Parents often write state complaints under a veil of pain and frustration. View an example of a tightened version of an already filed state complaint.
Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes; Time for Change and Thanks
Special Education Action has a new look.
You’ll notice a more robust menu, with a wider variety of categories to explore. More important, you’ll notice the site is on its way to being ADA compliant.
It’s the Law: IEP Implementation
IEPs are contracts.
IEPs are the responsibility of the school to implement from day one of the school year.
If you run into issues with the date of implementation and implementation by teachers, you’ll want to look at some of these regulations.
The Language of IEPs and 504s: Ban “As Needed”
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.
Same Story, Different Year: Virginia Department of Education’s “Monitoring” Fails to Identify and Address Noncompliance, Fairfax County Public Schools Withholds Information
In 2020, Virginia Department of Education failed to stop the noncompliance occurring in Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS), and in other districts across the state.
In 2023, the story remains the same.
U.S. Department of Education Releases Updated Policy Guidance to Ensure Access to Rights Guaranteed to Children Under IDEA
uly 24, 2023, U.S. Dept. of Education’s (USDOE) Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) released updated policy guidance “to ensure and strengthen the rights and protections guaranteed to children with disabilities and their families under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).” The guidance took immediate effect upon release.
According to OSEP, “The guidance and accompanying Dear Colleague Letter address the IDEA’s “general supervision” requirement, which necessitates states monitor local educational agencies (LEAs) as required by IDEA Part B, and early intervention service (EIS) programs and providers as required by IDEA Part C to ensure children with disabilities and their families access their rights under IDEA.”
This guidance is significant in that it focuses on general supervisory responsibilities. Refusing to address noncompliance outside the typical dispute resolution channels of mediation, state complaints, and/or due process hearings, has long been a problem for states like Virginia, as one example.
Virginia Department of Education Halts State Complaints Because Parents Used Google Drive
The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) halted state complaints filed by parents in Chesterfield and Page Counties because the parents used Google Drive to submit their evidence.
In a Letter of Inquiry (LOI) dated June 28, 2023, VDOE initial advised the Page County parent:
“While the email indicates that Parent properly attached a sufficient state complaint, the Commonwealth of Virginia no longer partners with Google and cannot access/open any Google documents. Please resubmit the complaint to our office using another format such as OneDrive, which is supported by Microsoft Office. . . . This office cannot move forward to investigate Parent’s concerns until the above-noted deficiencies are addressed. If appropriate, the complaint may be resubmitted to this office for action. All resubmitted complaints will be treated as new complaints and are subject to review.”
State complaints have a one-year statute of limitations. According to the parent, having to refile would put his complaint outside the one-year timeline, which means it would be denied as time barred upon resubmission—just because VDOE refused to access Google Drive.
Fairfax County Public Schools “Expert” Determines Lindamood Bell Not Appropriate for Student with Dyslexia, Because Lindamood Bell’s Site Has Pictures of Young Children On It
Virginia Hearing Officer Rhonda Mitchell determined the program Lindamood Bell is not appropriate for a student who has Dyslexia, after Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) “experts” made curious statements about the instruction and Lindamood Bell’s site and staff.
Jugnu Agrawal, program manager of FCPS’s special education curriculum, and one of the FCPS “experts” who testified in front of HO Mitchell, said Lindamood Bell isn’t appropriate because, “if you go and look at the pictures on their website and everything, it is specifically for elementary.”