New guidance from the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) was released today addressing the discriminatory use of student discipline. The new guidance is the most comprehensive guidance on the civil rights of student with disabilities concerning student discipline to date.
The new resources include:
- Supporting Students with Disabilities and Avoiding the Discriminatory Use of Student Discipline under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and an accompanying Fact Sheet.
- Questions and Answers Addressing the Needs of Children with Disabilities and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act’s (IDEA’s) Discipline Provisions.
- Positive, Proactive Approaches to Supporting the Needs of Children with Disabilities: A Guide for Stakeholders. And,
- A letter from Secretary Cardona to our nation’s educators, school leaders, parents, and students about the importance of supporting the needs of students with disabilities.
The Department’s new guidance addresses very important issues including:
- Nondiscrimination requirements under Section 504
- A student with a disability’s right to a free appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment (LRE) and clarification students with disabilities cannot be disciplined for behavior due to their disability regardless of nature or severity
- Section 504 legal requirements apply to contractors including school resource officers/police
- Students’ rights and access to FAPE in the LRE and how it applies if threat assessments/violence risk assessments are used by a school or district
- Definition of informal removals (IR), what constitutes an IR/shortened school day
- Ending the use of seclusion and restraint (S/R) which are not evidence-based interventions
Find more information here.
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