U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights FOIA Responses
Know This About FAPE
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.
Fairfax County Public Schools Failed to Comply with Federal Regulations; Continued to Deny IEEs
Virginia’s Independent Education Evaluation (IEE) regulations will be changed to align with federal regulations.
Local educations agencies (LEA) are required to follow the federal regulations (even before the state regulation change) or they will be found in noncompliance.
However, seven months passed before Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) presented this information to special education lead teachers—even though it was already found in noncompliance for failure to comply with federal regulations.
Second Virginia Hearing Officer Rules Reading Program Inappropriate for Student with Dyslexia
The law firm Blankingship & Keith represented FCPS in both cases, too. Although the first hearing officer ruled “Just Words” to be inappropriate for a student with Dyslexia, FCPS continued to enroll students with Dyslexia in it, and FCPS and Blankingship & Keith continued forward in the second hearing, arguing “Just Words” to be appropriate for a student with Dyslexia.
Action Alert: Dyslexia Legislation Support Needed
If you reside outside of Virginia, please contact Decoding Dyslexia chapter in your state to learn about – and support – their advocacy efforts.
View Fairfax County Public Schools’ “Concurrent Instruction Professional Development Guidebook”
Documents, images, and videos noted within the guidebook are included as well.
The Things Supreme Court Judges Say: Deference to Educators
For the last five school years, the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) has found your school division in noncompliance. The VDOE is known for its failure to ensure noncompliance is corrected, which means the noncompliance continues because 1) no one is holding the school division accountable; 2) school division staff aren’t properly trained; 3) carelessness; and 4) some division staff would rather fight you than remain in compliance.
The Office of Civil Rights just launched an investigation into your school division.
Add to the above that some teachers from your school division don’t tell the truth during due process hearings—and, although you’ve provided the school division proof of this, the school division continues to do nothing.
Should deference be given to such educators?
Let’s hear from the Supreme Court.
The Things School Division Lawyers Say: Deference to Educators
Should deference be given to educators? Does a degree related to education and/or a certain number of years working within the field of education entitle them to a certain level of respect? Or, should respect be based on their actions, on their record of working within the field of education?
What if those educators are the root of a child not receiving FAPE?
Should respect be paid to the principal with 40 years in education, whose ignorance bred illiteracy within her school? What of the teacher with two years of experience, whose ego won’t let him believe he could possibly be wrong, so he fights everything a parent says—and lies—just to stay in the right? What of the procedural support liaison who toes the county’s line rather than addressing the student’s need—the one who advised you to “Remember, this is public school,” when she thought it unrealistic for the school to provide the services needed to fully address your student’s unique needs?
Do these “educators” deserve respect? Should deference be given to them?
IDEA Advocacy Alert: Contact Your U.S. Representative and Senators; Ensure Funding For Special Education
Please take action today to ensure that dedicated funding it allocated to support students with disabilities.
The Things Hearing Officers Say: Deference to Educators
While there are educators who are of great worth, parents too often have sat in IEP meeting after IEP meeting, opposing educators whose lack of training, lack of experience, lack of empathy—and sometimes all three—are negatively impacting students. Add to this, educators who make a parent’s opposition personal, to the point they oppose everything a parent states, just to oppose it, with all focus on their egos rather than the needs of the child.
So, what happens when the school division counsel argues for deference to educators as part of his due process hearing final brief? Does deference have to be given to the very educators who have so often been the root of all the problems?
The Things State Local Education Agencies Say: Forms for Filing a State Complaint
The goal is to share information that will help other families 1) know how issues in their states and/or school district have been handled and 2) know established patterns of behavior that they might face; and 3) advocate for change.
Each post will be updated as new information is received. For example, this post features an example related to the Virginia Department of Education. The goal is to have something representing every state added to this post.
Negative Impact of VDOE’s Inaccurate Information Continues
June 3, 2017, VDOE was made aware of bad/broken links in its “Parent’s Guide to Special Education Dispute Resolution” document.
Almost four years later, the bad/broken link in question— https://www.doe.virginia.gov/VDOE/dueproc—is still listed 11 times the parent’s guide.
Independent Educational Evaluation: VDOE Rules FCPS in Noncompliance; Follows OSEP Monitoring Report
Below is an example of an IEE-related Letter of Findings, which the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) issued after it found Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) in noncompliance.
VDOE’s Letter of Findings language can be used as guidance as you write your own state complaint in Virginia. If you live in another state, explore if your state has the same regulations as Virginia or if those regulations are in line with IDEA.