by Common Ground | Apr 20, 2021 | Courts, Features, Professionals, Teachers
The COVID-19 pandemic and its disruption of education has had schools, parents, and advocates wondering about accountability for services for students with disabilities that were lost under school closures, and due to remote and virtual instruction. Dr. Perry Zirkel,...
by Common Ground | Feb 23, 2020 | Courts
A judge has ordered a Morris County School district to reimburse the parents of a child with disabilities for four years of private school tuition and transportation as a result of the district’s failure to provide FAPE. The parents had unilaterally placed their son...
by Common Ground | May 24, 2018 | Q&A
Many parents have had an experience similar to the one faced by Endrew F.’s parents, in which their child’s IEP goals don’t vary each year and there is lack of progress. BY DIANA AUTIN, MARIA DOCHERTY AND LAUREN AGORATUS, M.A. The recent Supreme Court case, Endrew F....
by Common Ground | May 22, 2018 | Courts
An Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) has ordered a Morris County school district to provide compensatory education to a student with disabilities. The case involves a student with behavioral disabilities, including self-injury, who had been placed in a public school...
by Common Ground | May 2, 2017 | Features
By Elizabeth W. Barnes Children with special needs are guaranteed a “free, appropriate public education” (FAPE) under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). When Congress enacted IDEA in 1975, the goal was to address the “perception...
by Common Ground | Oct 25, 2016 | Capitols
The United States Department of Education (DOE) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has issued a “Dear Colleague” letter reminding school districts of their obligations to students with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) under Section 504 of the...
by Common Ground | Jul 29, 2016 | Q&A, Uncategorized
by Elaine Mulligan A charter school is a public school and as such, is responsible for serving students with disabilities in keeping with state law. Q: What is a Charter School? A: Charter schools are public elementary and secondary schools, just as traditional...
by Common Ground | Aug 11, 2014 | Courts
The United States District Court has upheld the decision of an Administrative Law Judge, requiring a New Jersey School district to reimburse parents for placement in an approved private school. The case involves a preschooler with severe autism for whom private...
by Common Ground | Apr 22, 2014 | Courts
Earlier this year, advocate groups in New Jersey entered into a settlement agreement with the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) in a seven-year-old law suit intended to help ensure that children with disabilities are educated in the “least restrictive...
by Common Ground | Nov 13, 2012 | Capitols
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) received more complaints about disability-related issues from 2009-2011 than ever before. OCR enforces civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination based on race, national origin, sex, disability and...
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