OSEP Issues New Q&A Guidance on Serving Children with Disabilities Placed By Their Parents in Private Schools, A Message from Connecticut Special Education Attorney Jeffrey Forte

The U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) recently issued a new document titled “Questions and Answers on Serving Children with Disabilities Placed by Their Parents in Private Schools” in February 2022.  It is intended to provide families and public-school districts with guidance pertaining to the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA). The new Q&A guidance is to apply to children with disabilities that are placed by the Continue Reading

Connecticut Standards for Remote Learning, A Message from Connecticut Special Education Lawyer Jeffrey Forte

On February 22, 2022 the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) released their final version of the Connecticut Standards for Remote Learning for Grades 9-12. The standards will begin in the 2022/2023 school calendar year. The Connecticut Standards for Remote Learning only apply for high school students. Remote learning has not been approved for grades other than 9 through 12. The standards for remote learning were developed by a group of Continue Reading

Recent Case Study: Police Referrals Disproportionately Affect Students With Disabilities

A recent study found that students with disabilities made up 50% of school disciplinary referrals to police in Connecticut. Approximately twenty-four high schools across Connecticut routinely refer disciplinary measures to the local police departments for students that are federally protected with a behavior-based disability under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. To view statistics within your local school district, click here to analyze your district’s annual report card. Notably, the top three “worst” schools Continue Reading

Emergency Broadband Benefit for Connecticut Families

The Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) recently shared information pertaining to the Emergency Broadband Benefits program (EBB) for qualified families. The EBB program provides a series of monthly discounts for broadband service and associated equipment to qualifying households. Currently, 1 in 12 eligible households have enrolled in the program nationally, meaning a large share of the $3.2 billion in funding remains. Feel free to download the attached for additional information Continue Reading

Connecticut Public Schools Rank Third in the Nation

Education Week recently announced that Connecticut’s K-12 public schools rank 3rd in the nation. The report analyzes educational performance student data across all 50 states for the 2021 calendar year. States are graded and ranked by 3 categories: Chance for Success (Jan), School Finance (June), K-12 Achievement (September). According to the data collected by EducationWeek, the U.S. education system as a whole scored a grade of C for 20210. Click here to Continue Reading