National Center for Learning Disabilities Provides State by State Special Education Scorecards

     The National Center for Learning Disabilities has provided scorecards for every state that includes information on state special education enrollment (including the number of students with specific learning disabilities), student performance on key indicators, federal funding provided to support special education in each state, and the state’s rating by the U.S. Department of Education on its [...]

Parent Centers: A resource for training and assistance for families of children with disabilities

 
          It’s back-to-school time and this posting provides information on federally funded Parent Centers that provide training and assistance to families of children with disabilities. My thanks to my long time friend Barbara Buswell, the Director of Colorado’s PEAK Parent Center, for providing this information regarding services provided by Parent Centers in general and the PEAK [...]

Looking at the Trees in the Forest Grove Decision

     Last week the Supreme Court ruled in Forest Grove v T.A., that the IDEA authorizes reimbursement of private school tuition to parents when: (1) the public school fails to provide appropriate special education services to the child; and (2) the private school program placement is appropriate. Importantly, this is true regardless  of whether the [...]

Supreme Court Rules the IDEA Authorizes Private-School Tuition Reimbursement

     Today, by a 6 to 3 vote, the Supreme Court ruled in Forest Grove School District v T.A. that the IDEA authorizes tuition reimbursement for private school special education services if the school district does not offer an appropriate public program, even though the student hadn’t previously received special education services through the public school.
     School [...]

Supreme Court Nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor and Disability Law

 
           The Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law has provided a valuable service by producing a Preliminary Review of Disability Cases of Judge Sonia Sotomayor. That review provides a fairly in depth analysis of Judge Sotomayor’s decisions in disability cases. The review identifies twenty eight cases involving disability law and, if you’re just keeping score, [...]

Supreme Court to Hear Tuition Reimbursement Case: Forest Grove v. T.A.

     On April 28, 2009, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Forest Grove v. T.A. The issue is whether the school district can be required under the IDEA to reimburse parents for private school tuition when the school had not previously recognized the student’s need for special education. 
     The case involves a family [...]

Discipline and Disability: Determining When a Child’s Misbehavior in School is Related to Their Disability

    Readers I originally posted this article in October  2007.  I have added some additional content and links to the IDEA Regulations in this  new version.
 As a parent, Maria had a long rope but she was quickly nearing the end of it. The principal had just called and asked her to come to school and pick up [...]

NDRN Releases Shocking Report on Seclusion and Restraint in U.S. Schools

     Today, the National Disability Rights Network (NDRN)  issued School is Not Supposed to Hurt, a disturbing national report on seclusion and restraint in U.S. schools. According to the press release : “The report shows an unsettling use of seclusion and restraint tactics, which resulted in physical and emotional injuries as well as deaths, in [...]

NDRN to Issue Report on Seclusion and Restraint in Schools

     On Tuesday January 13th the National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) will conduct a media briefing and will release a disturbing national report on seclusion and restraint in U.S. schools. Additionally, NDRN  will call on the Obama Administration and the new Congress to introduce a national ban on seclusion and prone restraint practices in schools nationwide.
     [...]

New IDEA Rules Clarify Parents’ Right to Revoke Consent to Services

The IDEA requires parental consent before a child receives special education and related services. But the IDEA statute does not say what a Local Education Agency (LEA) should do when a child is receiving special education services and the parent revokes consent to those services. New IDEA regulations, effective December 31, 2008, clarify that parents may unilaterally withdraw their consent [...]