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 Things Hearing Officers Say: Deference to Educators
While there are educators who are of great worth, parents too often have sat in IEP meeting after IEP meeting, opposing educators whose lack of training, lack of experience, lack of empathy—and sometimes all three—are negatively impacting students. Add to this, educators who make a parent’s opposition personal, to the point they oppose everything a parent states, just to oppose it, with all focus on their egos rather than the needs of the child.
So, what happens when the school division counsel argues for deference to educators as part of his due process hearing final brief? Does deference have to be given to the very educators who have so often been the root of all the problems?
The Things State Local Education Agencies Say: Forms for Filing a State Complaint
The goal is to share information that will help other families 1) know how issues in their states and/or school district have been handled and 2) know established patterns of behavior that they might face; and 3) advocate for change.
Each post will be updated as new information is received. For example, this post features an example related to the Virginia Department of Education. The goal is to have something representing every state added to this post.
Negative Impact of VDOE’s Inaccurate Information Continues
June 3, 2017, VDOE was made aware of bad/broken links in its “Parent’s Guide to Special Education Dispute Resolution” document.
Almost four years later, the bad/broken link in question— https://www.doe.virginia.gov/VDOE/dueproc—is still listed 11 times the parent’s guide.
Independent Educational Evaluation: VDOE Rules FCPS in Noncompliance; Follows OSEP Monitoring Report
Below is an example of an IEE-related Letter of Findings, which the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) issued after it found Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) in noncompliance.
VDOE’s Letter of Findings language can be used as guidance as you write your own state complaint in Virginia. If you live in another state, explore if your state has the same regulations as Virginia or if those regulations are in line with IDEA.
8 VAC 20-81-110.B.2
One goal of this series is to identify usage trends. Each article will be dedicated to one regulation. The articles will be routinely updated to include when, where, how, and who most recently cited the regulations.
§300.323(c)
One goal of this series is to identify usage trends. Each article will be dedicated to one regulation. The articles will be routinely updated to include when, where, how, and who most recently cited the regulations.