U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights FOIA Responses
Accommodations Don’t Have a Word Count: Clarity Trumps Word Count When Writing Accommodations
However, pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the unique needs of students must be addressed.
In other words: Clarity and ensuring the unique needs of the child are met is more important than word count.
U.S. Dept. of Education’s Office for Civil Rights Releases Investigation into Another Virginia Agency’s Denial of FAPE
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.
Accommodation Breakdown: Word Prediction Software
The following is an example of an accommodation written into one student’s IEP:
“Student will respond using word prediction software.”
Seems straightforward, but there are too many holes to allow it to stand.
KTEA-3: Comprehensive Isn’t Always Comprehensive
If yes, do you know if the Brief or Comprehensive Form is being administered?
Do you know the difference between the Brief and the Comprehensive Forms?
Are you aware of the Dyslexia Index?
Do you know if your school is cherry picking subtests to administer, what each subtest measures, and if they are appropriate for assessing your child’s needs (or suspected needs)?
Accommodation Breakdown: Clearly-Defined Expectations
1. The report must be one page in length.
2. The report must focus on a topic she taught in science within the last month.
Did she provide clearly-defined expectations?
No.
The accommodation for clearly-defined expectations should provide exactly what it sound like: clearly-defined expectations.
For the student’s IEP or 504, the accommodation must be written as clearly as it is expected to be implemented.
Accommodation Breakdown: Accessible Text
If your student needs accessible text, ask the questions posed in this article as this accommodation is developed,
Portrait of a Systemic Complaint, Part IV: FCPS’ Late Responses; VDOE’s Ignominious Failures (a.k.a. Obliterating 60-Day Timelines)
December 8, 2022: This article was updated to include this mention of Office of Civil Rights (OCR) 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.
Part III of this series discussed the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) extending Fairfax County Public Schools’ (FCPS) deadline for responding to the Notice of Complaint (NOC) issued by VDOE.
It discussed, too, FCPS missing the extended deadline and VDOE accepting FCPS’ late submission, even though VDOE’s NOC states, in bolded type:
“Both the school division’s response and supporting documentation must be provided by the response due date in order to be considered for review by this office. Should the supporting documentation not be included, our review will rest on the documentation submitted by the response due date.”
What happened next?
A colossal mess.
The Language of IEPs and 504s: Eliminate “Access” and Define “Use”
“Access to Flash Pass”
“Access” is up there with “as needed” and “all” and “before”.
What is “access”, other than a word that is over-used and under-defined in IEPs and 504 Plans?
Portrait of a Systemic Complaint, Part III: Virginia Dept. of Ed. Bends Rules for Fairfax County Public Schools
December 8, 2022: This article was updated to include this mention of Office of Civil Rights (OCR) 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.
When rules are set in concrete for parents, but set in Jell-O for school divisions, it is hard to believe that children will ever have their rights implemented in full.
If the very state education agency that is mandated by law to ensure the rights of children, is in noncompliance itself—and bends its own rules for school divisions—who will ensure the rights of children are implemented in full?
Portrait of a Systemic Complaint, Part II: Virginia Department of Education’s Notice of Complaint
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 like—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
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.