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Dear Colleagues Letters:Pell Grants
IDEACivil Rights
FeaturingHailly T.N. Korman
Director of Special Projects, Center for Educational Excellence in Alternative Settings
Frank MartinEducation Administrator, Oregon Youth Authority
Kevin Bernatz Site Superintendent: Lewiston, Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections
Saba Bireda Senior Counsel, Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education
Kristen Harper Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary, Office for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, U.S. Department of Education
Expectations for the Webinar
The purpose of this webinar is to help you think through the guidance package you’ve received and begin to consider the implications that it may have for your program.
This is not legal advice for any individual site or issue. All of your polling responses are anonymous and are simply information to guide our discussion.
Agenda• Pell Grants
o How to Make it Work?
• Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)o Child Find, Discipline, Shared Responsibility,
LRE
• Federal Civil Rights Protectionso ELLs, FAPE, Solitary Confinement
Polling Questions
These are the answer choices to all of the polling questions that will appear during the webinar. You may select all that apply.1. I don’t have the right resources or staff.2. Another agency has control over this.3. I didn’t know about this.4. This is our policy, but implementation is
a challenge.5. I don’t understand how to make this
work.
PELL GRANTS: STUDENTS IN JUVENILE JUSTICE FACILITIES ARE ELIGIBLE; HOW DO YOU
MAKE IT WORK?
Pell Grant Eligibility• All students who are confined in a “juvenile justice
facility” ARE eligible for Pell Grants, regardless of the court system or statute controlling the confinement.
• A juvenile justice facility is: “a residential facility that are operated primarily for the
care and rehabilitation of youth who, under state juvenile justice laws, are (1) accused of committing a delinquent act; or (2) have been adjudicated delinquent; or (3) are
determined to be in need of supervision.”
This includes students serving blended sentences or held under a dual jurisdiction statute.
Taking Advantage of Pell Grant Eligibility
1. Prepare or solicit a legal memorandum2. Have a packet ready for students
i. State or Agency Legal Memo ii. Dear Colleague Letter iii. Q & A for College Financial Aid Officesiv. Fact Sheet for Incarcerated Students
3. Approach nearby community colleges and universities to establish partnership
4. Try pilot program with small number of students
Example from the Field: Oregon Youth Authority
1) Letter from State Attorney General’s office2) Relationships with nearby community
colleges and universities3) Post-secondary dorm
Additional Considerations• Online access, including email• Universities and community colleges• Finance and funding pass-through, bypassing
correctional agency
INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION
ACT (IDEA)
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
Shared Agency Respons
ibility
Every agency at any level of government that is involved in the provision of special education and related services to students in correctional facilities must ensure the provision of FAPE, even if other agencies share that responsibility.
States must have interagency agreements or other methods for ensuring interagency coordination in providing FAPE.
“…the IDEA applies to all political subdivisions of a state that are involved in the education of children with disabilities, including local juvenile correctional facilities.” (Contra Costa SOI, p. 8-9)
The Case of Contra Costa
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
States and their public agencies must have child find policies and procedures in place to identify, locate, and evaluate students.
Students suspected of having a disability who need special education and related services must be evaluated.
Evaluation must be conducted within 60 days of receiving parental consent.
Child Find and
Evaluation
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
When a student with an individualized education program (IEP) transfers to a correctional facility in the same State in the same school year, the new public agency (in consultation with the parents) must provide the student with FAPE through services that are comparable to those described in the student’s IEP from the previous public agency until the new public agency either adopts the previous agency’s IEP, or develops and implements a new IEP for the student.
Public agencies must ensure that special classes, separate schooling, or other removal of students with disabilities from the regular education environment occurs only when the nature or severity of the disability is such that education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily.
Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
Due Process and Discipline A student with a disability . . . is entitled to the protections in the IDEA discipline procedures. These protections apply regardless of whether a student is subject to discipline in the facility or removed to restricted settings, such as confinement to the student’s cell or “lockdown” units.
In any event, a removal from the current educational placement that results in a denial of educational services for more than 10 consecutive school days, or a series of removals that constitute a pattern that total more than 10 school days in a school year is a change in placement, which, in turn, requires a manifestation determination under the IDEA.
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
“Under the IDEA, public entities are not relieved from providing special education and related services to eligible youth with disabilities based on disciplinary reasons, and “direct threat” or dangerousness is not a defense to the IDEA obligation to provide educational services to all eligible youth. (Contra Costa SOI, p. 12.)”
The Case of Contra Costa
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
Polling Question
Do you have a written agreement with your state office of education assigning responsibilities to provide services under IDEA?
If not, why not?
Polling Question
Are students with disabilities provided all of the supports in their IEP or § 504 plans, including aids for communication?
If not, why not?
Polling Question
If students are placed in segregated settings, do they receive an education program commensurate with a full instructional day?
If not, why not?
Example from the Field: Lewiston (Idaho)
• Individualized practices• Dedicated clinician• Four-step process• Priority is to keep all students in
school and in programming
Polling Question
Do you have individualized discipline plans for students’ needs (including identified special education or behavioral needs)?
If not, why not?
FEDERAL CIVIL RIGHTS PROTECTIONS
Affirmative Steps for English Language Learner Students•Title VI and EEOA require affirmative steps to address, and appropriate action to overcome, English learners’ language barriers so that these students can participate meaningfully in educational programs.•Students must have an educationally sound and effective language instruction program, with qualified staff and the resources necessary for effective program implementation.•Title VI and EEOA do not require any particular educational model or instructional program.
FEDERAL CIVIL RIGHTS PROTECTIONS
ED & DOJ Fact Sheets
AFFIRMATIVE STEPS FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNER STUDENTS
Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) for Students with Disabilities• Section 504 requires juvenile justice facilities and agencies that receive Federal funds from ED to provide FAPE, i.e., regular or special education and related aids and services designed to meet these students’ individual educational needs as adequately as the needs of students without disabilities are met.• This requirement can be met by complying with the IDEA, but Section 504 covers more kinds of disabilities (like ADHD).• Decisions about special education and related services must be made by a knowledgeable group of persons.• Students with disabilities have the right to be educated with non-disabled individuals to the maximum extent appropriate to the needs of the student with a disability.
FEDERAL CIVIL RIGHTS PROTECTIONS
Student Discipline and Solitary Confinement•Federal civil rights laws prohibit discrimination in student discipline on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability or sex.•ADA Title II requires public juvenile justice facilities to implement reasonable modifications so that students with disabilities are not placed in solitary confinement or other restrictive programs because of disability-related behaviors, unless doing so would fundamentally alter the nature of a service, program, or activity.
FEDERAL CIVIL RIGHTS PROTECTIONS
Polling Question
Are there systems in place to track records of student discipline, harassment, or violence to analyze and respond to patterns?
If not, why not?
Polling Question
For boys and girls, are you able to ensure equitable and comparable activities that are not derived from gender stereotypes?
If not, why not?
Polling Question
Are you able to communicate with families in ways that are accessible and allow them to engage with their child’s education?
If not, why not?
Polling Question
Do you have systems and programs in place to meet the specific needs of English language learners?
If not, why not?
Polling Question
Are you able to provide appropriate supports for visitors, including those who need language or other communication assistance?
If not, why not?
Seeking Technical AssistanceIf you would like additional individualized assistance or answers to specific questions, you can always reach out to the Office for Civil Rights’ team. You can reach out to any regional OCR office.
Customer Service Team: (800) 421-3481
TDD: (800) 877-8339
Office for Civil Rights: [email protected] Opportunities Section : [email protected]
Additional Questions and SupportHailly T.N. Korman
Director of Special Projects, CEEAS [email protected]
Frank MartinEducation Administrator, Oregon Youth [email protected]
Kevin Bernatz Site Superintendent: Lewiston, Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections [email protected]
Christy Sampson-KellyDirector of Practitioner Support, CEEAS
