Category: Office for Civil Rights Letters of Finding and Resolution Agreements

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.”

In 2020, Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) received a systemic complaint against Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS). In response, it refused to investigate some of the allegations, changed and/or ignored other allegations, and ultimately found FCPS in compliance.

In 2022, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) found FCPS at fault for years-long systemic noncompliance, based on some of the very allegations filed in the 2020 systemic complaint. 

What happened? How could VDOE make a finding of compliance in 2020, while OCR made a finding of noncompliance in 2022? 

The answer: VDOE failed to investigate credible allegations of noncompliance and failed to comply with 300.152(4), which requires it to “review all relevant information and make an independent determination as to whether the public agency is violating a requirement of Part B of the Act or of this part”, and FCPS withheld information.

Fairfax County Public Schools was found at fault for massive systemic noncompliance by Office for Civil Rights. November 30, 2022, OCR released its letter of findings and resolution agreement with FCPS. The latter outlines steps FCPS is required to take to address the 25,000+ students with IEPs or 504 plans that it failed between April 2020 and June 2022.

Yet, not even OCR’s findings, or the fact FCPS entered into a resolution agreement with OCR, seem to have what it takes to put even a temporary stop to FCPS’s noncompliance.

Less than three weeks apart, U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights released investigation findings of noncompliance on two Virginia education agencies.

November 30, 2022, OCR released its letter of findings in response to its investigation of Fairfax County Public Schools.

December 16, 2022, OCR released its letter of findings in response to its investigation of Southeastern Cooperative Educational Programs, which, like FCPS, is under the Virginia Department of Education.

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.