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
How to Choose a Reading Program that Addresses the Needs of a Student? Clue: Take “Convenience” and “Trust in Colleagues” Off Your List
And let’s imagine that the school division denied that child an evaluation three times between first and sixth grades.
And let’s imagine, too, that the child finally received an IEP and that you went to mediation and that the school division enrolled your child in a year-long reading elective during 7th grade and provided tutoring twice a week, one hour each time, after school, for a chunk of the school year.
And, last—but not least—let’s imagine that you uncovered problems with the implementation of that program
And, let’s imagine that after all this, the school has another program for your child.
What would you do?
The Special-Education-Cholera-Outbreak-John-Snow Connection
With a little imagination, so much can be achieved with a low-cost, high-touch approach.
Do you know Dr. John Snow?
In 1854, a London cholera outbreak erupted, killing over 600 people in just over a week.
It had to be stopped.
But how? (And what does this have to do with special education?)
Dear Silverbrook ES: A Public List of Students Who Take Medicine is Not a Good Idea
Silverbrook Elementary School (SES), in Fairfax Station, Virginia, has a history of sharing personally identifiable information about students, which is a violation of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
On at least two occasions, since 2015, Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) has provided SES “FERPA/confidentiality training”.
Looks like SES needs more.
FCPS Disabled SEA-STARS’ Function that Tracks Login Information, Record Access, and Changes to Student Data
Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) did just that.
If you have a child who receives special education via (FCPS), you’re likely familiar with “SEA-STARS”, which is the program FCPS is always logging into to access your students’ information.
What you might not know, is that 10 years ago, FCPS disabled the function that tracks login information, record access, and changes to student data.
Worried About Hackers? FCPS has Been Breaching Students’ and Staff’s Privacy for Years
Hackers breaching its system is another breach in a long line of privacy breaches and failures to secure information.
This evening, news outlets reported that the hackers posted private information about students.
And yet . . .
FCPS has been releasing information about students—without their permission—for years.
Dear FCPS: Universal Screeners WILL NOT Identify Students in Need if the Data is Falsified, Misrepresented, or Misunderstood
This headline appears in an internal FCPS report and precedes the following two entries about two Fairview Elementary School students (Fairfax County Public Schools, Virginia).
For Student One:
“Lack of acceptance of dyslexia by teachers”
For Student Two:
“private dyslexia diagnosis; student parentally placed at ”