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 Public Schools: Please Explain Why You Are Paying Outside Counsel $625/Hour To Write Motions For School Board Members And To Review FOIA Requests

A February 11, 2021, Hunton Andrews Kurth invoice notes that attorneys MA Podolny ($395 rate) and S Rewari ($695 rate) helped draft motions for school board members Karen Keys-Gamarra and Abrar Omeish.

Please join me in asking Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) why board members are using private high-paid attorneys to write motions.

Fairfax County Public Schools: Please Explain Your “HIPAA Compliance Concerns”

A November 30, 2020, invoice from Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) attorney Hunton Andrews Kurth notes that attorney D Mustone ($695 rate) drafted a message “regarding HIPAA compliance concerns relating to CareFirst subcontractor” and that Mustone did a “review of background and research.”

If there’s a concern related to HIPAA, does that mean FCPS again released personally identifiable information (PII), but this time by a FCPS contractor?

FCPS OSEPS history of breaches

FCPS Office of Special Education Procedural Support Has a History of Privacy Breaches

Fairfax County Public Schools Office of Special Education Procedural Support has a history of failing to secure confidential information about children, to the point that one could say privacy breaches are an area in which FCPS OSEPS excels.

Email from Stephen Hunt to Alice Farling

Your Fairfax County School Board Member: Stephen Hunt

Stephen Hunt served as an at-large member of the Fairfax County School Board (FCSB) between 2004-2007.

Why bring him up now?

For over 15 years, Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) has been failing students who have special education needs. FCSB and FCPS knew this 15 years ago and they know it now.

August 21, 2006, Stephen sent an email to Alice Farling, who at the time was the assistant superintendent of FCPS’s Department of Special Services. The subject of the email?

Problems with FCPS’s special education program.

The $60,825 Question: Should Fairfax County Public Schools Invest in Special Education or Pay Hazardous Waste Management Fines?

“Special Education” and “Hazardous Waste” should never appear in the same sentence, but here I find myself typing them into this opening line. The two shouldn’t have anything in common, either, but . . . I live in Fairfax County, Virginia, and strange things occur in our neck of the woods. Candide’s garden, Fairfax County is not.
5.10.21 VDOE emails Grant Award Notification and Routing

Virginia Department of Education, Carelessness & Literacy Grant Award Notifications

The Virginia Department of Education has long been known for partnering with Carelessness, just like the school districts below it.

May 10, 2021, Samantha Hollins forwarded grant award notification and routing information to a Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) parent. The parent did not request the information. The parent had no reason for receiving the information. The parent wasn’t even aware of the existence of the information.