Federal Update: IDEA , Title III, R&S, Bullying

1. Federal Update: IDEA, Title III, R&S, Bullying Sasha Pudelski February 18, 2012 National Conference on Education

2. Overview of Presentation

3. Foster Care Language in Senate ESEA • Schools pay for transportation to/from school for all children in foster care • Distance or placement location is not a factor. You could be transporting them out of state • Foster Care students have a right to immediate enrollment • Even adjudicated delinquents • Requirement to have a foster care liaison • No money for a liaison • Disaggregation requirement for student achievement • In addition to the normal categories (race, income, disability, etc.) you must also track student achievement by foster care status

4. Assessments • Senate • Eliminates 2% assessment option • Maintains cap for 1% test • House • Expands 1% assessment eligibility • Silent on 2% assessment

5. Title III: English Language Learners • Senate bill • Uniform definition of ELL • House bill • Collapses funding for Title III into Title I • Neither bill • Creates “Total English Language” subgroup • Allows school districts to determine when accountability testing should be given to ELL students • Increases exemption from testing for ELL students

6. Bullying • Original Senate bullying legislation would: • Require schools to report all bullying and cyber-bullying incidents • Require that bullying data be disaggregated • Very broad definition of bullying and cyber-bullying • District must have person who handles bullying complaints • Designates timeline for investigating and resolving bullying complaints • Negotiated Senate version: • Creates federal bullying definition, almost identical to sexual harassment definition • This definition must prohibit bullying on basis of sexual orientation • No bullying language as part of House ESEA bill • 47 states have their own bullying laws, definitions and requirements. Feds need to butt out!

7. Litigation related to Student Online Speech • In January, SCOTUS declined to hear cases involving student online speech • “At the moment, school officials are stuck between a rock and a hard place. They are responsible for protecting students and teachers from online harassment, but in doing so, they might trigger a lawsuit from a student claiming that his or her First Amendment rights have been violated. School officials cannot afford to wait any longer for a definitive answer.“ (AASA Amicus Brief, U.S. Supreme Court)

8. Seclusion and Restraint • Prohibited for special-ed and gen-ed students • Prohibited from being including in IEP • Mandates huge data reporting and collection • Only can be used if child is at risk of causing “serious bodily injury” • FAPE denied if used inappropriately • Not yet in either Senate or House ESEA bill, but advocates want to add it to both

9. Maintenance of Effort (IDEA) • IDEA requires 100% MOE • States can seek a waiver to reduce state effort for IDEA because of “exceptional or uncontrollable circumstances such as a natural disaster or a precipitous and unforeseen decline in State financial resources” • LEA does not have this option • AASA pushing for language to give LEAs same waiver option

10. Transition • New bill focusing on improving transition for SWD will be introduced this summer by Sen. Harkin • This bill will not amend IDEA • AASA supports bill language that would • Allow VR dollars geared towards on-the-job-training to be used while students are in school in conjunction with transition IEP • Create and fund state level positions that coordinate special-education, VR and CTE options and services • Set-aside 10% of VR funding for transition services • Change VR Priority list to put 18-26 year olds at the top

11. Response-to-Intervention (RTI) • Special-ed is defined as providing “specifically designed instruction” • Child-find obligation conflicts with RTI process • Both “special-ed” and “child find” need new definitions, otherwise schools risk litigation • With IDEA re-authorization unlikely in next few years, protect your district by • Notifying parents immediately about RTI process • Notifying parents about legal rights under IDEA

12. IDEA Re-Authorization issues resulting from SCOTUS decisions • Bill to overturn Arlington Central School District v. Murphy • IDEA Fairness Restoration Act • This bill would override Murphy and enable parents to recover their expert witness fees • Bill to overturn Schaffer v. Weast • Weast placed burden of proof on parents • No bill introduced yet, expected soon

13. Other Cases of Note • Thompson v. Board of the Special School District (U.S. Ct. Appeals - 8th Circuit) • Does the parent lose the right to sue the district if the student is no longer enrolled in the district? • 8th circuit says yes • Federal district courts in Michigan, California and Pennsylvania say no • This issue will be heavily debated in IDEA Re-Authorization

14. Have you visited AASA’s newest website yet? www.aasaconnect.com AASA Connect provides resources specific to superintendents that are not available anywhere else online

15. Features of aasaconnect.com • Opportunities to read school district success stories contributed by AASA Members and share your own with superintendents across the country • A library of articles on issues such as superintendent contracts and evaluations and improving professional development for teachers • Tools for building successful school PR machine • The latest research from DC think-tanks • Read and respond to Dan Domenech’s latest blog entries and columns

16. Questions? • Sasha Pudelski, spudelski@aasa.org • Noelle Ellerson, nellerson@aasa.org • Bruce Hunter, bhunter@aasa.org