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
Virginia Department of Education Allows Noncompliance to Continue
The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) continues to turn a blind eye toward noncompliance within Virginia school districts and fails to heed the United States Department of Education’s (USDOE) dictum, “Completely ignoring credible allegations of noncompliance is not a reasonable method of exercising the State’s general supervisory responsibilities.”
February 28. 2018, documentation of over 400+ special education violations was provided to the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE). The violations were committed by Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) and admitted to in unredacted internal FCPS documents title “Hot Topics”.
Two years later, the United States Department of Education (USDOE) Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), advised VDOE. “Completely ignoring credible allegations of noncompliance is not a reasonable method of exercising the State’s general supervisory responsibilities.” And yet, the Hot Topics report remains uninvestigated and the noncompliance continues.
July 30 is Deadline to Submit Comments about Education Secretary Cardona’s Proposed Priorities
Please don’t miss this opportunity to provide your input on policies that impact the education of children throughout the United States.
Fairfax County Public Schools Breaches Privacy of Thousands of Students; FERPA Noncompliance Continues
The breach includes the students’ names, their FCPS identification numbers, their FCPS email addresses, the schools at which they are enrolled, the names of their parents and/or guardians, and the email addresses of their parents and/or guardians.
Innovative Approaches to Literacy: United States Department of Education Holds Competition for 2021 Grant
The United States Department of Education (USDOE) is holding a competition for the Innovative Approaches to Literacy (IAL) grant in 2021.
April 6, 2021, USDOE published a notice of proposed priorities and requirement (NPP) for this program in the Federal Register (86 FR 17757).
July 12, 2021, USDOE published a notice of final priorities and requirement in the Federal Register (86 FR 36510).
TODAY: $6 Billion Distributed to Six States and the District of Columbia; What is the Status of Your State’s ARP ESSER Plan?
Each state education agency (SEA) had until June 7, 2021, to submit either: (1) its ARP ESSER plan or (2) the State requirements that preclude submission of the plan by that date and a date by which it will be able to submit its complete ARP ESSER plan.
Contact your SEA to find out if your state is among the 40 states that have submitted a plan. If not, ask why. Either way, request the status of the report.
The Perfect Storm: FCPS Video Features FERPA Violations, Teacher Training Issues, Fidelity of Implementation Problems, and Possible IEP Noncompliance
November 5, 2020, Fairfax County Public Schools again violated student privacy and again exhibited issues related to teacher training, a reading-related program, fidelity of implementation of a reading-related program, and possible noncompliance of student IEPs.
These issues occurred during an office hour session with FCPS’s Alice Lima-Whitney, during which she and the staff in attendance discussed the program iLit and how the teachers were progressing with their students.