ISBE released a guidance document on residential placements, Guidance on PA 95-0844 and PA 95-0938. The document answers frequently asked questions related to residential placements of general education and special education...more
Third Circuit affirms lower court finding that a school district did not violate the IDEA or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Zachary J. through Jonathan and Jennifer J. of Lafayette Hill, PA v. Colonial Sch. Dist.,...more
On January 22, 2024, the United States Department of Education (“USDOE”) issued a Dear Colleague Letter regarding supporting students with disabilities who require assistive technology (“AT”) in order to receive meaningful...more
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) makes public education available to children with disabilities ages 3 to 21. The U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES) reports that 7.3...more
School aged children lost much in the pandemic, including critical learning time in the classroom, social development, mental health, extracurricular activities, and much more. According to a 2023 study published in the...more
As part of its ongoing efforts to increase inclusivity towards non-native English speakers in the academic setting, the Illinois State Board of Education amended its special education regulations to expand access to...more
The United States Supreme Court issued a decision in Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools, No. 21-887, opening the door for future claims against schools for compensatory monetary damages. In its unanimous opinion, the Supreme...more
The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of a deaf student in Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools, 143 S. Ct. 81 (U.S. 2022), where the Court held that the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”) exhaustion...more
Today, the Supreme Court of the United States issued one decision: Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools, No. 21-887: This case considered whether a federal education law’s administrative exhaustion requirements precluded a...more
A.N. v. Upper Merion Area School District, 2022 WL 3371612 (E.D. Pa. Aug. 16, 2022). The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania upheld a hearing officer’s award of 5.5 hours of compensatory...more
In this third blog post in our series on the OSERS Question and Answer document on IDEA requirements related to returning to in-person instruction, we are focusing on an issue of special importance during and subsequent to...more
In this second blog post in our series on the OSERS Question and Answer document on IDEA requirements related to returning to in-person instruction, we are focusing on two questions relevant to this time of transition and...more
It is not uncommon for school districts and parents to disagree over what is to be included in a child’s individualized education program (“IEP”). The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”) provides a process...more
The COVID-19 pandemic has presented hardships for all students and school leaders, and it has been particularly challenging for students with disabilities and their IEP teams. Over the last nine months, districts and schools...more
OCR recently published a Q&A document providing expectations for compliance with civil rights laws during the pandemic. While OCR is not responsible for enforcing the IDEA, it is responsible for Section 504. Because students...more
Now that many of us have been doing some form of remote learning for close to 7 months, we are starting to see hearing officers and state agencies weigh in to resolve complaints related to the appropriateness of remote...more
Late last month, more than 100 parents of students with disabilities commenced a class action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against “every school district in the United States” and...more
On August 12, 2020, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) issued a “Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)” for Schools.” In a statement by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) to stakeholders that same day, ISBE...more
While only a handful of cases have been reported related to districts’ provision of special education services remotely, we are watching carefully for lessons learned. So far, courts have not required in-person instruction as...more
On May 20, 2020, the state of Connecticut Department of Education’s Bureau of Special Education [“BSE”] issued guidance regarding the provision of extended-school-year [“ESY”] services to special education students during the...more
Just as remote learning has become the new normal, we turn to planning for ESY and the 2020-21 school year. While the timeline for returning to school buildings remains uncertain, the eligibility of some students with...more
And so it begins. While we have encouraged schools to focus on meeting student needs during the school closure and planning to meet student needs when we return to school buildings, we knew the temptation to jump ahead to...more
After three weeks of being out of school buildings and one week of remote learning, we can all see that the IDEA was not written for pandemics and widespread school closures. While requests for IDEA flexibility have been...more
On March 27, 2020, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”), the third and by far the largest stimulus package passed by Congress to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak. As discussed...more
Multiple pieces of guidance related to serving students with disabilities have been issued since Governor DeWine announced the closure of Ohio’s schools on March 12, 2020....more