[nfbmi-talk] bullying students w disabilities

Terry D. Eagle terrydeagle at yahoo.com
Tue Nov 4 01:45:18 UTC 2014


Thanks for the interesting information, however, I believe this crosses the
permissive content for post here, and is more appropriate for post on the
Michigan govwenmental issues and discussion, as it involves civil rights and
governmental intervention and impact on the lives of blind children and
young adult students to age 26.

-----Original Message-----
From: nfbmi-talk [mailto:nfbmi-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of joe
harcz Comcast via nfbmi-talk
Sent: Monday, November 03, 2014 3:47 PM
To: nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org
Subject: [nfbmi-talk] bullying students w disabilities

The following information is being forwarded to you by the Great Lakes ADA
Center (
www.adagreatlakes.org)
for your information:

Bullying of Students with Disabilities Addressed in Guidance to America's
School
October 21, 2014

Contact:
Press Office, (202) 401-1576,
press at ed.gov

As part of National Bullying Prevention Awareness Month, the U.S. Education
Department's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) today issued
guidance to schools
reminding them that bullying is wrong and must not be tolerated-including
against America's 6.5 million students with disabilities.

The Department issued guidance in the form of a letter to educators
detailing public schools' responsibilities under Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act
and Title II of Americans with Disabilities Act regarding the bullying of
students with disabilities. If a student with a disability is being bullied,
federal law requires schools to take immediate and appropriate action to
investigate the issue and, as necessary, take steps to stop the bullying and
prevent
it from recurring.

"While there is broad consensus that bullying cannot be tolerated, the sad
reality is that bullying persists in our schools today, especially for
students
with disabilities," said Catherine E. Lhamon, Assistant Secretary for Civil
Rights. "Basic decency and respect demand that our schools ensure that all
their students learn in a safe environment. I look forward to continuing our
work with schools to address and reduce incidents of bullying so that no
student
is limited in his or her ability to participate in and benefit from all that
our educational programs have to offer."

Since 2009, OCR has received more than 2,000 complaints regarding the
bullying of students with disabilities in the nation's public elementary and
secondary
schools.

Today's guidance builds upon anti-bullying guidance the Department has
issued in recent years concerning schools' legal obligations to fix the
problem,
including:
List of 3 items
. A
2013 dear colleague letter
and
enclosure
by the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS)
clarifying that when bullying of a student with a disability results in the
student
not receiving meaningful educational benefit under IDEA, the school must
remedy the problem, regardless of whether the bullying was based on the
student's
disability.
. A
2010 dear colleague letter
by the OCR, which elaborated on potential violations when bullying and
harassment is based on race, color, national origin, sex, or disability.
. A
2000 dear colleague letter
by the OCR and OSERS, which explained that bullying based on disability may
violate civil rights laws enforced by OCR as well as interfere with a
student's
receipt of special education under the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA).
list end

The latest letter makes clear that the protections for students with
disabilities who are bullied on any basis extend to the roughly three
quarters of a
million students who are not eligible for IDEA services but are entitled to
services under the broader Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
That
law bars discrimination on the basis of disability in all programs or
activities that receive federal financial assistance.

Help is available for those who are either targets of disability bullying or
know of someone who might be, such as:
List of 5 items
. A
fact sheet for parents
on schools' obligations under federal law to address bullying. The fact
sheet is also available in
Spanish.
. Visiting the federal Web site,
www.stopbullying.gov,
which provides useful information on bullying prevention and remedies.
. Asking to meet with the student's team that designs his or her
individualized education program-the IEP or Section 504 teams.
. Asking to meet with the principal or school district's special education
coordinators to have the school address bullying concerns.
. Seeking help from OCR. The office investigates complaints of disability
discrimination at schools. To learn more about federal civil rights laws or
how
to file a complaint, contact OCR at 800-421-3481 (TDD: 800-877-8339), or
ocr at ed.gov.
OCR's Web site is
www.ed.gov/ocr.
To fill out a complaint form online, go to
http://www.ed.gov/ocr/complaintintro.html.
list end

To view OCR's guidance detailing public schools' responsibilities regarding
the bullying of students with disabilities in Spanish,
click here.
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