Post by ck4829 on Dec 17, 2017 11:06:11 GMT
WASHINGTON — The Department of Education is proposing to delay for two years an Obama-era rule that requires states to aggressively address racial biases that may be channeling disproportionate numbers of minority children into special education.
The department is soliciting public comment on its plan to postpone enforcement of the so-called “significant disproportionality rule,” due to take effect July 1, 2018.
The rule, which was issued in the last weeks of the Obama administration, required states to look at districts that had disproportionately high numbers of minority students identified for special education services, segregated in restrictive classroom settings or disciplined at higher rates than their peers. If it is not scrapped, the rule would take affect in 2020.
The Education Department estimated in one analysis that nearly half of the school districts in the country would be identified as having significant disproportions of minorities in their special education populations if they were to adopt a standard the department considered reasonable. It also estimated that it would cost districts between $50 million and $91 million to implement the rule.
It is one of several that Betsy DeVos, the secretary of education, is re-examining as her office continues a regulatory review ordered by President Trump across all federal agencies.
“Through the regulatory review process, we’ve heard from states, school districts, superintendents and other stakeholders on a wide range of issues, including the significant disproportionality rule,” said Liz Hill, a spokeswoman for the Education Department. “Because of the concerns raised, the department is looking closely at this rule and has determined that while this review takes place, it is prudent to delay implementation for two years.”
The rule was designed to address concerns about the overrepresentation of minority students in special education. The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act required states to address “significant disproportionality,” and in a 2004 reauthorization of the act, Congress began requiring states to allocate up to 15 percent of their federal special education money to address the disparities.
Representative Bobby Scott of Virginia, the ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Education and Workforce, said that delaying the rules undermines Congress’ 2004 effort to strengthen the federal education law.
“Clearly, leaving the disproportionality provision unregulated has left states and school districts without the tools necessary to implement the law’s requirements,” Mr. Scott said. “Any effort to delay this rule, or remove it entirely, works against the fundamental goals of IDEA.”
www.nytimes.com/2017/12/15/us/politics/devos-obama-special-education-racial-disparities.html
endangermicide.freeforums.net/thread/41/delays-racial-disparities-special-education
The department is soliciting public comment on its plan to postpone enforcement of the so-called “significant disproportionality rule,” due to take effect July 1, 2018.
The rule, which was issued in the last weeks of the Obama administration, required states to look at districts that had disproportionately high numbers of minority students identified for special education services, segregated in restrictive classroom settings or disciplined at higher rates than their peers. If it is not scrapped, the rule would take affect in 2020.
The Education Department estimated in one analysis that nearly half of the school districts in the country would be identified as having significant disproportions of minorities in their special education populations if they were to adopt a standard the department considered reasonable. It also estimated that it would cost districts between $50 million and $91 million to implement the rule.
It is one of several that Betsy DeVos, the secretary of education, is re-examining as her office continues a regulatory review ordered by President Trump across all federal agencies.
“Through the regulatory review process, we’ve heard from states, school districts, superintendents and other stakeholders on a wide range of issues, including the significant disproportionality rule,” said Liz Hill, a spokeswoman for the Education Department. “Because of the concerns raised, the department is looking closely at this rule and has determined that while this review takes place, it is prudent to delay implementation for two years.”
The rule was designed to address concerns about the overrepresentation of minority students in special education. The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act required states to address “significant disproportionality,” and in a 2004 reauthorization of the act, Congress began requiring states to allocate up to 15 percent of their federal special education money to address the disparities.
Representative Bobby Scott of Virginia, the ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Education and Workforce, said that delaying the rules undermines Congress’ 2004 effort to strengthen the federal education law.
“Clearly, leaving the disproportionality provision unregulated has left states and school districts without the tools necessary to implement the law’s requirements,” Mr. Scott said. “Any effort to delay this rule, or remove it entirely, works against the fundamental goals of IDEA.”
www.nytimes.com/2017/12/15/us/politics/devos-obama-special-education-racial-disparities.html
endangermicide.freeforums.net/thread/41/delays-racial-disparities-special-education