Special Education Action Page 10 of 43

U.S. Department of Education Releases Update on Arkansas Monitoring; Noncompliance Continues in 8 out of 9 Areas Identified

July 5, 2023, U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs issued a “close-out letter” to Arkansas Division of Developmental Disabilities Services, regarding OSEP’s IDEA Part C Monitoring of Arkansas.

Although OSEP characterizes such letters as “close-out” letters, they are more status reports than close-out letters, since the latter infers close-out of all monitoring, rather than one of nine issues being closed out in this case, with eight of nine remaining in noncompliance.

Office for Civil Rights Opens Investigation Into Virginia Department of Education; Did VDOE’s COVID-19 Guidance Lead School Divisions to Deny FAPE to Students Who Have Disabilities?

June 7 and June 9, 2023, Office for Civil Rights issued letters for cases 11-23-4044 and 11-23-4004 to Virginia Department of Education and stated OCR was opening the following legal issues for investigation:

June 7, 2003, Case No. 11-23-4044:

“Complainant alleged that VDOE discriminated against students with disabilities by failing to provide an audio the accommodation for a Standard of Learning (SOL) reading and writing field test assessment for the 2022-2023 school year.”

June 9, 2003, Case No. 11-23-4004:

“Whether the VDOE’s guidance regarding the provision of special education and related services during the COVID-19 pandemic led school divisions to deny FAPE to students with disabilities.”

What Are U.S. Dept. of Education Determinations and Why Do You Need To Know About Them?

Want to know how your state or “entity” did with its implementation of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act?

Look to U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education Program’s annual “determinations” for answers.

Every year, states and “entities” are required to evaluate their implementation of IDEA and submit their State Performance Plan and Annual Performance Report (SPP/APR) to USDOE, which subsequently releases determination letters based on SPP/APR in response. There’s a two year lag, so the 2023 determination letters, as an example, reflect the 2021 SPPs/APRs submitted by the states and entities, and provide the determination and basis for determination based on the 2021 period.

U.S. Dept. of Education Releases 2023 Determination Letters; Virginia Failed to Meet Requirements, While States Like Alabama Climbed Out of Years of “Needs Assistance” Determinations

June 26, 2023, U.S. Department of Education released its annual determination letters.

While a few states improved their performance, others continued to fail.

In 2023, 23 states or entities met requirements, as compared to 22 in 2022; six states need assistance (one year) in 2023, compared to 3 in 2022; 29 need assistance (two or more consecutive years) in 2023, compared to 35 in 2022; and two states need intervention in 2023, compared to zero in 2022.

Fairfax County Public Schools Provided False Information to Office for Civil Rights

Fairfax County Public Schools provided Office for Civil Rights false information in response to an OCR investigation.

Dawn Schaefer, director of FCPS’s office of special education procedural support admitted FCPS’s action this past month in a letter to Virginia Department of Education.

Accommodation Breakdown: Reduced Load

3.3.21: Article first published. 6.22.23: Article updated.

“Reduced Load” is an accommodation that is wordsmithed like a politician’s speech. It doesn’t matter if your gut reaction to it is good or bad. Either way, you’re left wondering what it really means.

A reduced load is exactly what it sounds like: it is a reduction of the load the student must address.

What’s confusing about that?

Systemic Noncompliance: VA Dept. of Education finds Fairfax County at Fault for Refusing to Provide Related Service of Vision Therapy

6.20.22: Article published. 6.22.22: Article updated to include information provided 6.16.23 by FCPS’s ESY coordinator and by OSEP Director Valerie Williams in the June edition of OSEPS Monthly Update email.

Fairfax County Public Schools is in hot water again for another count of refusing to provide services to students. About six months after Office for Civil Rights (OCR) found FCPS at fault for systemic noncompliance between April 2020 and June 2022, and required FCPS to meet with the families of 28,000+ current and graduated students to determine compensatory services for students enrolled during the time period investigated by OCR, Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) found FCPS at fault for more systemic noncompliance. Like OCR, VDOE is requiring FCPS to meet with the families of students impacted and address compensatory education owed to the students.

U.S. Dept. of Education Releases Monitoring Close-Out Letters for Bureau of Indian Affairs, Louisiana, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas

U.S. Department of Education (U Office of Special Education Programs released Differentiated Monitoring and Support close-out letters under IDEA Part B for Bureau of Indian Education, Louisiana, North Carolina, and Texas, and under IDEA Part C for New Jersey, South Carolina, and Texas.

The letters were issued between 2021 and May 2023, however OSEP waited until the past two months to publicly release them on USDOE’s website.

They detail years of monitoring, corrective actions required by OSEP, continued noncompliance, and the states eventually satisfying the action required by OSEP. However, in states like North Carolina and Texas there are a few caveats. caveats.

Author: Callie Oettinger (page 10)