Blogs

It’s the beginning of a new school year, and it’s a busy time for all district personnel, but it tends to be a particularly active time for special education personnel. The end of summer and the beginning of a new school year brings new students to your buildings, and current students are always growing and changing. It is thus critical for your district personnel to be ready to identify students who may need special education. Here…

Last week, the US District Court granted preliminary approval to a settlement agreement in Doe v. State of Ohio, S.D.Ohio No. 2:91-cv-00464, a class action lawsuit filed in 1993. The lawsuit, filed under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Sec. 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, involved delivery of…

On Tuesday, the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) emailed…

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled last week that the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) unreasonably delayed implementing IDEA regulations related to racial, ethnic and gender disproportionality. The lawsuit was filed by the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA) in July 2018 after DOE postponed the regulation compliance date…

In December, the Legal Ledger reported that the Federal Commission on School Safety, formed by President Trump after the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, had released its report and recommendations. In…

Earlier today, the U.S. Supreme Court answered a question that it had deferred 35 years ago in its seminal opinion on education for children with disabilities—Board of Edn. of Hendrick Hudson Central School Dist. v. Rowley.

In Rowley, the court concluded that the guarantee of a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) in what is now called the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is met if a child’s individualized education program (IEP) sets out a program that is “reasonably calculated to enable the child to receive educational benefits.” However…

Earlier today, a unanimous United States Supreme Court issued its decision in the case of Fry v. Napoleon Community Schools.  The Court overturned the lower courts’ decisions and remanded the case to the appeals court to determine whether the plaintiffs’ suit is about a denial of a FAPE rather than discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Sec. 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.   

The Fry case involved E.F., a student with cerebral palsy, and her assistance dog, Wonder.  When E.F. was a kindergartner, her parents, Stacy and…

On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case of Endrew F v.  Douglas County School District.  The case involves the legal standard the courts will apply when determining whether a school district has provided FAPE as required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 (IDEA). 

The question presented in this case involves IDEA’s provision that federal funds will be provided to states that make FAPE available to every…

The Ohio Department of Education’s Office for Exceptional Children (OEC) released an updated version of Ohio’s System of General Supervision on Oct. 13. Federal law requires states to develop systems of general supervision to monitor school district implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 2004. OEC establishes this document, which is comprised of nine…

ODE news:  Every Student Succeeds Act webinars and stakeholder meetings and comment period for revisions to learning standards ending

As part of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) is required to create a Student Success Plan.  The plan will describe how local, state and federal programs are aligned.  ODE is inviting school board members, district employees, teachers, parents and any other interested parties to attend one of ten stakeholder meetings to share ideas for the development of the Student…