New Articles - Special Education Action

What Is A Transition Plan?

Worrying about our children is what we do as parents, but helping our kids plan, prepare, and be ready for their future is supposed to be a team effort, with parents, their kids’ schools, and other agencies working together to help students who have disabilities. That team effort should be reflected in your child’s transition plan.

Transition plans are exactly what they sound like. They help students prepare for their transition from high school to whatever comes next in their lives.

U.S. Department of Education Releases New Guidance to Assist Students Who Have Disabilities and Are Transitioning Out of High School

New guidance to assist students who have disabilities and are transitioning out of high school is now available from U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP).

Office for Civil Rights Releases Civil Rights Data for 2021-22; Inequities in Education Continue

New data indicate inequities in education remain stark nationwide.

U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights released data from its 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collections (CRDC), which schools nationwide are required to submit. According to OCR, the 2021-22 CRDC contains information from over 17,000 school districts and over 98,000 schools.

What do You Say When the School Says “No”? You Ask, “Where’s the Beef?”

Parent:
The school keeps saying “No” to everything I request, even though I have data supporting my student’s needs for what I’m requesting. What do I do?
Answer:
You ask, “Where’s the beef?” (a.k.a. “Show me the data”)

Office for Civil Rights Addresses Retaliation in New Guidance Document

U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights the new guidance document “Civil Rights Protections Against Retaliation”.

U.S. Department of Education Addresses Restraint and Seclusion, Encourages Proactive Practices to Support Students

U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona expresses concerns about continued use of restraint and seclusion and long-term negative impacts it has on children, and proposes proactive support instead.

FOIA Release: Office for Civil Rights’ Open Investigations for Virginia Department of Education

Office for Civil Rights (OCR) provided a response to a Freedom of Information (FOIA) request submitted to its office for “all letters issued from OCR to Lisa Coons and/or Jillian Balow between Jan 1, 2003, and today .” Although it took over a year to respond to the initial FOIA request, OCR confirmed that the letters reflect currently open complaints.

Parents Sue Literacy Experts, Publishers, and Schools; Who is Responsible, How Far Will This Go, and Why Does Big Pharma Come to Mind?

December 4, 2024, two Massachusetts parents filed a lawsuit against literacy experts Lucy Calkins, Irene Fountas, and Gay Su Pinnell; Board of Trustees of Teachers College, Columbia University; Heinemann Publishing; HMH Education Company; Fountas and Pinnell, LLC; and The Reading & Writing Project at Mossflower, LLC.

The parents allege that the defendants “peddled” and “hawked” a “raft of products” and “defective goods and services” that were based on “unreliable, methodologically flawed” research, that they “attempted to boost their credibility by selling literacy assessments created to “validate” their own products.”

How to File a Privacy Violation Complaint

Imagine your school or someone in the school division violates the privacy of your child.

Can you file a complaint? If yes, how? Parents and/or students who believe a student’s privacy has been violated under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), have a right to file a complaint. FERPA applies to all students. However, students who have IEPs have additional protection under Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Let’s explore both below.

Students’ Behavioral Needs are Focus of New U.S. Department of Education Guidance Document

U.S. Department of Education released a new guidance document to “help schools and early childhood programs better support students’ behavioral needs.”

The guidance document, “Using Functional Behavioral Assessments to Create Supportive Learning Environments”, focuses on supporting all students whose behaviors impact their learning, regardless of disability status.

U.S. Department of Justice Secures Agreement with Maine; Agreement Marks “New Milestone” in DOJ’s Enforcement of ADA’s Integration Mandate

November 26, 2024, U.S. Department of Justice announced an agreement with Maine to address the lawsuit it filed against the state September 9, 2024,

It’s the Law: Comprehensive Evaluations

Whether your child is receiving an initial evaluation for eligibility or being reevaluated at a later date, the evaluation must be a comprehensive evaluation.

In the case of initial evaluations, §300.301(a) of the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) is your go-to regulation:

Each public agency must conduct a full and individual initial evaluation, in accordance with §§300.304 through 300.306, before the initial provision of special education and related services to a child with a disability under this part.