| Contact YouTube |
 |
Facebook Gallery Twitter
August 20,
What The Coronavirus Means For IEPs This Year
As a school year like no other gets underway, the laws surrounding individualized education programs remain unchanged and experts say parents should fight for the services their kids need.
While the details may look different — with IEP meetings occurring virtually rather than in person, for example — special education advocates and attorneys say that families should approach the IEP process much like they would in any other year.
“I think that’s where people get lost is they think that COVID changes things and under the law, it does not,” according to Denise Marshall, CEO of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, or COPAA, a nonprofit that works to advocate for the rights of students with disabilities and their families.
July 21,
Schools Want IDEA Liability Protections From Congress
Concerned that the pandemic will prompt an onslaught of special education litigation, school leaders want federal lawmakers to grant them liability protections related to their obligations under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
AASA, The School Superintendents Association, as well as the National School Boards Association and the Association of Educational Service Agencies are calling on Congress to include the protections in the next COVID-19 response legislation.
In a 21-page report, the three groups said that surveys of school leaders across the nation show growing concern about “unparalleled rates of litigation” as schools struggle to follow through with students’ individualized education programs during the pandemic.
June 23,
Ed Department Issues New Guidance On Special Education During Pandemic
The U.S. Department of Education is offering up details about how states and schools can address special education disputes in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The federal agency issued two question-and-answer documents Monday — one outlining considerations for Individuals with Disabilities Education Act dispute resolution procedures for services for kids ages 3 to 21 and another for younger children.
April 26,
DeVos Finds ‘No Reason’ To Waive Key Provisions Of IDEAe
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos will not seek changes to the central tenets of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
In a report to Congress released late Monday, DeVos recommended that lawmakers consider what the Department of Education called “additional flexibilities on administrative requirements.”
But, DeVos said in the 18-page document that her agency “is not requesting waiver authority for any of the core tenets of the IDEA or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, most notably a free appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive
April 13,
DeVos Could Recommend Waiving IDEA Protections
As schools remain closed due to COVID-19, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos is weighing whether they should be temporarily freed of some of their special education obligations.
DeVos must decide in the coming weeks whether to recommend that Congress allow portions of special education law to be waived in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
As part of the stimulus bill passed in late March, DeVos was given 30 days to issue a report to Congress with recommendations for any waivers she believes are necessary under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to “provide limited flexibility” to states and school districts during the emergency.
April 8,
Once again, the rights of students with disabilities are on the chopping block. Here's the latest:
Congress has requested Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos recommend education waivers that would allow schools to drop services for students with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
While schools are designing innovative new ways to bring the classroom to students who are quarantined at home, Secretary DeVos is devising ways for them to skip providing that same innovation to students with disabilities!
We need your help to stop Secretary DeVos!
March 26,
SEEK, An Equal Education is a Civil Right
For all of the latest news on how school closures impact your child receiving special education services. An Equal Education is a Civil Right.
March, 15,
Feds Weigh In On Special Ed, Medicaid Concerns Over Coronavirus
“If (a school district) continues to provide educational opportunities to the general student population during a school closure, the school must ensure that students with disabilities also have equal access to the same opportunities.”
Feb, 13,
We Need to Take Care of Our Teachers Before They All Burn Out
We need to support our teacher friends this winter break. They’re exhausted mentally, emotionally and physically. The sugar-crazed last day of school before winter break would have been enough to put most of us in bed for the rest of December. But teachers keep pushing. They’re going to spend their time off frantically trying to catch up on chores and visiting all the people they’re afraid they’ve been neglecting.
Jan, 17,
Ed Department Urged To Ban Seclusion In Schools
