by Common Ground | Feb 28, 2013 | Features
Disability Mandates Include School-Based Mental Health Services By Alvin E. Doyle As a nation, we strive to create educational environments in which students feel safe and can learn, and in which educators have the tools and strategies they need to educate all...
by Common Ground | Feb 28, 2013 | Capitols
The Obama administration has issued a groundbreaking directive requiring school districts to provide equal extracurricular athletic opportunities for students with disabilities, in compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. In a letter to schools in late...
by Common Ground | Feb 28, 2013 | Capitols
In January, advocates urged the New Jersey State Board of Education (SBOE) to change recently adopted procedures for public input. The effort comes as the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) is proposing regulatory changes in many areas, including special...
by Common Ground | Feb 28, 2013 | Capitols
A package of bills filed in 2012 would require schools to conduct early screenings for dyslexia and other reading disabilities, train teachers in serving these students, and specifically define dyslexia as a reading disability in school regulations. The bills mirror...
by Common Ground | Feb 28, 2013 | Capitols
An “Education Transformation Task Force” established by Governor Chris Christie last year has released its final report. The eight-member group has asked that the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) eliminate or change more than 400 rules,...
by Common Ground | Feb 28, 2013 | Courts
A federal appeals court has upheld a U.S. Department of Education regulation requiring school districts, under certain circumstances, to reimburse parents for independent educational evaluations (IEE). The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously to uphold a...
by Common Ground | Feb 28, 2013 | Courts
A federal appeals court has ruled that a Colorado school district must reimburse parents for the cost of an out-of-state residential treatment program. The case involves a high-school student, now an adult, with learning disabilities and severe behavioral and...
by Common Ground | Feb 28, 2013 | Q&A
By S. Paul Prior, Esq., Hinkle, Fingles & Prior, P.C., Attorneys at Law The Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) has adopted new rules that fundamentally change the ways in which adults with developmental disabilities are found eligible for services....
by Common Ground | Feb 28, 2013 | Snapshot
One in four adults—approximately 57.7 million Americans—experience a mental health disorder in a given year. One in 10 children live with a serious mental or emotional disorder. One-half of all lifetime cases of mental illness begin by age 14, three-quarters by age...
by Common Ground | Nov 13, 2012 | Capitols
The U.S. Department of Education has announced new steps to help close the achievement gap for students with disabilities by moving away from a one-size-fits-all, compliance-focused approach to a more balanced system that looks at how well students are being educated,...
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