OCR Receives Record Number of Special Ed Complaints

OCR has received more complaints in the past three years (2009-2011) than ever before regarding disability-related issues.  The US Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights ("OCR") enforces federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination based on race, national origin, sex, age, and disability.  However, during the period between 2009-2011, 55% of the complaints received by OCR dealt with disability-related issues.  The top disability-related complaint concerned FAPE, but other issues raised by complaints included retaliation, academic adjustments, denial of benefits, and harassment.

OCR's publication, "Disability Rights Enforcement Highlights," can be accessed here.

Meghan Covert Russell

Legal Alert: Dear Colleague Letter, Clarifying 2008 ADA Amendments Act

On January 19, 2012, the US Department of Education’s (“DOE”) Office of Civil Rights (“OCR”) issued a Dear Colleague letter and Questions and Answers regarding the impact of the 2008 amendments to Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) on public school districts.  These documents provide guidance on the requirements of the ADA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (“Section 504”) in light of the changes made by the 2008 ADA Amendments Act (“Amendments Act”).  Generally these amendments have the effect of broadening the definition of what constitutes a disability, and thus who will receive special education services from school districts.

For more information please see our complete Legal Alert here.

Meghan Covert Russell

Federal Appeals Court Rules Weeknight Scheduling of Girls Basketball Games May Violate Title IX

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently ruled in Parker v. Franklin County School Corporation (7^th Cir. Jan 31, 2012), that two female basketball players have presented sufficient evidence to proceed to trial on their Title IX claim of denial of equal athletic opportunity based on the disparate scheduling of girls basketball games.  The suit alleges that several Indiana school districts have treated boys and girls basketball teams differently when scheduling their games.  The suit alleges that the boys teams were given “primetime” games on Friday and Saturday nights, while the girls games were often scheduled for weeknights.  The suit alleges that these differences resulted in several negative implications, including (1) placing female student-athletes at an academic disadvantage, (2) the girls team receiving less support from school and community-members at games, and (3) the girls feeling inferior or as if they had “second class status.” 

The Seventh Circuit determined that the scheduling disparity was systematic in nature.  Moreover, the Indiana High School Athletic Association had received notice from the US Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights in 1997 that the difference in scheduling “could be found by OCR to be out of compliance with the scheduling of games and practice times component of the athletic provisions of Title IX if they reserve Friday nights for boys basketball games and schedule girls basketball games on other nights.”

Districts may want to review how their schools schedule boys and girls games to ensure equal athletic opportunity in light of this recent court decision.

For more information, see the National School Boards Association’s coverage on their blog.

Meghan Covert Russell