by Common Ground | Nov 5, 2013 | Capitols
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) has notified leaders at the New Jersey Department of Education that the state met the requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in several...
by Common Ground | Nov 4, 2013 | Features
By Laura Cohen, Clinical Professor of Law and Director, Criminal and Youth Justice Clinic, Rutgers School of Law – Newark “Roughly half of the nearly 500 children in custody on any given day are eligible for special education services…”Lost in his orange...
by Common Ground | Nov 4, 2013 | Courts
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to consider two appeals involving how schools treat students in special education. The first case involves a 5 year-old Colorado girl with multiple intellectual and developmental disabilities. The girl’s school used a special...
by Common Ground | Nov 4, 2013 | Courts
The Cape May County Technical Board of Education and the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights (DCR) have entered into an agreement to change the admissions practices of the Cape May County Technical High School (CMCT). The changes are intended to give students with...
by Common Ground | Nov 4, 2013 | Courts
The board of education of a North Jersey school district has agreed to pay a student with severe disabilities $30,000 to settle allegations that it deliberately caused her to miss middle school graduation in 2012. The case involves an 8th grade girl who has severe...
by Common Ground | Nov 4, 2013 | Capitols
The Obama administration has announced plans to improve the outcomes for children with disabilities who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI). The federal government will make available $10 million in grant money to selected states to help them establish...
by Common Ground | Nov 4, 2013 | Capitols
Governor Christie has approved the state budget for New Jersey for the 2014 fiscal year, which began on July 1. The budget includes two changes that affect special education funding. First, the amount of categorical aid for special education that districts will...
by Common Ground | Nov 4, 2013 | Capitols
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has signed two bills addressing reading disabilities: one that will make it easier to identify students with dyslexia, and another intended to improve the training teachers get. Dyslexia is a brain-based learning disability that is...
by Common Ground | Nov 4, 2013 | Capitols
A new proposal introduced in Washington would allocate federal dollars to develop a national plan to help students with disabilities transition to adulthood. The measure, S-1259, introduced by New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez, would amend the Public Health Service...
by Common Ground | Nov 4, 2013 | Capitols
In June, the U.S. Education Department has released a “Dear Colleague” letter to reiterate that school districts are responsible to provide instruction in Braille to students who are blind or visually impaired, unless a school team determines that it is...