by Common Ground | Oct 6, 2015 | Capitols
The New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) notified local school districts that the level of state aid for “extraordinary costs” related to special education would be reduced once again. “Extraordinary costs” aid for special education was...
by Common Ground | Oct 6, 2015 | Capitols
The NJ Assembly Education Committee advanced a bill designed to help protect the rights of students with disabilities. The measure (A-1103) would establish an Office of the Special Education Ombudsman in the Department of Education. The office would function as a...
by Common Ground | Oct 6, 2015 | Capitols
The U.S. Department of Education has announced that states will no longer be allowed to administer tests to students with disabilities that are based on modified academic achievement standards. Previously, states were allowed to count up to 2 percent of all students...
by Common Ground | Oct 6, 2015 | Courts
A New Jersey Administrative Law Judge has order a Passaic County school district to reimburse parents for out-of-district tuition they paid because the district failed to provide FAPE. The case involves a teen with Asperger’s Syndrome and ADHD who was classified as...
by Common Ground | Oct 6, 2015 | Courts
A New Jersey Administrative Law Judge has ordered the parents of a Morris County student with disabilities to consent to evaluation. The case involves a 6th grader classified as “Other Health Impaired.” At the time of the child’s classification in the 3rd grade, the...
by Common Ground | Oct 6, 2015 | Courts
Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to consider a case involving an interpretation of federal law addressing the “stay put” provision of IDEA. “Stay put” allows a student with disabilities to remain in his or her current special education placement...
by Common Ground | Oct 6, 2015 | Snapshot
In 2014, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) received a record-setting 9,989 complaints. In 2014, OCR initiated 38 compliance inquiries, up from 30 in 2013. While the number of OCR staff dropped from a high of 1,148 in 1980 to 544 in 2015, the number of complaints...
by Common Ground | May 14, 2015 | Features
An 8-year-old boy with Asperger’s Syndrome is suspended from his elementary school after getting frustrated in class and balling his fist around his pencil, an action that the school called “aggressive.” A 10-year-old boy with emotional and behavioral...
by Common Ground | May 14, 2015 | Professionals, Teachers
Developing more positive school environments — and minimizing exclusionary discipline practices — requires a shift in the emphasis of older discipline policies, away from zero-tolerance to practices that facilitate positive problem-solving mechanisms, actively...
by Common Ground | May 14, 2015 | Q&A
If you are the parent of a child with a disability, you may know the feeling of dread that comes when your child’s school calls during the school day, asking you to pick up your child because they cannot deal with today’s behaviors. Parents often feel they must...
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