|
Margaret J. Kay, Ed.D.
NCSP |
Margaret J. Kay, Ed.D. Psychologist Specializing in the recognition and understanding of individual differences. |
|
|
| School Records: Who is Entitled to Access? The primary legal protection for school records is the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), originally known as the Buckley Amendment. The Family Policy Compliance Office ruled that, "Generally, test protocols cannot be excluded from parental review." More recently, OSEP clarified this position to indicate that test instruments, test protocols and interpretative materials that contain the student's name fall under FERPA's definition of "educational records" and are, therefore, open to inspection and review by parents. Independent Educational Evaluations (IEE's) Did you know that a school district's failure to identify a student's disability in a timely manner may cause the district to be liable for reimbursement for Independent Educational Evaluations (IEE's) and private tutoring as well as compensatory private tutoring? Although this is only a State Education Agency decision, it does provide a rationale to argue for reimbursement and compensatory claims when districts fail to take action after they have been put on notice, or have discovered, that the student has a specific learning disability. (Chicago Public School, 22 IDLER 1008 (SEA IL 1995). Is a Child's Educational Program Appropriate? The Supreme Court in Board of Education of the Hendrick Hudson Central School District vs. Rowley, 458 U.S. 176 (1982) established the parameters for determining whether a school district has provided a student with an appropriate program of education. The court held that "in matters brought pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), the Individualized Educational Program developed through the Act's procedures must be reasonably calculated to enable the child to receive educational benefit." Furthermore, the child is entitle to a program that enables him or her to make meaningful progress in light of individual potential (Polk vs. Central Susquehanna IU # 16, 853 F.2d 171, 184 (Third Circuit 1988); Johnson vs. Lancaster-Lebanon IU-13, 757 F.Supp.606, 17 EHLR 456, 463 (E.D. Pa. 1991). Reimbursement for Private School Tuition School districts are not required to reimburse the costs of special education if the parent unilaterally places the child in a private school. Reimbursement may be available if the court or hearing officer determines that the School District had not made a Free and Appropriate Education (FAPE) available in a timely manner prior to enrollment in the private school. Reimbursement may be reduced or denied if the parents did not give written notice to the School District of rejection of placement and intent to remove 10 business days prior to removal. A parent seeking reimbursement for the unilateral placement of a student in a private school must meet two requirements: (1) Parent must demonstrate the district failed to offer the student FAPE (2) The parent must show the unilateral placement was appropriate. If the parent cannot establish the district failed to offer FAPE, the claim for reimbursement will be denied regardless of whether the unilateral placement was appropriate. Foreign Language Waivers for College Students On August 15, 1997, the US District Court issued its decision in the case of Guckenberger vs. Boston University (C.A. No, 96-11426-PBS). In part, the ruling held that if a foreign language requirement is not part of the fundamental nature of the student's program, then students with requisite documentation of specific learning disabilities would be able to substitute another course for the foreign language. The Reading Excellence Act of 1998 The Reading Excellence Act was signed into law in 1998. It provides grants to states and local school districts to be used for teacher training and reading assistance programs for children and parents. A key provision of the program is early intervention for young children who are slow readers. IDEA 2004
|
|
This site was designed by Margaret J. Kay, Ed.D. Its contents are presented for informational and educational purposes only and are not to be construed as professional advice on medical, legal, technical or therapeutic matters. By using and accessing the information on this site, you agree to waive any rights to hold the site developer, or any individual and/or group associated with this site, liable for any damage that may result from the use of the information presented here. © Copyright 2007-2008 Margaret J. Kay. All rights reserved. The copyright of design, text and images on this web site is owned by Margaret J. Kay or the individual copyright owners as noted elsewhere on this site. You may download and reprint articles from this web site for non-commercial, private, educational purposes only. You may not in any way modify, or publicly distribute, any information contained within this site without specific permission form the copyright owner. Send mail to
MJK@MargaretKay.com
with questions or comments about this web site.
|
