Special Education Monitoring
Learn more about the accountability process for special education and what鈥檚 being done to ensure that schools fulfill their legal obligations
School & District Management
How Texas Keeps Special Education Enrollment Low
School officials say that oversight from the state prompted them to keep special education enrollment at no more than 8.5 percent, even if that meant delaying evaluations or shifting kids into services that offered less legal obligation.
States
More States Meet Requirements Under Federal Special Education Rating System
The office of special education programs released its latest annual ratings of states and how well they are meeting the mandates of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
Special Education
Home-Schooling Parents Protest Draft IEP Proposal by Sandy Hook Panel
An expert panel appointed by Connecticut's governor recommends in a draft that home-schooled students with disabilities receive individualized education programs and be monitored by their local school system.
Special Education
Leader To Learn From
Administrator Deftly Steers District in Overhauling of Special Education
Kathy Fortino of Michigan's Muskegon regional school district strikes a balance between helping school systems provide special education services and monitoring them when they fall short. She is recognized as a 2015 Leader To Learn From.
Special Education
Survey: Practices Vary at Schools That Must Report on Students With Disabilities
A federally-funded survey found that schools were more likely to adopt certain educational practices and move students to regular classrooms if they were required to report on the performance of students with disabilities.
Standards & Accountability
Top-Read Posts of 2014: IEPs, Common Core, Education Department Moves
Readers found posts on common standards and their implications for students with disabilities particularly compelling this year.
School & District Management
Investigation Alleges Former Seattle Special Education Chief Shared Bids
Zakiyyah McWilliams, the eighth special education administrator the district has had in the past five years, resigned prior to the release of the investigative report.
Law & Courts
Judge Dismisses Long-Running Class Action Special Education Suit Against D.C.
The Blackman-Jones case, filed in 1997, said the school system had systemic problems in meeting the mandates of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
Early Childhood
D.C. Council Approves Bills to Improve Special Education
The legislation is among the efforts intended to improve and expand special education services in the 45,000-student District of Columbia system.
States
Tiny Oklahoma District Fights State Grade Based on Disabled Students' Test Scores
The Peckham district in northern Oklahoma, which enrolls about 100 students in grades K-8, has about 30 students with disabilities and has seen its state ranking plummet to F over two years, based in part on student test scores.
Special Education
Use of NAEP Scores in Special Education Evaluation System Meant to Be Temporary
The Education Department responds to concerns from GOP lawmakers that it is using the National Assessment of Educational Progress inappropriately to grade states on academic performance.
Special Education
Special Education Evaluation Process Under Fire From Senate Republicans
The "results-driven accountability" framework unveiled in June is an example of overreach from the U.S. Department of Education, says a letter from Republican leaders on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee.
Special Education
D.C. Council Set to Vote on Special Education Improvements
Observers say the District of Columbia schools, which has had a dysfunctional special education program for years, has been making notable improvements.
States
Education Secretary Lauds Revised Special Education Evaluation System
The evaluation system used in previous years focused on compliance, but not as much on how well students were learning, said Education Secretary Arne Duncan.