Schools | NJCommonGround.org

From the Courts: Service Dog Deemed to be a “Reasonable Accommodation”

by Common Ground | Jan 24, 2019 | Courts

A federal appeals court in the Third Circuit (which covers Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and the Virgin Islands) has issued a ruling upholding the right of a student with disabilities to use a service dog at school as a “reasonable accommodation” under Section...

Snapshot: Mental Health Issues in Schools

by Common Ground | Nov 28, 2018 | Snapshot

Just 20 percent of students diagnosed with mental disorders receive the mental-health services they need. More than 45 percent of K-12 students have had three or more adverse childhood experiences. According to research, these experiences impact learning and behavior....

Medicaid and Special Education

by Common Ground | Sep 11, 2017 | Features

Medicaid is a successful government-operated, single-payer health program established in 1965 as part of Lyndon Johnson’s “Great Society.” The nation’s largest single source of health insurance, Medicaid covers one out of five Americans with very low income- more than...

Homelessness, Poverty and Special Education

by Common Ground | Dec 12, 2016 | Features

Students without a home face steep educational challenges: the absence of basic necessities such as food and clothing; poor healthcare and medical services; a lack of quality mental health services; interruption of education due to mobility; and trauma.Poverty...

Snapshot: Computers, Mobile Devices and Internet Access in Schools

by Common Ground | Aug 11, 2014 | Snapshot

Eight percent of computers in public schools in 1995 used for instructional purposes had Internet access. By 2008, that percentage had reached 98%.1 97 percent of teachers have one or more computers located in the classroom.1 93 percent of the computers located in the...

Leader’s Perspective: Emergency Preparedness for Students with Disabilities – What Schools Can and Should Be Doing

by Common Ground | Nov 4, 2013 | Teachers

By Glenn Martins A “one size fits all” approach to planning will not work when considering the needs of students with disabilities.It’s not merely a question of if your school could be affected by a disaster; it’s quite possibly a matter of...