Section 504 and Virtual Charter Schools. What does the OCR Say is Required?

The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) just announced a resolution agreement with the Virtual Community School of Ohio to guarantee equal access to educational opportunities to students with disabilities. It specifically addresses rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

OCR's letter noted that the school had insufficient procedures to identify students with disabilities, test them, and develop 504 plans to meet their educational needs. It noted that online schools lack a typical teacher referral method because teachers do not regularly observe students in a classroom setting. It also questioned whether the school provided sufficient access to learning in its online environment for visually impaired students and students with learning disabilities. The OCR identified several features of the school's website and courses that were not accessible to students with low vision. Ultimately, the OCR "concluded that the School has not provided individuals with disabilities, including visual impairments, with an equal opportunity to participate in or benefit from its web-based education program and that access to its website and web-based education program is not as effective for individuals with disabilities as that provided to individuals without disabilities" (Resolution Letter, Analysis and Conclusion).

To remedy this situation, the Virtual Community School agreed to develop new procedures to identify and place students who need 504 plans. It will also revise its website and online learning environment to ensure its accessibility to students with disabilities.

This is the first of its kind resolution agreement, so it provides important guidance to virtual schools around the country as they develop and implement their procedures for complying with the legal requirements for students who qualify for 504 plans under the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. It lists specific deficiences in the identification procedures, evaluation processes, and educational web delivery systems. Schools that deliver educational content online should review this resolution agreement.

A copy of the announcement can be found here:

http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-education-department-announces-first-its-kind-resolution-virtual-charter-scho

Election Results in Colorado

In May 2013 Governor John Hickenlooper signed into law Senate Bill 13-213, which replaced the School Finance Act of 1994 in Colorado and provided the state with a new funding formula. However, due to state constitutional restrictions around tax increases, the bill could not fully take effect until voters approved additional revenues for public education. The author of the bill, Senator Mike Johnston, likened the bill to a brand new car with no gasoline in the tank. You own it but, unless you get the fuel for it, the car will just sit in the garage. The gasoline for the new state funding formula was Amendment 66 – a $950 million proposed tax increase for public education. Colorado voters overwhelming rejected this tax increase (64% of the voters rejected the Amendment). The outcome was extremely disappointing for proponents of public education and have some worried about the end of schools as we know them.

Myron Lieberman wrote a book in 1993 entitled Public Education: An Autopsy. Given the fact that Lieberman’s prediction that public education would die has not come to fruition suggests that this vital entity to the fabric of American society has staying power and value. The temptation to overreact to election results must be tempered. There are countless examples of doomsday-esque predictions regarding the demise of public education, but all, up until now, have proven baseless (computers and the internet will replace teachers, the charter school movement, No Child Left Behind – to mention just a few).

As I have processed the results of Tuesday’s elections, I find my thoughts settling on a small school district in Colorado. This school district placed a sunset on a proposed mill levy override in order to garner the sufficient support for the override to pass. This school district has already gone through one sunset and then approached its voters for a second override, once again with a sunset (it too passed). The voters in this small community value education and value a degree of accountability. I feel like the voters of Colorado were not making a sweeping comment on public education, rather they were collectively expressing reservation with giving such a large amount of money to education. Perhaps they want greater accountability associated with the additional revenues?

There will be additional efforts to fund SB 13-213 and these future efforts (hopefully just effort) must ascertain the collective sentiment of the 64% of voters that rejected Amendment 66 to better meet their needs. Perhaps the tax increases must come with a sunset. Or, perhaps the total dollar amount was the biggest issue.

I see a connection between the election results in Colorado and the government shutdown in October. The connection is the need for collaboration. Regardless of my personal political views, I must realize that I need the other side of the aisle to support my proposed legislation in order for it to pass. The lack of collaboration in politics throughout the nation reminds me of the playground expectation that I get my way or I am going to take my ball and go home. Compromise appears to be a lost art in politics. I am calling for a return to compromise to ensure all views are represented in the formation of a solution. A compromise beats having a brand new car sitting in a garage unable to run due to a lack of gasoline.