The federal government is redoubling its efforts to crack down on civil rights violations against students with disabilities and other minority groups, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said Monday.
The Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights will be issuing a series of letters offering guidance to school districts across the country and ramping up efforts to reach out to parents and advocacy groups, Duncan said in a speech in Selma, Ala.
Plans are in place to send 17 letters before the fiscal year ends Oct. 1 advising school districts on issues ranging from restraint and seclusion to teaching English language learners with disabilities and working with students who have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD.
“The truth is that, in the last decade, the Office for Civil Rights has not been as vigilant as it should have been in combating gender and racial discrimination and protecting the rights of individuals with disabilities. But that is about to change,” Duncan said. “We are going to reinvigorate civil rights enforcement.”
The move is promising, says Curt Decker, executive director of the National Disability Rights Network, which acts as an umbrella group for the federally mandated protection and advocacy systems in each state.
“In the past, my people felt that a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights was like going into a black hole,” he says.
More recently, however, Decker says he has been “very encouraged” by a dialogue between his office and the Office of Civil Rights. “There is a lot of communication, which is a good first step,” he says.
The 600-person Office of Civil Rights has the power to issue policy guidance, conduct compliance reviews and offer assistance to school districts. Ultimately, the office has the authority to withhold federal funds if civil rights violations go unresolved.
Duncan’s announcement Monday in Selma, Ala. coincides with the forty-fifth anniversary of “Bloody Sunday,” when hundreds of civil rights marchers were aggressively confronted by law enforcement.
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Very interesting article!
I currently am investigating how to file a Civil Rights complaint on behalf of my students. My classroom is comprised of all African American Special Needs students. I have been denied access to proper curriculum. The students are also educated in the same classroom, for two and a half hours in the morning, and then again in the afternoon with two five minute breaks.
Last year before I came aboard, a Civil Rights complaint was filed by a mother of a student. The school switched a few things around but are still in violation.I have called various newspapers and reporters, as well as legal services for persons with Disabilities.
Many of these new laws and required changes made to benefit Special Needs students, look good on paper but never are truly implemented into the classrooms. We need more Special Education “policing” in classrooms around the country.
Investigations without prior notice given before visiting would help to shape up many classrooms that aren’t currently in compliance.
DM
The US Dept of Education has a monitoring and enforcement system that actually allows for noncompliance with its own regulations that are designed to protect the educational rights of students with disabilities (IDEA).
USDE does not require states to sustain compliance with IDEA. They only require that instances of noncompliance be corrected within one year of identification. Therefore, intermittent compliance with IDEA is perfectly acceptable to th feds. In addition, in order to receive IDEA funding, states need only provide a written assurance that they intend to comply with IDEA. Actual compliance with IDEA is not a condition of receiving IDEA funds. Both of these facts were confirmed to me by Dr. Ken Kienas of the USDE Office of Special Education Programs.
Mr. Duncan needs to start in his own backyard. The system is insane, and highly abusive to students with disabilities.
Ellen M. Chambers, MBA
Founder and Director
SPEDWatch, Inc.