Virginia HO Frank Aschmann

05.12.2022

This page is devoted to what Virginia Hearing Officer Frank Aschmann has said and done. It will be updated to include due process decisions, due process transcripts, due process subpoenas and motions, emails, and other documents.

Fairfax County Public Schools Refused to Update Transition Plan; VDOE Found FCPS in Compliance, Faulted Parent for Not Requesting Updated Transition Plan

05.12.2022

Fairfax County Public Schools, Virginia, refused to update the transition plan in a student’s Individualized Education Plan. After the student’s parent filed a state complaint with the Virginia Department of Education, VDOE issued a Letter of Findings that found FCPS in compliance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and faulted the parent for not requesting an updated transition plan.
Among other things, the LOF states:

“In reaching our finding on this Subissue, we find the following compelling:

“There is no indication in the record that Parent requested revision to Student’s transition plan . . .”

U.S. Department of Education Announces Intent to Amend Regulations Implementing Section 504, Requests Public Input

05.06.2022

May 6, 2022, the United States Department of Education (USDOE) announced its intent to amend Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and to “gather public input on possible amendments to those regulations in order to strengthen and protect the rights of students with disabilities.”

USDOE’s announcement comes 45 years after Joseph Califano, President Jimmy Carter’s Health, Education, and Welfare Secretary, finally signed the Section 504 regulations April 28, 1977.

Due Process Transcript, Fauquier County Public Schools, Virginia, Hearing Officer Frank Aschmann

05.05.2022

Here you’ll find the hearing officer’s decision and the transcripts for a two-day due process hearing, which Fauquier County Public Schools (FCPS) filed against the parents of a student who was clinically diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, emotional disability, ADHD, and anxiety, and who at the time of the hearing had an Individualized Education Program (IEP). FCPS filed the due process with the purpose of 1) proving the student isn’t eligible for an IEP and 2) terminating the student’s IEP.

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