Special Education Action Page 20 of 45

Portrait of a Systemic Complaint, Part II: Virginia Department of Education’s Notice of Complaint

August 21, 2020: This article first published.

December 7, 2022: This article was updated to include this mention of Office of Civil Rights November 30, 2022, letter of findings about Fairfax County Public Schools and OCR’s resolution agreement with FCPS. OCR’s findings cite this systemic complaint and make it clear that parents should have prevailed in 2020.

May 8, 2020, the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) received a systemic complaint against Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS).

VDOE issued its Notice of Complaint (NOC) May 18, 2018.

When you review the NOC, compare it with the parents’ complaint. You’ll see that the items VDOE picked to investigate aren’t the actual complaints, but information supporting the complaints.

As I wrote in Part I of this series, this is classic VDOE—and is a topic I’ll cover in depth at a later date.

Accommodation Breakdown: Strategic Seating

File this under “accommodations that shouldn’t go wrong, but end up leaving you paralyzed in jaw-dropping numbness” at the absurdness surrounding incorrect interpretations and/or implementations, or both.

What is Strategic Seating?

It is just what it sounds likeâ€”strategic seating. It is a seat in the classroom that is chosen for a specific student, to help address his or her unique needs.

Who knew such a straight forward accommodation could become a nightmare?

Portrait of a Systemic Complaint, Part I: Parents’ Complaint Against Fairfax County Public Schools

August 20, 2020: This article first published.

December 6, 2022: This article was updated to include this mention of Office of Civil Rights November 30, 2022, letter of findings about Fairfax County Public Schools and OCR’s resolution agreement with FCPS. OCR’s findings cite this systemic complaint and make it clear that parents should have prevailed in 2020.

This is part one of a series based on a pending systemic complaint against Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) and based on the Virginia Department of Education’s (VDOE) handling of the complaint.

May 8, 2020, a complaint against FCPS was submitted to the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE).

Five families and six children are listed on the complaint, which the parents asked VDOE to investigate at the systemic level.

In the three months since the complaint was submitted, VDOE and FCPS have exhibited how stacked the system is against the very children it is supposed to protect.

How to File an Office of Civil Rights Complaint

The United States Department of Education Office of Civil Rights investigates complaints against “public and private programs that receive Federal funds from the U.S. Department of Education”.

Read this article to learn how to file a complaint with OCR.

Office of Civil Rights Finds Fairfax County Public Schools in Noncompliance; FCPS Must Provide Compensatory Education to Students

November 30, 2022, the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) announced Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) is at fault for civil rights violations and OCR released the resolution reached following its investigation of FCPS.

This follows OCR’s January 12, 2021, announcement that it would investigate FCPS, Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), and Seattle Public Schools.

Virginia Dept. of Education’s Noncompliance Continues; Blows Through U.S. Dept. of Education’s 90-Day Compliance Deadlines

November 11, 2022: Article first published. November 19, 2022: Article updated to include items 1a, b, c, and d, which are cited on page four of USDOE’s September 1, 2022, letter to VDOE.

Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) remains in noncompliance of federal regulations.

September 1, 2022, United States Department of Education issued another a letter to VDOE that addresses VDOE’s continued failures. This letter was not provided to the public, nor were the similarly critical letters USDOE sent on February 8, 2022, and March 16, 2022. All three letters were obtained via Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. Special Education Action received the September 1, 2022, letter yesterday, November 10, 2022.

Ending the “Soft Bigotry of Low Expectations” and Cyclical Ignorance and Forgetfulness

I forgot about President George W. Bush’s focus on ending the “soft bigotry of low expectations” until I read this week’s Washington Post obituary for Michael Gerson, the speechwriter who crafted that phrase. That minimalistic phrase remains powerful, making a point that pierces the assumptions and failures of an entire nation.

I’m embarrassed I forgot his words in the years that followed. I know that such forgetfulness is common and can beget ignorance—and that forgetfulness and ignorance combined beget noncompliance and stagnation in regard to special education. Since special education is a topic politicians and journalists—and even some educators—struggle to understand, it is easier to ignore it and/or move to the millions of other issues competing for their time.

IEP Teams Must Consider Assistive Technology Devices and Services

Pursuant to 34 C.F.R. § 300.324(a)(2)(v), IEP teams must consider assistive technology devices and services when they are developing a child’s IEP.

34 C.F.R. § 300.324(a)(2)(v) specifically states:

(a) Development of IEP—

(2) Consideration of special factors.

The IEP Team must—

(v) Consider whether the child needs assistive technology devices and services.

Author: Callie Oettinger (page 20)