Most of the cases the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) handles involve disability discrimination, including claims that a school failed to implement an IEP or Section 504 plan. In our experience, however, OCR is often an afterthought […]
Category: Special Education Law Insights Blog
In the realm of special education, the use of specialized jargon and unique terminology it the norm. Whether it’s terms that seem basic to us now, like “IEP” and “LRE,” or more of-the-minute phrases like “significant disproportionality,” those of us […]
If you’ve ever been confused by the use of the terms “accommodations” and “modifications” in the realm of disability student rights, you’re not alone. Our friends over at LRP Publications, the makers of the Special Ed Connection website, asked our own […]
Maybe you’ve heard the proverb “A stitch in time saves nine,” but have you ever wondered what it means? According to Wiktionary, this old proverb comes from the idea of mending a small tear in clothes before it becomes a larger […]
A District of Columbia trial court issued a ruling today requiring the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to implement a 2016 Obama-era regulation addressing “significant disproportionality” based on race and national origin in special education. What does this mean for […]
This One Mistake Can Turn Pre-IEP-Meeting Planning into Prohibited Predetermination
February 27, 2019
Where do you draw the line between pre-IEP-meeting preparation, which the law allows, and “predetermination” prior to the meeting, which can get schools into hot water? This was one topic discussed during our recent Franczek webinar, IEP Season is Coming . . . […]
Road Trip! It’s Time for the IAASE Winter Conference
February 21, 2019
A caravan of Franczek’s special education attorneys is en route to Springfield to participate in the IAASE Twentieth Annual Winter Conference, and we couldn’t be more excited. As the new website for the Illinois Alliance of Administrators of Special Education explains, […]
Twice Exceptional Students, Accommodation-Seeking Behaviors, and How to Tell the Difference
February 20, 2019
Schools often struggle when asked to evaluate or accommodate a high-achieving student who may also have a disability. In some cases, the student is what is known as “twice exceptional” or “2e,” which is a student with a disability who […]