FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 6, 2022 Contact: Press Office (202) 401-1576 or press@ed.gov

U.S. Department of Education Announces Intent to Strengthen and Protect Rights for Students with Disabilities by Amending Regulations Implementing Section 504 Forty-five years after publication of the regulations implementing Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the landmark disability civil rights law, the U.S. Department of Education announced plans to gather public input on possible amendments to those regulations in order to strengthen and protect the rights of students with disabilities. Section 504 prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in public and private programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance, including schools and postsecondary institutions. The Department’s Office for Civil Rights will solicit public comments to help decide how best to improve current regulations to assist America’s students with disabilities. May is Mental Health Awareness Month and, as part of the President’s Unity Agenda, President Biden announced a strategy to address our nation’s mental health crisis. The work that OCR will do this month to listen to and solicit public input regarding improvements to the Department’s disability rights regulations will include input from those people with disabilities who also have mental health needs and their advocates. “While the world has undergone enormous changes since 1977, the Department’s Section 504 regulations have remained, with few exceptions, unaltered,” said Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine E. Lhamon. “As we observe the 45th anniversary of these important regulations this month, it is time to start the process of updating them. Just as in 1977, the voices of people with disabilities must be heard and incorporated as we engage in that work.” In April 1977, hundreds of people with disabilities and their supporters held protests at several of the regional offices of the Department of Education’s predecessor agency demanding that the agency approve the long-delayed non-discrimination regulations implementing Section 504 to protect the civil rights of people with disabilities. The protest in the Department’s San Francisco office lasted nearly a month, until the Secretary signed the regulations without change on April 28, 1977.  They were formally published on May 9, 1977. The Department’s Section 504 regulations were the first issued by the federal government that addressed the treatment of people with disabilities through a civil rights framework, rather than through solely a medical or vocational framework. In the years that followed, these regulations served as a model for the regulations of other federal agencies and were the foundation for many of the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. For more than four decades, OCR has worked to eliminate disability discrimination in schools—including public pre-K through high schools, as well as postsecondary schools—by investigating complaints alleging violations of the regulations, conducting proactive investigations, issuing policy guidance, and providing technical assistance. On April 28, the Department announced a resolution agreement with the second-largest school district in the country, Los Angeles Unified School District, requiring it to take steps necessary to ensure that students with disabilities receive educational services, including compensatory services, during and resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of the development of the proposed amendments to the Section 504 regulations, the Department is soliciting public input. Interested parties may go to www.ed.gov/policy/rights/reg/ocr/ to submit comments. The Department will also hold listening sessions in the coming months. Any comments received may be made available to the public, so commenters should avoid including any personal information that they want to keep confidential.  In addition, the Department intends to rely on prior feedback received in response to an earlier Request for Information regarding the nondiscriminatory administration of school discipline, and other information, to decide what changes would be most appropriate to include in a notice of proposed rulemaking. The Department and OCR are committed to fulfilling Congress’ promises in Section 504 and to advancing progress in partnership with people with disabilities and the full educational community. ### https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USED/bulletins/3168169

US GAO REPORT: DISTANCE LEARNING: Challenges Providing Services to K-12 English Learners and Students with Disabilities during COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic forced schools to rapidly shift to distance learning. This presented logistical and instructional challenges, especially for English learners and students with disabilities—both of whom have persistent achievement gaps compared to other student subgroups.

Some English learners couldn't fully participate in distance learning due to language barriers and limited access to technology (e.g., computers and the internet). Special education services for students with disabilities—including related services like occupational, physical, or speech therapy—were particularly difficult to deliver remotely...

 https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-21-43

Important Update for Parents/Guardians of Students with Individualized Education Programs or Section 504 Plans

Dear Montgomery County Public Schools Families,

On March 22, 2020, Superintendent Jack Smith announced that beginning on March 30, 2020, MCPS will launch the first phase of a continuity of learning (distance/remote learning) system so that all students can begin to have structured school experiences. Monday, March 30 will be the first day our teachers and 10-month support staff members will be back at work. They are excited and eager to reconnect with their students.

We know that families of students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and accommodations under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504) have many questions. Throughout the last few weeks, the Office of Special Education, the Resolution and Compliance Unit, and the Office of the General Counsel have been collaborating with local and state education agencies to determine a thoughtful, measured approach to implement the continuity of learning. As the instructional environment shifts from in-person to online, students and teachers will need time to adjust.

As a result, all IEP and Section 504 meetings that were postponed while schools were closed from March 16 to March 27, 2020, will be rescheduled. All IEP and Section 504 meetings scheduled for March 30 through April 3, 2020, are postponed and will be rescheduled.

Beginning Monday, March 30, students and families will have the opportunity to take tutorials and lessons to practice interacting with the online tools. Staff will be participating in professional development on a variety of topics, including the use of new and familiar technology tools to support student learning and setting up their myMCPS classrooms. We are working diligently to ensure these virtual tools allow access to learning for all students, including students with disabilities.

Elementary school staff will be engaged in professional learning on Monday through Wednesday (March 30–April 1). They will begin to reconnect with students on Wednesday, April 1 and begin learning experiences with students on Thursday, April 2.

Secondary school staff will take part in professional learning on Monday and Tuesday (March 30-31). They will reconnect with students beginning Wednesday, April 1and begin to close out the third marking period.

For students with IEPs or Section 504 Plans, we will work with families to maximize their individualized specially designed instruction or to implement their Section 504 accommodations to the fullest extent possible. Beginning Wednesday, April 1, we will reconnect with you to discuss individualized supports. More information on our processes beginning next week is below. As additional information and guidance is provided by the federal, state and local educational and health departments, we will keep you informed.

Virtual IEP and Section 504 Meetings

·        Our staff will be working to schedule virtual IEP and Section 504 meetings with critical team members to implement continuity of learning.

·    Meetings will be held via conference call or through Google Meet or Google Hangouts. 

·        Case managers will contact you during the week of March 30 to discuss your child’s individualized plan for continuity of learning.

·        Documents will be sent to you before and after meetings. If you do not have access to a computer and need hard copies of documents, please let your child’s case manager know when they contact you.

·        You will receive instructions for how to participate in the virtual meeting along with all documents to be discussed at the meeting. 

Academic Supports for Students

Case Management

·        Your child’s case manager will contact you next week to discuss and assess the individualized supports and strategies necessary for your child to access the continuity of learning plan required to implement IEP goals or 504 Plan accommodations. 

·        Through this initial contact, a schedule of ongoing check-ins, provision of resources, and expectations for parent communication will be established.

Accessibility Features

·        Content for students is being developed with accessibility standards.  Students with disabilities will be able to access assistive technology outlined in their IEPs or Section 504 Plans through the MCPS-provided Chromebooks, with such accessibility features such as Google Read & Write, EquatlO for math and other embedded features within the Google Suite. 

·        IEP and Section 504 teams will work with families to provision additional assistive technologies if needed during this time period.

Special Education Teacher/Paraeducator Supports

Special education teachers will co-plan with general education teachers and co-teach when applicable. Special education teachers will collaborate with special education paraeducators to determine what supports the paraeducator will provide to your child.

 Academic support for students working towards alternative learning outcomes will include a modified schedule and materials. To support the alternative education framework for students working towards a certificate of completion, the Office of Special Education has customized a schedule and accompanying curriculum materials to meet their needs. Your child’s case manager will provide a brief overview of this modified schedule. There are time frames built in for supporting students so that special education teachers in programs such as School Community-based, Autism and Learning for Independence will be able to reinforce, reteach and provide modified lessons. 

Interventions  

Access to computer-based academic interventions, including, but not limited to, i-Ready Math, Systems 44 and Math 180 will be available.

Section 504 Accommodations

During the continuity of learning, teachers will implement the accommodations on your child’s Section 504 Plan to the maximum extent appropriate to ensure access to this modified curriculum.

Assessments and Evaluation

·        If your student is currently in the process of initial eligibility or reevaluation, it may become necessary to adjust the original timelines for completion of assessments. 

·        Evaluators may contact you to explain the formal assessments that can be done virtually and/or to gather information for the evaluation, such as parent and student interviews.  

·       Evaluations that require an in-person assessment will be postponed and rescheduled once schools reopen.

·        Please work with your child’s case manager if you have individual questions around evaluation.  

Related Service Provision

·        Related service providers may include occupational therapists, physical therapists, school counselors, school psychologists, social workers and speech language pathologists. 

·        Depending on the current related services on your child’s IEP,  the applicable related service provider(s) will contact you in the upcoming weeks to discuss individual supports for those related service(s). 

·        Some hands-on related services may be unsafe to deliver during the continuity of the learning plan.

·        Parents/guardians of students with related services on their IEPs should expect one or more of the following: individually modified direct services to students, consultative services to the IEP team; strategies for a family coaching model; and/or tele-visits.

·        Depending on the current consultative related services on your child’s Section 504 Plan, the applicable related service provider(s) will contact you in the upcoming weeks to discuss the individual supports for the related consultative service(s) on your child’s current Section 504 Plan.  

·        Related service providers will be available to support students and families by responding to questions and reaching out to students by phone, text or email. 

Transition Activities

·        Transition services are to be completed annually for students with IEPs beginning at age 14 (or age 13 if turning 14 in the IEP year). 

·        For high school students, transition support teachers will contact you in the upcoming weeks to discuss individual supports for the transition activities in your child’s current IEP. 

·        For middle school students, special education resource teachers will contact you in the upcoming weeks to discuss individual supports for the transition activities in your child’s current IEP. 

·     MCPS staff will explain how employment skills for transition activities related to employment or community-based instruction will be addressed as a result of the business restrictions  mandated by Governor Larry Hogan.

Thank you for your understanding and ongoing commitment to making the safety of our students, staff and school communities a priority.

Regular updates will be shared with families on the MCPS Coronavirus Continuity of Learning webpage. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Education and the Maryland State Department of Education have developed specific guidance for special education to support school teams. 

"School leaders determined the teen was so prone to acting out that he needed to be kept in class until the end of each passing period." [But was allowed to be unsupervised after school and on the football team.]

ROCKVILLE, Md. (ABC7) — The juvenile suspect — also known as the so-called ringleader in the Damascus High School locker room sexual assaults — will be tried as a juvenile due, in large part, to ADHD.

Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Steven Salant issued his controversial ruling Thursday morning following nearly seven hours of court proceedings Tuesday. Those proceedings ran like a full-blown trial, during which, attorney Dan Wright crafted a defense grounded in his teenage client’s “extreme ADHD.”..

...“This was a premeditated, planned attack,” Woodward added. “And this wasn’t the first time The evidence shows the defendant was part of a similar attack earlier in the year.”

In fact, during a summer football practice — only a few months before the rape case — the suspect allegedly tried to “broom” a different teammate, but that player managed to break away. The revelation added fuel to the notion that hazing and “brooming” are tradition within Damascus’ revered football program.

Prosecutors also took time to highlight the suspect's “atrocious” school and juvenile criminal records...

...The suspect's Montgomery County Public Schools Record:

In the fall of 2014, he enrolled as a sixth grader at Rocky Hill Middle School in Clarksburg. Almost immediately, the then 11-year-old began to misbehave. By the time police arrested him in the pending broomstick case — some four years later — MCPS had given the suspect 11 suspensions, 61 disciplinary referrals and sent 141 communications home regarding poor conduct. The transgressions included sexual comments, inappropriate touching, threatening remarks, fights, and chronic class cutting...

...In fact, MCPS conducted multiple Functional Behavior Assessments (FBA) and Behavior Intervention Plans (BIP) for the suspect's benefit. School leaders determined the teen was so prone to acting out that he needed to be kept in class until the end of each passing period. That helped limit the number of hallway distractions. An adult escort was also recommended as an alternative option for the suspect to safely move from class to class...

...Judge Salant also took shots at MCPS for attempting to control the suspect's numerous symptoms, but not seeking to excavate the root cause of that disruptive behavior.

"They wanted him to follow the student code of conduct, but he can't do it... There's clearly a lack of impulse control."..

Fighting Words From the Father of One Victim:

...Following repeated requests, the victim's father says he is scheduled to meet with MCPS Superintendent Jack Smith on the afternoon Friday, March 29. The victim's father explained the meeting will be 45 minutes long. No attorneys are allowed to attend, and the discussion cannot delve into topics of negligence, liability or responsibility...

...The victim's father further shared that two of the four victims are the sons of Montgomery County Police officers, one having recently retired from the force. He believes the suspects — the suspect in particular — hand picked the victims due to their law enforcement ties.

For example, weeks before the locker room attacks, the suspect reportedly stole a gold chain from the son of one officer. Damascus head football coach Eric Wallich threatened to call the police if the chain was not returned. In another instance, the suspect demanded that same boy stop wearing a police department Maryland Special Olympics t-shirt.

"Take the fu----- shirt off! Fu-- the police! Fu-- Montgomery County," the suspect allegedly shouted during the heated ordeal.

“There’s no doubt that two of the victims were targeted because they’re sons of law enforcement...The act of inserting a broom in another man’s rectum is done to degrade and demoralize, retaliate, to injure, to destroy their self-esteem.”..

Prosecuting Judge Salant's Ruling:

...Maryland law prohibits prosecutors from appealing Judge Salant's ruling. Instead, McCarthy expects the juvenile court to sentence the suspect to less than one year. The types of discipline can include a detention center, house arrest, community service, among others.

“I challenge you to call the Department of Corrections to find out how many kids are incarcerated — or being detained in any juvenile facility in the state — who are 19, 20 or 21 years old. I’m going tell you, I think it’s going to be less than five.”

https://wjla.com/news/local/so-called-ringleader-in-damascus-hs-rapes-to-be-tried-as-juvenile-victims-outraged

Schools Warned On Pushing Families Into Due Process

Federal education officials are warning school districts to think twice before forcing parents into potentially long and costly due process proceedings.
Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, families may pursue due process or file a state complaint if they don’t believe their child has been provided appropriate school services.
However, in a “Dear Colleague” letter to education leaders across the country, officials at the U.S. Department of Education said this month that they are concerned that some school districts are moving to file for due process over issues that parents have already chosen to address via state complaints.
Such circumstances can put parents in a tough spot, the guidance notes, because states are required to wait for a due process hearing to conclude before they can take up any portion of a state complaint that is also the subject of a due process proceeding.
“It appears that in some instances, public agencies may have filed due process complaints against parents in an effort to prevent the state complaint process from moving forward,” reads the letter from Sue Swenson, acting assistant secretary for special education and rehabilitative services, and Melody Musgrove, director of the Office of Special Education Programs.
“This type of action … may unreasonably limit parents’ dispute resolution options, and force parents either to participate in a potentially more adversarial, lengthy and costly due process complaint and hearing, or to fail to participate in the due process complaint and hearing and thereby risk the hearing official’s ruling in favor of the public agency,” the guidance states.
The Education Department told stakeholders that it “strongly believes” that it’s best for school districts to honor the choices of parents in selecting a forum for resolving special education disputes.
Pushing parents who have already filed a state complaint into due process harms the “cooperative process” and is “contrary to congressional intent,” according to the letter from Swenson and Musgrove which urges schools to pursue mediation or other informal steps of resolving issues before turning to due process....

 http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2015/04/23/schools-warned-due-process/20238/