Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Breaking: Dept of Ed Issues Guidance on Bullying of Kids With Disabilities

Seal of the United States Department of Education
Seal of the United States Department of Education (Photo credit: Wikipedia)


















We interrupt our ongoing series on bullying of children with disabilities with this breaking news on the same topic:

On today's blog of the U S Department of Education, Michael Yudin, the Acting Assistant Secretary of OSERS notes that the Department has issued guidance on Bullying of Kids With Disabilities. 

The Dear Colleague letter dated August 20, 2013 notes that bullying can constitute a denial of FAPE under IDEA, but in any event bullying of children with disabilities cannot be tolerated. The letter specifically notes that students with disabilities are disproportionately affected by bullying and specifies actions that should be taken when bullying is suspected.  The letter encourages states to reevaluate their policies on problem behaviors, including bullying in light of the letter and other guidance by OSEP and OCR.  You can  and should read the letter here.

An attachment to the Dear Colleague letter specifies a number of effective evidence based practices for preventing and addressing bullying.  You can read the seven page attachment here.
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