Special Education Action is a 501(c)3 nonprofit publisher covering special education.
Its mission is to ensure parents, educators, and students have the information and tools necessary to fully understand, address, and safeguard the unique needs of all students who require special education.
Recent Articles
The Problem with Compensatory Education? Too Often, Comp Ed Steals Music, Sports, Auto Tech, and Everything that Brings Happiness
When schools fail children, they end up having to provide compensatory education in return. In theory, it sounds great. The school district will make up for its errors, the student will receive help, all will be good. . . .
However, the reality is much different.
FOIA Release: Fairfax County Public Schools “Determining Compensatory Education Training Development” Training Videos and Materials Required by Office for Civil Rights
Office for Civil Rights found Fairfax County Public Schools in massive noncompliance for denial of FAPE during April 2020 through June 2022.
Following its investigation, OCR entered into a resolution agreement with FCPS. As part of the agreement, FCPS is required to meet with families of the 28,000+ students who were enrolled in FCPS during the time period investigated, to determine compensatory education.
In this article, you’ll be able to access some of the training materials and one of the training videos FCPS provided to staff.
FCPS Ignores Office for Civil Rights; Noncompliance Continues, Part V
The focus of part V is FCPS’s practice of equating provision of a computer with provision of a Free Appropriate Public Education—and then denying compensatory education.
What are Related Services?
Pay attention, because you might live in an area that doesn’t proactively propose related services in compliance with IDEA, Section 504, and/or implementing state regulations. Too often, my experience has been that if you don’t know to ask, they won’t be proposed.
Related services are supports required to assist a child with a disability to benefit from special education. This could be transportation to tutoring sessions, work with a speech therapist, assistive technology training for the parent and student, training parents to use sign language, providing special training to teachers working with students, and much more.
U.S. Dept. of Education Finds Montana in Noncompliance with IDEA
~United States Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs
United States Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs has found the state of Montana in noncompliance with Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
FCPS Ignores Office for Civil Rights; Noncompliance Continues, Part IV
The focus of part IV is FCPS’s refusal to provide access to educational records, specifically “information recorded by the Division regarding the amount of special education, related aids or services provided during the Pandemic Period, including the option to review IEP or Section 504 service logs.”