Endrew F. vs. Douglas County School District decision: "The IEP must aim to enable the child to make progress. After all, the essential function of an IEP is to set out a plan for pursuing academic and functional advancement... When all is said and done, a student...
Q & A: Map Testing
Across the United States, millions of K-12 school children take the NWEA MAP or Measures of Academic Progress tests. Using a computerized adaptive test it assesses math and reading in the early grades, and language usage and science for older students. By having...
Dyslexia and the Illusion of Inclusion – Making Education Fit the Child [Premium]
There’s a viral post circulating on the Internet from a Texas special education professor: “It’s OK to say dyslexia!” U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan tweeted shortly before his agency released guidance targeting the needs of the 2.5 million students with a learning disability. But while the government highlights the unique needs of students with learning disabilities, they are seemingly […]
Do We Need to Revoke the IEP? – School Q & A
"My daughter currently has an IEP. We asked that we keep her accommodations of the IEP in place but take a break from the support she is receiving from the resource teachers, with both pull out and push in. We were told that we need to revoke her IEP in order to do...
Dyslexia Accommodations
Dyslexia is a specific learning disability protected under the American for Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the federal Rehabilitation Act. Students with Dyslexia have average or above average intelligence, but may have difficulty with reading, writing,...
Calculator Use: Accommodation or No?
A teacher writes, "I have a new student who transferred from a public charter school. She has an IEP accommodation for a calculator use for anything involving math calculations. But I'm wondering whether providing a calculator is changing standards? Is she learning...
BREAKING NEWS: Supreme Court Decision: the IDEA and Educational Benefit of FAPE
The U.S. Department of Education has just released guidelines in light of the recent unanimous US Supreme Court Decision Endrew F. vs. Douglas County School District. That decision interpreted the scope of FAPE (free appropriate public education) to mean that a...
Surviving IEP Season [Premium]
IEP season usually runs from late March through early June, and it’s a time when parents and teachers meet with the IEP team to assess the past year’s progress and also plan for changes that should take place for the upcoming year. Be aware, too, that we have a new Supreme Court decision that is […]
GREAT Supreme Court Decision – Schools Must Provide More Support for Students with Disabilities
A GREAT Supreme Court Unanimous (8-0) was handed down that states that public schools must provide more than 'de minimus' or the bare minimum to benefit students with disabilities. The fact that some school systems (in this case, Douglas County) were fighting the...
Improved College Board Guidelines for Test Accommodations
New from the College Board: "Beginning January 1, 2017, the vast majority of students who are approved for and using testing accommodations at their school through a current Individualized Education Program (IEP) or 504 Plan will have those same accommodations...
ADHD / Gifted 2E Guidelines from Department of Education – Schools
In breaking news, the US Department of Education and Office for Civil Rights have released their a letter from Asst Secretary Catherine Lhamon and its Students with ADHD and Section 504 Resource Guide HERE. For your convenience, we also include them below -...