Homebound Student May Use 504 and the ADA to Challenge School District’s Policy Excluding Him from the Senior Graduation Party and Dance

 In Mowry v. Logan County Board of Education, 58 IDELR 192 (S.D. W. Va. 2012), a West Virginia high school student who was placed on a homebound program due to having Fabry’s disease (a hereditary metabolic disorder) was told if he was “too sick” to attend school, he was “too sick” to attend extracurricular activities [...]

District Discriminated Against Student by Failing to Follow 504 Plan Requiring Weekly E mails and Written Copies of Homework & Lecture Notes

Parents frequently ask which is better enforced: An IEP or a 504 Plan? While the 504 regulations do not specify the detail regarding developing a 504 plan that the IDEA provides regarding IEPs, 504 Plans can be very detailed and can be enforced. For example, in Morris (NJ) School District, 111 LRP 70051 (OCR 2011), the Office [...]

US Department of Education Outlines 15 Principles Regarding the Use of Restraint and Seclusion

Today, the US Department of Education published the Restraint and Seclusion: Resource Document to “help  ensure that schools are safe and healthy environments where all students can learn, develop and participate in instructional programs that promote high levels of academic achievement.” The publication outlines principles for educators, parents, and other stakeholders to consider when developing [...]

Justice Department Settles Complaints with Health Care Providers Regarding HIV Discrimination

The U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) announced last Friday that it has settled two complaints involving claims that health care providers refused to serve people with HIV in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The first complaint was filed by a man with HIV who sought treatment at the Mercy Medical Group Midtown Clinic [...]

Teacher’s Long-term abuse denied student FAPE resulting in 5 years of compensatory services

In Fulton County School District, 112 LRP 1885 (SEA GA 02/01/12) an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ)ruled that a Georgia school district denied a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to a student with a disability because the district failed to stop a teacher’s known, prolonged abuse of the student when he was in middle school and [...]

Texas School District Required to Provide Bus Monitors with Training Specific to Student’s Behaviors

 A state hearing officer ruled in Corpus Christi Independent School District, 57 IDELR 297 (Tex. SEA 2011) that the school district failed to provide appropriate personnel support so that a  student with an emotional disturbance and ADHD could be safely transported on the bus. The student had been suspended from the bus more than ten times during the 2010-2011 school year for [...]

OSEP Letter Reinforces that Services are Based on Student’s Individual Needs

As we know, special education services for children with disabilities are provided to meet the individual needs of the particular student with a disability. Still, it is good to see the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), confirm that point to a state director of special education in Letter to Koscielniak, 112 LRP 9475 (OSEP [...]

Florida Department of Education Required to Pay for Maintaining Specific Unique Assistive Technology Needed for Student to Take State Exams

In Seminole County (FL) School District, 58 IDELR 113 (OCR 2011), the parents of a 5th grade student with cerebral palsy and a visual impairment complained to the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) that the Florida Department of Education failed to provide their daughter with a screen- reading device as an accommodation during a state exam. The [...]

Colorado District’s Failure to Evaluate Student While Implementing RTI Violated 504

In Harrison (CO) School District Two, 57 IDELR 295 (OCR 2011),  the Office for Civil Rights determined that implementing RTI strategies did not offset the school district’s failure to timely evaluate and reevaluate a student with ADHD. The student’s mother enrolled the student in the district for the 2008-09 school year and made it clear the [...]

OSEP Letter says school districts may set timelines for parents to submit IEE reports before scheduling an IEP meeting

In Letter to Addressee 111 LRP 68370 (OSEP 2011), the Office of Special Education Programs has stated that school districts, as part of their Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) criteria, may require that parents provide the complete independent evaluation report by a certain time, even before setting the date for the IEP team meeting. The OSEP was [...]