Several organizations have filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) claiming Dallas-area public schools are too harsh in their truancy rules, subjecting students to cruel and unusual punishment by handcuffing them in class, sending them to special adult courts and assessing stiff fines for skipping school.
Continue reading...The National School Boards Association is asking the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights to clarify the guidance it issued earlier this year regarding the rights of students with disabilities to participate in sports in public schools.
Continue reading...The Tenth Circuit has ruled that the parents of a disabled student were not required under the IDEA to exhaust their administrative remedies before bringing suit claiming physical abuse by staff and staff use of unapproved timeouts with their child. However, the Court concluded that the parents had failed on the merits of their claims, styled as a § 1983 action based on violation of the student’s Fourteenth Amendment substantive due process right, because the instances of alleged physical abuse and use of timeouts were not constitutional torts since the defendants’ behavior did not “shock the conscience” of the court.
Continue reading...The USA Today reports that the United States Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights has sent a letter to school officials across the United States informing school districts that they must give disabled students equal access to extracurricular activities.
Continue reading...On October 25, 2012, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit heard oral arguments in D.L. v. Board of School Commissioners of Baltimore City, No. 11-2041. The question before the three-judge panel is whether a disabled student, who was unilaterally placed in a private school, is entitled to special education services under Section 504 at a public school district’s expense.
Continue reading...Thomson Reuters News & Insight reports that the federal government has joined a whistle-blower lawsuit accusing the New York City Department of Education of billing Medicaid for psychological counseling services it falsely claimed to have provided to students with special needs.
Continue reading...StarNewsonline.com reports that Rick Holliday, Assistant Superintendent for Support Services, has announced that New Hanover County Schools’ use of seclusion rooms to deal with students’ aggressive behavior does not violate North Carolina law.
Continue reading...A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit has ruled that a Colorado teacher’s use of a desk with a restraint did not violate a disabled student’s rights against an unreasonable seizure under the Fourth Amendment, and her Fourteenth Amendment due process and equal protection rights.
Continue reading...As reported by the Associated Press (AP) in The Washington Post, the high cost of educating students with special needs is disproportionately falling on traditional public schools as other students increasingly opt for alternatives that are not always readily open to those requiring special education.
Continue reading...As reported on lohud.com, as Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York prepares to make a decision on a groundbreaking special education law change, which amends current state special education law and would require public schools to consider cultural influences like family environment when placing special needs children in programs.
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