<![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-statesSubstackMon, 25 May 2026 14:43:44 GMT<![CDATA[Office for Civil Rights Requires Bellevue School District (WA) to Revise Procedures for Students Unable to Attend Full School Days]]>https://www.specialeducationaction.com/p/office-for-civil-rights-requires-bellevue-school-districthttps://www.specialeducationaction.com/p/office-for-civil-rights-requires-bellevue-school-districtThu, 21 May 2026 19:01:34 GMTMay 7, 2026, U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a letter of findings to Bellevue School District (BSD) in Washington, after investigating a complaint filed on behalf of a student who has a disability.

OCR investigated the following allegation:

“whether the District discriminated and retaliated on the basis of disability by failing to provide the Student a free appropriate public education (FAPE) from the [redacted content] to [redacted content].”

Before OCR completed its investigation, BSD expressed interest in resolving the complaint. May 5, 2026, BSD entered into a resolution agreement with OCR.

OCR did not issue a final violation finding. Instead, OCR stated that it had “a concern that the District may have discriminated and retaliated on the basis of disability by failing to provide the Student a free appropriate public education.”

What Happened

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]]><![CDATA[Office for Civil Rights Requires San Bernardino City Unified School District (CA) to Address 504 Plan and Complaint Process Concerns]]>https://www.specialeducationaction.com/p/office-for-civil-rights-requires-san-bernardino-city-unified-school-districthttps://www.specialeducationaction.com/p/office-for-civil-rights-requires-san-bernardino-city-unified-school-districtWed, 06 May 2026 22:28:55 GMTOn April 24, 2026, U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a resolution letter to San Bernardino City Unified School District (SBCUSD) in California after investigating a complaint alleging disability discrimination during the 2021–2022 school year.

April 24, 2026, Letter of Findings for OCR Case No. 09-22-1263
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OCR investigated three issues:

  1. “Whether the District failed to provide the Student a free, appropriate public education (FAPE) by failing to implement his Section 504 plan in his [redacted content] language course (the Course) from November 2021 to June 2022;

  2. “Whether the District discriminated against the Student on the basis of disability when the Student’s teacher (the Teacher) subjected the Student to alleged harassment based on disability in late January or early February 2022, creating a hostile environment for the student; and

  3. “Whether the District failed to respond promptly and equitably to an internal complaint, made on behalf of the Student on or about March 2022, alleging discrimination based on disability and a failure to implement his Section 504 plan.”

OCR found insufficient evidence to support the disability-based harassment allegation—but it did identify concerns with the first and third issues: whether the student’s 504 plan was clear enough to be implemented consistently, whether the teacher’s class-wide extended-time policy actually met the student’s individual disability-related needs, and whether the district responded promptly and equitably to the complainant’s internal complaints.

Before OCR completed its investigation and made final compliance determinations on those issues, SBCUSD expressed interest in resolving the complaint. The district entered into a resolution agreement with OCR, without admitting to any violation of law.

What Happened

During the 2021-2022 school year, the student had a Section 504 plan “on the basis that his attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) substantially impacts his major life activities of focusing on and completing assignments.”

The student’s November 4, 2021, 504 plan listed five accommodations:

  1. “extended time on assignments;

  2. “the opportunity to stand while working;

  3. “seating options;

  4. “a soundless stress device to squeeze in the classroom; and

  5. “extended time to re-do assignments.”

Sounds simple, right? Nope. OCR pointed out that the plan did not specify the amount of extended time or the process for using the extended-time accommodations:

“The Student’s Section 504 plan does not specify the amount of time or process for implementing the two extended-time accommodations (i.e., whether teachers will offer them or the Student will request them). As a result, the School employees had varying understandings of the meaning of and process for implementing these accommodations. The Vice Principal, who attended the Student’s Section 504 meeting on November 4, 2021, told OCR that the Section 504 team did not agree on the amount of extended time for assignments and left these decisions to the discretion of the Student and his teachers. According to the Teacher, the Student did not request additional time for any assignments and did not attend after-school tutoring. The Teacher implemented a class-wide extended-time policy whereby all students had an extra week to complete assignments and students who requested additional time beyond this week were asked to attend after-school tutoring.

“The Complainant and the Teacher also described varying understandings of the meaning of and process for implementing the Student’s opportunity-to-stand accommodation. The Complainant told OCR that she understood this accommodation to allow the Student to take a walk when requested. The Teacher, on the other hand, understood this accommodation as written, but offered the Student an opportunity to take a walk in lieu of the opportunity to stand because the Student was disruptive when he stood in class. According to the Teacher, the Student regularly accepted her offer to take a walk or use the restroom in lieu of standing and did not express concern about this alternative.”

Where San Bernardino Ran into Trouble

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]]><![CDATA[U.S. Department of Education Finds Utah at Fault for 11 Counts of Noncompliance with IDEA]]>https://www.specialeducationaction.com/p/us-department-of-education-finds-utah-at-fault-for-11-counbts-of-noncompliance-with-ideahttps://www.specialeducationaction.com/p/us-department-of-education-finds-utah-at-fault-for-11-counbts-of-noncompliance-with-ideaThu, 16 Apr 2026 22:25:07 GMTMarch 25, 2026, U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) released its Differentiated Monitoring and Support (DMS) report for Utah’s Part C early‑intervention system. The document is blunt. OSEP found 11 areas of noncompliance.

March 25, 2026: DMS Monitoring Report, Part C
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What OSEP Found

OSEP’s DMS review covered early‑intervention services, monitoring and improvemen…

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]]><![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 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[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[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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