8.11.21 VDOE Letter of Findings: Noncompliance for Convening Eligibility and IEP Meetings Without Parent

June 22, 2021, a parent with a child enrolled in Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS), Virginia, filed a complaint with the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE). The complaint was based on FCPS holding an IEP and eligibility meeting without her in attendance.

My hope is that the analysis made by VDOE and how it interpreted and applied different regulations will 1) help other parents as they advocate for their children and 2) help educate the educators who are ignorant of the process.

VDOE Required to Submit Plan to Improve Oversight of Special Education

Fast approaching: November 1, 2021, deadline for the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) to submit its plan to improve oversight of special education to Virginia’s General Assembly and Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC).

Just In: FCPS “Independent” Special Education Audit Reveals Disturbing Data

A new “independent, third-party review” done by American Institutes for Research (AIR) confirms the appalling state of Fairfax County Public Schools’ (FCPS) special education program.

Although FCPS states that it is “committed to the consistent and equitable implementation of discipline policy, regulations, and practice across all schools and educational programs,” AIR’s report points toward a great divide between FCPS’s words and actions.

Fairfax County Public Schools Isn’t Able To Prevent Student Computers From Shutting Down

The newest tech issue: FCPS isn’t able to prevent student computers from shutting down for reboots/updates.

The newest poorly-thought-out plan: Someone made a decision to disable the ability to pause and/or postpone reboots/updates and no one developed a contingency plan to address times computers must not shut down, such as during an SAT exam.

Fairfax County Public Schools Violated Privacy of Chesterbrook ES Student and Family

Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) is at fault for another FERPA violation, this time for a Chesterbrook Elementary School student and family.

The document is a student’s care card, which (depending on the student) can include sensitive information such as medical issues, prescription medications, medical professionals the child is seeing, and so on.

FCPS Report Detailed How To Reduce Special Education Referrals; Predicted The Future; Confirmed Suspicions

If you have a high school student in Fairfax County Public Schools, read this report.

It highlights a focus on denying services in the name of saving money and sheds light on one of the potential reasons why referrals and evaluations were such a battle when our seniors were younger, at points in their lives when early intervention special education services would have made the greatest difference—and could have resulted in very different realities for these students today.

But Wait, There’s More: FERPA Violations at FCPS Continue

July 14, 2021, I published the article “Fairfax County Public Schools Breaches Privacy of Thousands of Students; FERPA Noncompliance Continues”, which details Fairfax County Public Schools’ (FCPS) failure to keep thousands of students’ privacy secure.

I found one more breach.