Children are our priority. Ensuring their needs are met is our goal.
When compensatory education is proposed, you might face a school district that wants to provide it within a set period of time. Consider, instead, asking that it be provided until each minute owed has been provided in full.
Why?
In its fact sheet, titled “Providing Students with Disabilities Free Appropriate Public Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Addressing the Need for Compensatory Services Under Section 504,” USDOE Office for Civil Rights ( cited 34 C.F.R. § 104.6(a) and Barnes v. Gorman, 536 U.S. 181, 189 (2002) in support of the above definition.
34 C.F.R. § 300.324(a)(2)(v) specifically states:
(a) Development of IEP—
(2)Â Consideration of special factors.
The IEP Team must—
(v)Â Consider whether the child needs assistive technology devices and services.
This access is key to ensuring parents are able to meaningfully participate during IEP meetings and provide informed consent (or refusal) to a school’s proposal/s.
Access to education records, meaningful participation, and informed consent are three rights afforded to parents under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
VDOE found Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) in noncompliance.
VDOE’s Letter of Findings, in which it stated FCPS’s noncompliance is included, following the complaint.
This includes assistive technology devices and services. Examples include:
* A laptop that 1) scans worksheets, which the student can then type on (because typing might be easier than writing), and 2) can be used to take pictures of the front board, notes, or any other information the child needs.
* A computer with a screen reader, to help with literacy
* Access to Learning Ally and other sources for audiobooks
* Noise-cancelling head-phones
*Voice-recognition software
If your child needs assistive technology devices or services, under both IDEA and Section 504, your child has the right to be provided them.
FAPE is an acronym for Free Appropriate Public Education.
Free Appropriate Public Education is not the definition of FAPE.
If you don’t know it already, it is time to learn the definition of FAPE.
In order to know if the school division and its teachers are providing FAPE, you need to know what it is.
Whether you live in Fairfax County, Virginia, or in a different county or state, view this video.
It’s an opportunity to 1) learn what another school division is doing; 2) identify behind-the-scenes practices that are a) problematic and/or b) not occurring according to the training; and 3) to compare against your own division’s practices to a) bring ideas to them and/or b) ask about problem areas behind-the-scenes in your school division.
This presentation was developed by Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS).
There are a few stand-out comments to consider—and to contact FCPS (or your school division) about if these items weren’t discussed with you.
Here’s one for now, and then the video and transcript follow:
“The first thing the case manager needs to do is to review the IEP and determine whether or not the goals, accommodations, and services can be delivered in a virtual format.”
If yes, did the case manager actually take an action outside of “review” and “determine”?