by Common Ground | Apr 15, 2016 | Capitols
Early in 2016, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed legislation that requires the Attorney General to establish a Missing Vulnerable Persons (MVP) Emergency Alert System for missing children and adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities. The system...
by Common Ground | Apr 15, 2016 | Capitols
Congress approved a $1.1 trillion plan to boost spending for many government programs including special education and other disability programs. Funding for states under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) have increased by $415 million. Feds Boost...
by Common Ground | Apr 15, 2016 | Capitols
A fact sheet produced by a group of New Jersey special education attorneys and advocates outlines a problem affecting students with disabilities who are placed in New Jersey’s state approved private schools for students with disabilities. In June 2015 the New Jersey...
by Common Ground | Apr 15, 2016 | Courts
A new report finds that court decisions related to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) are more likely to be litigated in some states than others. An analysis published in the Journal of Special Education Leadership reported that 10 states account...
by Common Ground | Apr 15, 2016 | Courts
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit has ruled that a teacher’s behavior management efforts did not violate her students’ constitutional rights. The case involves an Ohio special education teacher whose educational and disciplinary methods for her...
by Common Ground | Apr 15, 2016 | Courts
A group of middle and high school students have filed a first-of-its-kind federal lawsuit saying violence at home and in their neighborhoods has impaired their ability to learn at school. The case involves a group of California students and three teachers who allege...
by Common Ground | Apr 15, 2016 | Snapshot
In 2013, about ten percent of K-12 students in New Jersey were deemed “chronically absent,” missing more than 18 school days. Across the nation, an estimated 5 to 7.5 million students miss a month or more of school each year. In poor communities, truancy rates...
by Common Ground | Feb 18, 2016 | Features
Last winter, President Obama signed into law The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The new law replaces No Child Left Behind (NCLB), which had been on the books since 2002. Like NCLB, ESSA reauthorizes the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) and...
by Common Ground | Feb 18, 2016 | Parents
By Joanne DeSimone He was 5 years old and autistic but reachable. He was delayed, but came to your kindergarten class counting, knowing his alphabet and writing his name. There were sensory issues that couldn’t be avoided in a large New York City classroom, and I...
by Common Ground | Feb 18, 2016 | Capitols
Governor Chris Christie has signed a bipartisan measure designed to help protect the rights of students with disabilities. A new Office of the Special Education Ombudsman in the Department of Education will function as a resource to provide confidential information...
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