<![CDATA[Special Education Action: Mountain and Pacific States]]>https://www.specialeducationaction.com/s/mountain-and-pacific-stateshttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0gl9!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe412ffc4-95b6-4d59-8ea0-64bdf652d53f_512x512.pngSpecial Education Action: Mountain and Pacific Stateshttps://www.specialeducationaction.com/s/mountain-and-pacific-statesSubstackFri, 10 Apr 2026 09:39:49 GMT<![CDATA[U.S. Department of Education Closes IDEA Monitoring of Idaho]]>https://www.specialeducationaction.com/p/us-department-of-education-closes-idea-monitoring-of-idahohttps://www.specialeducationaction.com/p/us-department-of-education-closes-idea-monitoring-of-idahoWed, 25 Feb 2026 00:21:26 GMTSeptember 17, 2024, U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) issued a Differentiated Monitoring and Support (DMS) report for Idaho. The report identified eight findings of non‑compliance with IDEA Part C across four major areas (provision of early intervention services, monitoring and improvement, fiscal management, and dispute resolution) and was based on interviews OSEP conducted during November 2 and December 2, 2020; virtual meetings in October 2023; and an onsite visit on October 23–27, 2023.

The report set specific deadlines for Idaho to address the noncompliance. Policies had to be submitted within 90 days of the monitoring report (deadline=December 16, 2024) and evidence of implementation was due as soon as possible, but not later than one year from the date of the monitoring report (deadline=September 17, 2025). Yet the follow‑up submissions stretched beyond the deadlines. OSEP ultimately issued a close‑out letter February 18, 2026, indicating that all findings were resolved.

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]]><![CDATA[U.S. Department of Education Closes IDEA Monitoring of Alaska]]>https://www.specialeducationaction.com/p/us-department-of-education-closes-idea-monitoring-of-alaskahttps://www.specialeducationaction.com/p/us-department-of-education-closes-idea-monitoring-of-alaskaTue, 24 Feb 2026 21:58:25 GMTSeptember 25, 2023, U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) issued a Differentiated Monitoring and Support (DMS) report for Alaska. The report identified 11 findings of non‑compliance with IDEA across five major areas (monitoring and improvement, early childhood transition, fiscal management, dispute resolution and State Advisory Panel) and was based on interviews OSEP conducted during December 2020, January 2021, and February 2022 through May 2022, and then an on-site visit on June 4–10, 2022.

The report set specific deadlines for Alaska to address the noncompliance. Policies had to be submitted within 90 days of the monitoring report (deadline=December 24, 2023) and evidence of implementation was due as soon as possible, but not later than one year from the date of the monitoring report (deadline=September 25, 2024). Yet the follow‑up submissions stretched beyond the deadlines. OSEP ultimately issued a close‑out letter February 18, 2026, indicating that all findings were resolved.

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]]><![CDATA[Justice Department Finds Utah at Fault for Failing to Provide Effective Transition Services]]>https://www.specialeducationaction.com/p/justice-department-finds-utah-at-fault-for-failing-to-provide-effective-transition-serviceshttps://www.specialeducationaction.com/p/justice-department-finds-utah-at-fault-for-failing-to-provide-effective-transition-servicesTue, 18 Jun 2024 11:00:00 GMTJune 18, 2024, U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division (DOJ) released the findings of its investigation into Utah's statewide violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

DOJ determined Utah is violating ADA "by unnecessarily segregating youth and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) during the day, instead …

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]]><![CDATA[U.S. Dept. of Education Issues Differentiated Monitoring and Support Letter to Idaho]]>https://www.specialeducationaction.com/p/u-s-dept-of-education-addresses-idea-noncompliance-in-idahohttps://www.specialeducationaction.com/p/u-s-dept-of-education-addresses-idea-noncompliance-in-idahoTue, 13 Feb 2024 12:00:00 GMTSeptember 13, 2021, USDOE OSEP issued a Differentiated Monitoring and Support (DMS) fiscal letter, in which OSEP Acting Director David Cantrell stated the purpose of the letter is to inform Idaho Department of Health and Welfare (IDHW), of 1) OSEP’s IDEA Part C monitoring and 2) that OSEP identified one finding of noncompliance under Part C: 

“OSEP finds…

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]]><![CDATA[U.S. Dept. of Education Issues Differentiated Monitoring and Support Status Letter to Montana]]>https://www.specialeducationaction.com/p/u-s-dept-of-education-addresses-idea-noncompliance-in-montanahttps://www.specialeducationaction.com/p/u-s-dept-of-education-addresses-idea-noncompliance-in-montanaTue, 13 Feb 2024 12:00:00 GMTDecember 20, 2023, U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) issued a Differentiated Monitoring and Support (DMS) status letter to Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services. OSEP director Valerie Williams states that the purpose of the letter “is to provide an update on the status of the findings and c…

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]]><![CDATA[Office for Civil Rights Finds Los Angeles Unified School District in Noncompliance ]]>https://www.specialeducationaction.com/p/office-for-civil-rights-finds-los-angeles-unified-school-district-in-noncompliancehttps://www.specialeducationaction.com/p/office-for-civil-rights-finds-los-angeles-unified-school-district-in-noncomplianceTue, 03 May 2022 10:00:00 GMTApril 28, 2022, the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) announced Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is at fault for civil rights violations and OCR released the resolution reached following its investigation of LAUSD.

This follows OCR's January 12, 2021, announcement that it would investigate LAUSD, Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) in Virginia, an…

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