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The U.S. Department of Education announced today that its Office for Civil Rights has entered into an agreement with Virtual Community School of Ohio to ensure compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act for students with disabilities at the school. This first-of-its-kind resolution promises equal access to educational opportunities for students with disabilities in virtual charter schools. Virtual Community School of Ohio is an Internet-based, public charter school that serves approximately 1,200 students who reside throughout the state of Ohio. "Students with disabilities who attend online public charter schools are entitled to all the protections of the federal civil rights laws that their peers receive at traditional public schools, including the right to receive a free appropriate education. Online schools also must take steps to ensure that the websites and online classrooms they use to promote their services and to educate students are accessible to individuals with disabilities," said Catherine E. Lhamon, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights. "Online education environments such as this in which students reside across the state and go to school together in a totally on-line environment, may present unique challenges. Nevertheless, these online schools must comply with the civil rights laws. I commend Virtual Community School of Ohio for agreeing to address these issues as part of its agreement with OCR."

Click here for more information!What:Highly interactive training that will include: Representatives from Montana's Office of Public Instruction, Special Educations Division, presenting to both agency and school personnel, detailing transition activities as required by law. Networking lunch (provided) Facilitated round table discussion with school personnel to more deeply explore how school should design and implement transition programs. Speakers:Dale Anderson was a special education teacher for many years in Billings Public Schools. After he retired, the Montana Office of Public Instruction asked him to participate in a variety of projects such as the Montana Behavioral Initiative. He has provided technical assistance in the areas of secondary transition, special education monitoring, and compliance to special education rules and procedures. Margaret Tryon has been a special education teacher for 17 years, special education director 15 years, and school psychologist 9 years. She also works part time for the Office of Public Instruction providing technical assistance and monitoring for compliance in special education. She has been involved with transition projects for many years. She is currently working part time at Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch, Office of Public Instruction, and Custer Public Schools.When:February 28, 20128:00 am - 3:00 pmWhere:MSU Billings CampusCollege of Ed Bldg Rm 122Contact:Debra Miller Phone: (406) 657-2027Email: dmiller@msubillings.edu

For thousands of Texas parents, the start of the school year has taken on a new meaning: an end to the conflicts, struggles and disappointment with the public school system. A growing number of parents of special-needs children are opting out of public schools, deciding instead to home school or to pay for pricey private schools.

A new government publication aims to help schools enlist parents in promoting and sustaining health in their children.

Published by the CDC's Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH), Parent Engagement: Strategies for Involving Parents in School Health covers how schools can connect with parents about health education for children, engage parents in the subject matter, and ultimately sustain ongoing interest in the mission.

HELENA -- The Montana Office of Public Instruction announced on Monday that it has received three grants totaling more than $12.5 million to improve school climate and school safety and support the mental and emotional health of Montana students. The Office of Public Instruction was awarded a $3.75 million School Climate Transformation grant, an $8.5 million Project AWARE grant, and a $250,000 School Emergency Planning grant.

We live in a world of shrinking budgets, reduced staff and limited resources for Public Schools. Schools are fighting to survive let alone trying to educate our children. Add in the fact that 13% of the entire student age population has an Individualized Education Program (IEP) and it’s no wonder that Special Education has once again become the scapegoat of the week. While eligibility, services and placement under an IEP are supposed to be based on need, and not money, that is not always the case. So the ability to motivate a School is one of the most important skills a parent can possess. Let’s start by defining what motivating a school in special education means. It means the ability to get the School on your side so that the IEP Team can tailor an IEP that meets your child’s unique needs and provides a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). 

Autism Spectrum Disorders and Public Schools How many Montana public school students are there with autism? There are approximately 141,000 public school students in Montana’s K-12 schools and on January 31, 2012, there were 823 students with an educational label of autism. There are 16,000 students with educational disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA), which is the federal legislation which determines special education eligibility. Five percent of the students with disabilities are autistic. This percentage has increased from 1 percent to 5 percent in the last seven years, as the number of students with autism has increased and the number of enrolled students (and students with disabilities) has decreased.

The national standard recommends a ratio of one registered, professional school nurse to every 750 students, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, the National Association of School Nurses, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Nurses Association.Current 2012 data indicate that Montana has a ratio of 1 registered school nurse to 1,985 students, according to Montana Association of School Nurses’ April 2012 comprehensive study of school nursing services.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan paid a visit to Wilde Lake High School Tuesday and called the Columbia school a microcosm of the educational world: diverse and inclusive. Duncan and Assistant Secretary of Education Alexa Posny joined Wilde Lake Principal James LeMon and school system Director of Special Education Patty Daley in a round table discussion. They questioned a panel of about 20 students, parents, school staff and Howard County Public School System staff about inclusive practices for special needs students at the school.

There’s a group of students struggling through school rd to navigate that gets little attention in the media or in the debate about how to fix schools: Children with ADHD. ADHD, or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, is a brain condition that makes it especially hard for children to focus and concentrate in school and has a number of other symptoms. It is too often misunderstood by teachers, parents and even the students themselves. According to the Centers for Disease Control, about 9.5% or 5.4 million children 4-17 years of age, had been diagnosed with ADHD, as of 2007. Many others who have the disorder haven’t had the benefit of a diagnosis. Here is a powerful post by David Bernstein, a nonprofit executive who lives in Gaithersburg, Md., writing about the difficulties that his two sons, ages 7 and 15, have confronted in school as a result of ADHD.