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Archive for the Capitols Category

Office for Civil Rights Expands Its Reach

Posted by on April 16, 2012

OCR found that school officials in a Burlington County district illegally required the family of a child with autism to pay for services.

In the last two years, federal officials have launched dozens of new probes addressing civil rights issues that previously received little, if any, scrutiny.

The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) in the U.S. Department of Education opened 74 “compliance reviews” in states, school districts and institutions of higher education, since March, 2010, when Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, promised to reinvigorate the civil rights office. The promise came on the 45th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday,” when Alabama state troopers bludgeoned peaceful civil rights demonstrators.

The issues targeted for investigation are more substantive and complex than in the past. For the first time in its history, OCR is examining graduation rates at a community college. Fourteen of the office’s current reviews are focused on whether students have equal access to college-preparatory curricula, advanced courses, and other advanced-learning opportunities.

Nine reviews are examining the disproportionate use of discipline against minority students. Two reviews are delving into disparities in students’ access to charter schools.

Among OCR’s resolved cases are several in New Jersey. In August 2011, officials in a Mercer county school district agreed to eliminate requirements that parents provide medical documentation or prove discrimination before students with disabilities can be evaluated for services. Also in the same month, OCR found that school officials in a Burlington County district illegally required the family of a child with autism to pay for services.

Education Department staff members based in the OCR’s 12 regional offices take the lead in conducting the reviews through on-site visits to schools. They enforce federal civil rights laws in schools and universities by responding to specific complaints from parents, students and groups. In addition, the office reviews data to identify patterns of discrimination.

In the past year, OCR has conducted 700 “technical-assistance activities,” which include regional conferences for school officials to learn how to proceed when OCR launches a review. The agency has issued guidance documents to clarify how schools and universities can stay in compliance with civil rights laws, an approach that has helped OCR close more cases through voluntary agreements.

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NJDOE issues Corrective Action Plan to Address Length of School Day

Posted by on April 16, 2012

The New Jersey Department of Education has issued a corrective action plan for a north Jersey school district. The order is in response to a complaint investigation initiated by a non-attorney advocate last fall.

According to the report, students placed in a district-operated special class program were not offered the same length of school day as their non-disabled peers. The school day for the intensive, ABA-oriented autism class ended one hour and 5 minutes sooner than the school day for all other students. The IEPs for the roughly two dozen students in that program did not provide any indication of, or rationale for, a shorter day.

The district provided a variety of explanations for the practice, from it being a “blanket decision for all students in the program,” to transportation issues. They further claimed that this time was devoted to parent training, but no such training had ever been offered.

State code and statute require that the length of the school day for students with disabilities be at least as long as that established for non-disabled students.

The NJDOE issued a three-pronged corrective action plan requiring the district to reconfigure the autism program such that the students receive a full-day program; reconvene an IEP meeting for each student affected to indicate the length of school day needed; and, provide compensatory education to students, as needed.

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Bill Would Prohibit the Use of Restraints and Seclusion in Schools

Posted by on April 16, 2012

U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Chair of the Senate Education Committee, has introduced a bill (S.2020) that would establish national standards on the use of restraints and seclusion in school.

The “Keeping All Students Safe Act” would prohibit seclusion, as well as mechanical, physical or chemical restraints from being included in any child’s Individual Education Program (IEP), behavioral intervention plan or Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP).

Under the bill, physical restraint would be prohibited except in an emergency situation, when there is an immediate threat of serious bodily injury. The bill bans life-threatening restraint that interferes with breathing or the ability of a child to communicate, as well as mechanical and chemical restraints.

If there is imminent danger of harm, school staff may use only the degree of force necessary to stop the threat of harm. It requires schools to collect data to improve decision-making, provide the public with information about seclusion and restraint practices, and notify parents within 24 hours of restraint. The bill also bans seclusion of children in locked rooms or rooms from which they cannot exit.
The measure would require school personnel who implement physical restraint to be trained and certified by a state-approved crisis intervention program. Failure to comply with the legislation would result in a denial of FAPE.

While many parent advocacy groups support the bill, school administrators have gone on record opposing it, saying it would be difficult for schools to comply with the reporting and training requirements, and that the bill has loopholes that could prompt legal action against schools.

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Schools Seek Easier Access to Medicaid Funds

Posted by on April 16, 2012

Currently, more than $1.6 billion a year in Medicaid funding is used to pay for physical, occupational and speech therapy, mental health services, transportation and counseling.

The U.S. Education Department’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) has proposed changing certain rules to make it easier for schools to access Medicaid funding for special education services. Medicaid funds can be used to pay for related services and transportation if a child is Medicaid-eligible and needs services as part of his or her IEP.

Currently, more than $1.6 billion a year in Medicaid funding is used to pay for physical, occupational and speech therapy, mental health services, transportation and counseling.

According to the National Alliance on Medicaid in Education, schools could access billions more in Medicaid funding, but fail to do so because of paperwork required to claim it.

Current rules require districts to get parents’ permission each time they submit bills to Medicaid, which could be as often as twice a month.

Other agencies that bill Medicaid do not have to obtain parental permission so frequently. With recent budget cuts, districts report that administrative and postage costs associated with trying to secure parental permission so often are a serious deterrent.

OSERS’ proposal would allow schools to ask parents for permission only once in order to tap Medicaid for services listed in the IEP.

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State Auditor Calls for Changes in New Jersey Special Education Funding Formula

Posted by on September 30, 2011

From the Capitol – Common Ground September 2011

The state’s non-partisan Office of Legislative Services (OLS) has issued a report calling for changes in New Jersey’s special education funding system.

When the School Funding Reform Act (SFRA) was enacted, it dramatically changed the way in which state special education aid gets distributed to local districts. The old formula provided aid based on the number of children identified in each district, and the intensity of the services needed by each child. The new formula provides state aid based on the average percentage of students classified statewide, and a statewide average of excess cost. It does not consider the number of children with disabilities in a particular district or the nature of their disability. As a result of this change, some districts received a windfall in special education aid, while others took dramatic cuts.

OLS recommends that the actual classification rate in a local district, not the statewide census average, be used for state aid purposes. “Actual funding needs for special education programs may not be adequately provided under the current formula,” OLS wrote. “Many districts will continue to be over or underfunded at that state level as long as the average classification rate is utilized.” OLS has called on the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) to seek legislation allowing for actual classification rates to be used.

In a response letter, the department “respectfully disagrees,” citing that the policy decision to change the formula was upheld by the courts in 2009.

SFRA also requires the NJDOE to commission an independent funding study to examine the adequacy of the special education funding provisions of the law. The state has yet to issue the findings of the study, which were to have been provided to the legislature more than a year ago.

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2011-2012 State Budget Finalized

Posted by on September 30, 2011

From the Capitol – Common Ground September 2011

In signing the state budget for 2011-2012, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie increased state aid to local districts by $850 million, and at the same time, used his line item veto power to trim $900 million from the bottom line. In a 23-page memo to the legislature describing the cuts, Christie cited his responsibility to ensure a balanced budget.

The $29.7 billion budget reflected cuts likely to impact education, children and families including: funding for school breakfast and lunch programs, child protective services; child behavioral health services and emergency treatment homes; after-school programs; and state funding for early intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities. One of the most high-profile cuts was to the Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired, a state program help blind students attend school. Two hundred and sixty-seven schools will be affected, impacting an estimated 2,400 children.

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Federal Report on Special Education Oversight Comes with Warnings

Posted by on September 30, 2011

NJDOE’s OSERS determined that New Jersey “needs assistance” in meeting the requirements of Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

This summer, the U.S. Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services (OSERS) issued a report which found that New Jersey’s special education programs had improved in most, but not all categories. In spite of the state’s positive performance in 18 of 20 areas, OSERS determined that New Jersey “needs assistance” in meeting the requirements of Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

Federal officials identified two areas of concern, both of which have to do with how the state provides general supervision of local districts.

New Jersey was commended for its performance in other categories, including improved data collection. One category that has long troubled New Jersey and other states is the disproportionate amount of minority students classified as disabled. The state exceeded federal standards in resolving these investigations, according to the report.

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New Jersey Enacts New Anti-Bullying Law

Posted by on September 12, 2011

From the Capitol – Common Ground September 2011
New Jersey’s law is the first anti-bullying law in the U.S. to set statewide deadlines for incidents of bullying to be reported, investigated, and resolved. School personnel must report incidents of bullying to principals on the day they occur.

In September, a new anti-bullying law went into effect in New Jersey. Considered to be the nation’s toughest law to fight bullying in schools, the measure strengthens New Jersey’s earlier anti-bullying law, which encouraged, but did not require school districts to set up anti-bullying programs.

“The Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights” requires training for public school employees on how to spot bullying; mandates that districts form “school safety teams” to review complaints; requires superintendents to report incidents of bullying to the Board of Education or face disciplinary action; and allows schools to suspend or expel students who bully, harass, or intimidate other students. The law applies to bullying that occurs in extracurricular school-related settings, including cyber bullying, school buses, and school-sponsored functions, as well as to bullying that occurs off school grounds but that carries over into school.

It is the first anti-bullying law in the U.S. to set statewide deadlines for incidents of bullying to be reported, investigated, and resolved. School personnel must report incidents of bullying to principals on the day they occur. An investigation must begin within one school day and a school must complete its investigation within 10 school days, after which there must be a resolution of the situation. The school must notify the parents of all students involved in an incident, including the parents of the bully and the bullied student, and offer counseling and intervention services.

Schools will be graded on how well they are addressing bullying, and must post the information on line, along with contact information for its anti-bullying specialist.

The law specifically protects students with disabilities, as well all students who may be bullied or harassed due to actual or perceived race, color, religion, disability, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, and gender identity or expression.

In ten research studies conducted in the U.S., children with disabilities were found to be two to three times more likely than non-disabled peers to be bullied, and the bullying was more chronic in nature and often directly related to their disabilities. In a 2008 study, 97% of teachers reported that they had observed more than one incident of school-related disability harassment.

This spring, a federal district court in New York ruled that children with disabilities who are bullied may be denied a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE), as required under IDEA. The decision is important because, until now, whether a student with disabilities was subjected to bullying was not considered in determining whether a placement was appropriate. This decision makes clear that districts cannot ignore bullying and the effect it may have on a student’s ability to benefit from special education. Districts must address whether it must modify a student’s placement or provide other special education services to ameliorate the effect of bullying.

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New Federal Funds to Train Special Educators

Posted by on June 1, 2011

The U.S. Department of Education announced it would award nearly $20 million in grants to higher education institutions to help prepare special education personnel to improve services and results for children with disabilities. $13.5 million will help current and future special education professionals complete degrees, state certifications, professional licenses or other state endorsements in early intervention, special education or related services fields.

Funds will also support the preparation of special education paraprofessionals, assistants in related services professions (such as physical therapist assistants, occupational therapist assistants) or educational interpreters. Additionally, more than $6 million will be devoted to “Preparation of Leadership Personnel” grants, which will support doctoral, post-doctoral and special education administration degree programs.

These grant programs are funded by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act – Part D Support Programs, which are intended to assist in the delivery of special education service

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Referrals to Special Education Cannot be Delayed

Posted by on June 1, 2011

Earlier this winter, the U.S Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs released a memo reminding states that a response-to-intervention (RTI) process cannot delay the initial evaluation for special education services of a child suspected of having a disability.

RTI is an educational framework based on universal screening of all students, with increasingly targeted and intensive lessons – “interventions” – to students who have identified areas of weakness. Students are monitored closely for their response to those interventions.

Federal regulations require that states allow RTI to be used as part of the criteria for determining if students have a specific learning disability. In the memo, leaders in Washington underscore that RTI can be part of a comprehensive evaluation process for a student, but it cannot replace the need for a comprehensive evaluation. The results of an RTI process may be one component of the information reviewed as part of the evaluation procedures required under federal policy

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