by Common Ground | Apr 22, 2014 | Capitols
Senators Christopher Murphy (D-CT) and Tom Harkin (D-IA) have introduced in the U.S. Senate a measure designed to protect teens in residential programs from abuse. The Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for Teens Act of 2014 establishes standards intended to...
by Common Ground | Apr 22, 2014 | Capitols
Governor Christie has signed a package of bills that will benefit students with reading difficulties. Under the new requirements, young children who are showing signs of reading problems will have to be screened for dyslexia within the first few months of second...
by Common Ground | Apr 22, 2014 | Capitols
Leaders at the New Jersey School Boards Association have issued a new report calling for changes to the state’s system of special education. Entitled “Special Education: A Service, Not a Place,” the report calls for greater accountability for outcomes and...
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 | 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...
by Common Ground | Jun 27, 2013 | Capitols
This spring, U.S. Representative Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) introduced bipartisan legislation to support students’ positive development and academic success through social and emotional learning. The Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning Act of 2013 (HR 1875) would...
by Common Ground | Jun 27, 2013 | Capitols
New Jersey Education Commissioner Chris Cerf has upheld two charges of bullying under the state’s tough new anti-bullying act. Both incidents took place in 2011 and involved middle-school students. In the first case, a sixth-grader from Middlesex County insulted...
by Common Ground | Jun 27, 2013 | Capitols
A bi-partisan measure approved by the New Jersey General Assembly would ban a growing practice that has school boards offering “merit pay” bonuses to school superintendents who reduce out of district special education placements. The bill, A-3997, was...
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