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
$200,000+ = What Fairfax County Public Schools Paid to be Told the Program it Pushed is Inappropriate for Students with Dyslexia
$65,370.60 = The amount law firm Blankingship & Keith invoiced Fairfax County Public Schools between November 22, 2019, and August 27, 2020.
The result? The Virginia hearing officer ruled the the program “Just Words” is inappropriate for a student with Dyslexia, which was the program FCPS proposed for the student on which the due process hearing was focused.
Two months = The amount of time that passed before Blankingship & Keith started invoicing FCPS for another hearing related to “Just Words” not being appropriate for a student with Dyslexia.
Student Records—Confidentiality: Regulations and Case Law Cited by School Divisions, Lawyers and State Education Agencies
This article focuses on student records—confidentiality regulations and case law that school divisions, school division lawyers, hearing officers, and state education agencies use in documents they issue.
It will be updated as new information is obtained.
Fairfax County Pay-to-Play, 5-Days-a-Week, In-Person Education Model Generates Revenue for County; Sparks Civil Rights Investigation
Payment and availability are not prerequisites for a free appropriate public education (FAPE).
January 2021, the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) Office of Civil Rights (OCR) launched an investigation into Fairfax County Public Schools’ (FCPS) practices of refusing to provide in-person instruction to students with disabilities, while at the same time opening “its schools to in-person child-care for general education students.” January 12, 2021, USDOE OCR submitted a letter to Superintendent Scott Brabrand, to announce the launch of the investigation.
However, the issue is about more than child care.
Regulations and Case Law School Divisions, Lawyers, Hearing Officers, and State Education Agencies Use: IEP Implementation
This article focuses on IEP Implementation-related regulation and case law that school divisions, school division lawyers, hearing officers, and state education agencies use in documents they issue.
FCPS Knows Reading Program Isn’t Appropriate for All Students who have Dyslexia
If you’re new to my articles, I’ve spent a fair amount of time writing about “Just Words” in response to Fairfax County Public School’s inappropriate use of the program for students who have Dyslexia. My articles aren’t a criticism of the program, but of the administration and implementation of a program that 1) the publisher does not endorse for students with Dyslexia and 2) that two Virginia hearing officers have ruled to be inappropriate for students with Dyslexia.
Today I was provided access to the Dyslexia participant slide deck for the 2.12.19 FCPS Secondary Literacy Intervention Teachers “Resource Bonanza”.
On the slide titled “Specialized Learning Programs”, there are three programs listed: “Just Words”, “Corrective Reading”, and “Language Live”.
This One’s for the Advocates and Hypocrites
Speaking the truth of the remarkable Ice T:
“You can’t come out on a record dissing the system and be on a label that’s connected to the system.”