Weekly Question!

It's time for the Monday question. I have been hard on the U S Congress for behaving like bad two year olds. The recent budget compromise, including decent funding for special ed, surprised me. How would you grade the performance of this congress?

Sometimes My Job Is Pretty Cool

I had to cancel one day of a hearing because of weather this week.  The weather here has been brutal,  Tough driving in a snowstorm followed by zero degree chill.  The mighty Susquehanna River is pretty icy. Tough to deal with..   

I have done hearings in Illinois, including Chicago with the Hawk blowing off the Lake.  But we had to opt for safety first.  Hopefully a new streak starts now!

But it sure can be pretty,  See Exhibit A above!

Related articles

• Another frigid day, then 2 snowstorms, more brutal Arctic air on tap
• What does the Susquehanna River mean to you?
• The Susquehanna River watershed: healthy or at risk?
• I Don't Believe In Wind Chill

New Weekly Question!

It's time for a new Monday question. I have been hard on the U S Congress for behaving like bad two year olds. The recent budget compromise, including decent funding for special ed, surprised me. How would you grade the performance of this congress?

Tech Issue With Our Search Bar

linkedin (Photo credit: Inmobiliaria Lares, Cangas)

OK here's a question for our techies:

This blog has had a google search bar for years.  It is very useful to me in finding stuff on the blog, and I have heard that readers use it frequently.  But for the last few weeks it has not been working.  I tried removing the gadget and reinstalling it, but it has not fixed the problem.

Any ideas on how to fix it?

While we are on the tech topic, be sure to take one of our free subscriptions if you have not already done so. Also check out the goodies on the lefthand side of the blog- like our LinkedIn special education law group which now has over 11,000 members!  Some great discussions there.  You can also find videos of me being interviewed about dispute resolution, links to other important websites, and some of our honors and awards. 

There are also a bunch of other free resources located there. Please explore it and tell us what you think.

Breaking: Congress Does Something Good

English: United States Capitol in daylight (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Yes that is not a typo.  Last night Congress passed a funding bill, with bipartisan support, still not a typo. The funding bill increases the IDEA school age program by $500M.  That nearly makes up for the funds cut by the Machiavellian sequester (over $600M). 

This compromise comes as a surprise to me in the wake of the recent 16-day government shut-down catastrophe.  I'm surprised that cooperation is in the air, but I like it  

This is a victory for kids with disabilities and those of us who work in this field.

You can read the analysis by our friends at the CEC Policy Department here.  Here is the CNN story.

Related articles

• A Bunch Of Lawmakers Are Retiring Now That Even Congress Hates Congress
• Congratulations on your budget, Congress. America still hates you.
• Obama: I won't 'wait for Congress' on economic fixes
• Confirmed: This is the worst Congress ever
• 113th Congress on track to become least productive in history
• Poll: 113th Is The Worst Congress Ever
• $1 trillion compromise in Congress

Weekly Question!

It's time for the Monday question. Each state department of education must have state complaint procedures. In your state how effective are state complaint procedures for resolving systemic issues? We are collecting information on this topic; what have you got?

Breaking: US DOE & DOJ Issue Policy Guidance on Student Discipline

Sec. Arnie Duncan at ALA Annual (Photo credit: ALA - The American Library Association)

The United States Departments of education and Justice issued policy guidance today for school districts and states to reduce unlawful discrimination in student discipline policies.  This seems to be a consious decision by the Administration to attack the school-to-prison pipeline problem. Although the thrust of the guidance is obviously to reduce racial discrimination in school discipline, the Dear Colleague letter notes specifically that the contents of the guidance also fully apply to discipline that discriminates against children with disabilities and other protected groups.  (See footnote 4 on pages 2-3 of the Dear Colleague Letter)(Always gotta read dem footnotes!)

You can read the DOE blog article here.  You can review the video by Secretary Duncan and the complete guidance package here. The Dear Colleague Letter is available here.

Related articles

• Gov't offers new approach to classroom discipline
• Federal Guidance on Racial Disparities in Discipline Released, Calls for Vigilance in Enforcing Disparate Impact and Limiting Zero Tolerance
• U.S. Departments of Education and Justice Release School Discipline Guidance Package to Enhance School Climate and Improve School Discipline Policies/Practices
• Gov't Offers New Approach to Classroom Discipline

Weekly Question!

It's time for the Monday question. Each state department of education must have state complaint procedures. In your state how effective are state complaint procedures for resolving systemic issues? We are collecting information on this topic; what have you got?