This proposed policy creates uniform expectations for local education agency (LEA) implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requirements governing the individualized education program (IEP) process. The IEP process requires parents, teachers, LEA personnel, evaluators, and related service providers to pool their collective knowledge and expertise to ensure that students with disabilities are provided a free appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment (LRE). As the state education agency (SEA), OSSE expects all LEAs to ensure that all appropriate IEP Team members participate in the IEP process to develop complete and valid IEPs.
The public comment period is for 30 days beginning Friday, August 20, 2010, and concluding Monday, September 20, 2010. A public hearing for the proposed policy will be held Tuesday, September 7, 2010. A copy of the hearing notice can be found here*.
Individuals who wish to submit their comments as part of the official record should do so no later than 5 pm Monday, September 20, 2010 to:
Tameria Lewis, Assistant Superintendent for Special Education
c/o Desirée Brown
Office of the State Superintendent of Education
Division of Special Education
810 1st St. NE - 5th Floor
Washington, DC 20002
or
e-mail to osse.publiccomment@dc.gov
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Judge Rules in DL Case that D.C.'s Child Find Program Violated the Law
Last week, a Federal District Court judge ruled that D.C. broke the law by failing to locate, identify and evaluate disabled pre-school children and offer them an education, as required under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The case has been in litigation since 2005
Chief Judge Royce Lamberth found that there was no "genuine dispute" that [the District] only provided a [free and appropriate education] to approximately 600 students per year, which is half of the qualifying 3- to 5-year-old children in the District” who qualified. He relied on data for the years 2000 to 2007.
Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/blogs/capital-land/dcs-special-needs-pre-schoolers-vindicated-in-court-100432679.html#ixzz0wzyxYWVV
Chief Judge Royce Lamberth found that there was no "genuine dispute" that [the District] only provided a [free and appropriate education] to approximately 600 students per year, which is half of the qualifying 3- to 5-year-old children in the District” who qualified. He relied on data for the years 2000 to 2007.
Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/blogs/capital-land/dcs-special-needs-pre-schoolers-vindicated-in-court-100432679.html#ixzz0wzyxYWVV
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
D.C. School Performance Toward Adequate Yearly Progress
In 2010, 15 schools in the District of Columbia met the annual goals of No Child Left Behind, down from 54 in 2009. AYP is a yardstick of a school's progress toward full proficiency by 2014.
Eight DCPS elementary schools met the benchmark, down from 29 in 2009 and 38 in 2008. Two of those schools, Mamie D. Lee and Sharpe, provide services exclusively to special needs students. Of the remaining six, Mann, Key and Stoddert elementary schools are in Ward 3, Kenilworth is in Ward 7, and Ludlow-Tayor is in Ward 6. Montgomery was merged into Ward 6's Walker Jones Educational Campus in June. Two senior high schools joined the ranks as did four public charter elementary schools.
Eight DCPS elementary schools met the benchmark, down from 29 in 2009 and 38 in 2008. Two of those schools, Mamie D. Lee and Sharpe, provide services exclusively to special needs students. Of the remaining six, Mann, Key and Stoddert elementary schools are in Ward 3, Kenilworth is in Ward 7, and Ludlow-Tayor is in Ward 6. Montgomery was merged into Ward 6's Walker Jones Educational Campus in June. Two senior high schools joined the ranks as did four public charter elementary schools.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Wednesday, July 28th Chancellor Rhee Holds Forum on DCPS Standardized Test Results
On Wednesday, July 28th, 6:30 - 8 pm, Chancellor Michelle Rhee is hosting a discussion concerning DCPS student performance on standardized tests. It will include breakout sessions designed to assist parents in reading the results on the DIBELS and DC-CAS tests. The meeting will occur at Shaw @ Garnet-Patterson Middle School, 2001 10th Street, N.W.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
DC Delays Plan to Change Rate Structure for Private Special Ed Placements
D.C. has delayed its decision to implement new rate structures that would cap tuition payments for D.C. special education students attending private schools funded with D.C. tax dollars. Originally scheduled to take effect in the Fall of 2010, following expressions of concern by parents and education, the plan was halted by the Office of State Superintendent until July 2010. The plan would have restricted tuition rates to $215 per day, for $38,700 per 180-day school year.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Early Education Round Table
Join Miriam Calderon, director of early childhood education, and Carol Day, president of the National Black Child Development Institute, for an openquestion-and-answer session about DCPS’ early education (Preschool, pre-K, Head Start, Early Stages) program options.
Light snacks and childcare will be provided.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
7-8 p.m.
DCPS Central Office
1200 First Street, NE
Washington, D.C. 20002
Light snacks and childcare will be provided.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
7-8 p.m.
DCPS Central Office
1200 First Street, NE
Washington, D.C. 20002
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
D.C. elementary test scores show decline
D.C. officials announced Tuesday that reading and math test scores declined in elementary schools this year, halting a two-year run of significant gains and dealing a setback to Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee as she seeks to overhaul city schools.
The news was better for middle and high schools, which saw continued gains in reading and math on the District of Columbia Comprehensive Assessment System (DC CAS), administered every April.
After rising 20 percentage points from 2007 to 2009, the elementary math proficiency rate dipped 4.6 points this year, to 43.4. The elementary reading proficiency rate, which had risen 11 percentage points from 2007 to 2009, fell 4.4 points, to 44.4 percent. The proficiency rate is essentially a measure of the portion of students who pass the tests.
School-by-school scores will not be available until later this month.
Rhee, who joined Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) to announce the 2010 scores in a mid-morning news conference at Ballou High School, said she couldn't account for the drop in elementary scores, and that it would require some study.
"We're going to dig into the data," she said.
Rhee and Fenty emphasized the overall record of test score gains since the mayor appointed Rhee in 2007. School reform has become a key issue in Fenty's reelection campaign against challenger Vincent C. Gray (D), the D.C. Council chairman.
Rhee called the three-year gains at the middle and high school levels -- an average of 14 percentage points in reading and 17 points in math -- a significant achievement. In a statement distributed to reporters, Michael Casserly, executive director of the Council of the Great City Schools, which consults with urban school districts, called the growth "unusual and important," adding that the District is one of the few cities in the country to see double-digit growth at the secondary level.
Officials also reported that the percentage of students scoring at advanced levels has doubled in elementary and secondary schools since 2007.
This post has been updated since it was first published.
-- Bill Turque
The news was better for middle and high schools, which saw continued gains in reading and math on the District of Columbia Comprehensive Assessment System (DC CAS), administered every April.
After rising 20 percentage points from 2007 to 2009, the elementary math proficiency rate dipped 4.6 points this year, to 43.4. The elementary reading proficiency rate, which had risen 11 percentage points from 2007 to 2009, fell 4.4 points, to 44.4 percent. The proficiency rate is essentially a measure of the portion of students who pass the tests.
School-by-school scores will not be available until later this month.
Rhee, who joined Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) to announce the 2010 scores in a mid-morning news conference at Ballou High School, said she couldn't account for the drop in elementary scores, and that it would require some study.
"We're going to dig into the data," she said.
Rhee and Fenty emphasized the overall record of test score gains since the mayor appointed Rhee in 2007. School reform has become a key issue in Fenty's reelection campaign against challenger Vincent C. Gray (D), the D.C. Council chairman.
Rhee called the three-year gains at the middle and high school levels -- an average of 14 percentage points in reading and 17 points in math -- a significant achievement. In a statement distributed to reporters, Michael Casserly, executive director of the Council of the Great City Schools, which consults with urban school districts, called the growth "unusual and important," adding that the District is one of the few cities in the country to see double-digit growth at the secondary level.
Officials also reported that the percentage of students scoring at advanced levels has doubled in elementary and secondary schools since 2007.
This post has been updated since it was first published.
-- Bill Turque
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