COVID - Special Education Action

Fairfax County Pay-to-Play Education Continues to Generate Revenue for County; Fails to Address Discrimination

January 2021, the United States 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.”

A year and a half after OCR announced the investigation, FCPS’s current actions paint a portrait of a school district aggressive in its efforts to collect education-access fees from general education students, but lackadaisical in its efforts to address the needs of students whose IEPs weren’t implemented in full during its 2019-20 COVID closures.

TODAY: $6 Billion Distributed to Six States and the District of Columbia; What is the Status of Your State’s ARP ESSER Plan?

July 7, 2021, the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) approved American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) state plans for six states and the District of Columbia, and released $418,634,738 to Arkansas; $611,331,608 to Massachusetts; $138,468,766 to Rhode Island; $127,339,745 to South Dakota; $4,148,464,081 to Texas; Utah: $205,578,303; and $128,932,230 to the District of Columbia.

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.

$122 Billion Available; How Will Your School Division Use Its Funds?

The United States’ money tree still has $122 billion in funding available to all states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

Yesterday, April 21, 2021, the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) released a template for the application states must submit before USDOE will release remaining American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) fund dollars. States are required to submit their plans to USDOE for approval.

According to the template’s instructions, each state education agency (SEA) must address all requirements listed in the template. This includes, but is not limited to identifying needs of underserved students, and “how the LEA will ensure that the interventions it implements, including but not limited to the interventions under section 2001(e)(1) of the ARP Act to address the academic impact of lost instructional time, will respond to the academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs of all students, and particularly those students disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, including students from low-income families, students of color, English learners, children with disabilities, students experiencing homelessness, children and youth in foster care, and migratory students.”

FOIA Release: Fairfax County Public Schools’ 4.1.20 Special Education Department Chair and 504 Meeting

The video, video chat, and video transcript in this article are from Fairfax County Public Schoolsâ€™ (FCPS) 4.1.20 Special Education Chair and 504 Meeting.

Fairfax County Public Schools Is Offering In-Person, In-School Instruction Four Days A Week; Neglects To Include Students Who Need It

Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) is offering in-person, in-school instruction for four days a week.

The Problem: Parents of students who need such an option have not had it offered to them—and many don’t even know the option exists.

FOIA Release: Fairfax County Public Schools’ 9.21.20 Special Education Chair Meetings

The documents and videos in this article relate to the morning and afternoon sessions of Fairfax County Public Schools’ (FCPS) 9.21.20 Special Education Chair Meeting.

Both meetings cover the following topics:

FCPS Online Campus

Data Collection

Sharing Successes

Career and Transition Services

Recovery Services

Due Process & Eligibility and SEA-STARS

OSEI Updates

Related Services

Today: $81 Billion of $122 Billion Available; Contact Your School Division, Ask How It Will Use The Funds

Today, $81 billion of the $122 billion in funding from the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act of 2021 and the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) fund will be available to all states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. President Biden will make this announcement later today, at the National Safe School Reopening Summit that is being hosted by the U.S. Department of Education.

Contact Your School Division

Within 30 days of receiving ARP ESSER funds, the local education agency (LEA) is required to seek input from the community in advance of making its plan publicly available.

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.

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