As we mentioned in our previous post in this series, there is a lot of activity recently on the issue of the special education rights of students who have a brush with the criminal justice system- being arrested or accused of a crime; spending time in juvenile hall; or even being incarcerated. This is clearly the emerging hot button issue. This is part two of the series.
The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services confronted this issue in December of 2014 by issuing a Dear Colleague Letter that summarized the problem and called for action. This was preceded in 2014 by letters from the Department and OCR. Here is a summary of the guidance from the agencies:
Dear
Colleague Letter 64 IDELR
249 (OSERS 12/5/14) OSERS issued
guidance on the IDEA rights of children with disabilities who are incarcerated.
The guidance spells out the responsibilities of state departments of
education, school districts and other LEAs, correctional facilities and
non-educational agencies in providing child find, identification, evaluation,
FAPE, least restrictive environment, discipline protections and the other
provisions of IDEA. Here is a quote from
the letter: "Students with disabilities represent a large
portion of students in correctional facilities, and it appears that not all
students with disabilities are receiving the special education and related
services to which they are entitled. National reports document that
approximately one third of students in juvenile correctional facilities
were receiving special education services, ranging from 9 percent to 78
percent across jurisdictions. States reported that in 2012–2013, of the
5,823,844 students with disabilities, ages 6 through 21, served under IDEA,
Part B, 16,157 received special education and related services in
correctional facilities. Evidence suggests that proper
identification of students with disabilities and the quality
of education services offered to students in these settings is often
inadequate. Challenges such as overcrowding, frequent transfers in and out of
facilities, lack of qualified teachers, inability to address gaps in students’
education, and lack of collaboration with the LEA contribute to the problem.
Providing the students with disabilities in these facilities the free appropriate
public education (FAPE) to which they are entitled under the IDEA should
facilitate their successful reentry into the school, community, and home, and
enable them to ultimately lead successful adult lives." You can read
the twenty-one page Dear
Colleague letter here. The guidance was a part of a larger
package, consisting of four guidance documents, of materials on the topic of
educating incarcerated youth jointly issued by the federal departments of
Education and Justice. You can review the entire
package here; See, Letter to Chief State School Officers 114
LRP 26961 (US DOE 6/9/14) The Department noted that incarcerated students, many
of whom have disabilities should be provided supports to ensure that they
meet educational goals and avoid recidivism.
Steps to address school to prison pipeline; and Dear Colleague Letter
64 IDELR 284 (OCR 12/8/14) OCR noted that more than 60,000 young people
are in juvenile justice residential facilities and reminded that these
students are entitled to equal educational opportunity including: access to
coursework; services for ELLs; §504 FAPE; fair administration of discipline;
freedom from harassment; effective communication for students with
hearing, speech or vision disabilities; and LRE concerns.
What are your thoughts about this guidance from the feds?
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