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
Fairfax County Pay-to-Play Education Continues to Generate Revenue for County; Fails to Address Discrimination
A year and a half after OCR announced the investigation, FCPS’s current actions paint a portrait of a school district aggressive in its efforts to collect education-access fees from general education students, but lackadaisical in its efforts to address the needs of students whose IEPs weren’t implemented in full during its 2019-20 COVID closures.
(June 13, 2022, Update) Due Process Case 22-84, Chesterfield County Public Schools, Virginia: Subpoenas, Motions, Transcripts, and More
Thank you to two Chesterfield County, Virginia, parents for sharing their due process experiences and associated documents.
You’ll find the hearing transcripts at the end of this article. In the coming weeks, subpoenas, motions, and other documents will be added, providing readers an example of how due process hearings play out record by record.
(6.9.22 Update) Fairfax County Public Schools Levies Service Fee for Service it Doesn’t Provide, Fails to Follow and Update Its Own Pricing Guidelines
Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) is at fault for the following issues:
1) levying a service fee for a service it doesn’t provide;
2) failing to follow its own pricing guidelines;
3) failing to update its pricing guidelines and failing to have a system in place to identify needed updates;
4) failing to have a system in place to catch fee charging and collection issues;
5) failing to train staff to understand fee charging and collection issues, and to think creatively and critically to identify and/or suggest solutions for such issues; and
6) making the already expensive post-high school graduation planning process more expensive for families and students.
How to Submit a Freedom of Information Act Request
As FOIA.gov stated, the freedom of information act “is a vital part of our democracy.”
Learn how to write and submit a FOIA request, and learn about some of the issues that may arise in response to your request submission.
The Things Hearing Officers Say & Do: Virginia HO Frank Aschmann
Fairfax County Public Schools Refused to Update Transition Plan; VDOE Found FCPS in Compliance, Faulted Parent for Not Requesting Updated Transition Plan
Among other things, the LOF states:
“In reaching our finding on this Subissue, we find the following compelling:
“There is no indication in the record that Parent requested revision to Student’s transition plan . . .”