As outlined in the 2024 National Educational Technology Plan; digital health, safety, and citizenship skills reflect the full set of knowledge and habits students can adopt to protect themselves and others in online spaces. For schools and districts, protecting student health and safety while those skills develop means taking an approach that can…

It is the position of the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) that service animals allow some students with disabilities access to their education while enabling greater independence. The registered professional school nurse (hereinafter referred to as school nurse) as a member of the school planning team, facilitates the integration of…

The results of recent cases indicate that residences and dormitories owned by higher education institutions should be considered "dwellings," and thus subject to the Fair Housing Act. The Fair Housing Act (1968) as amended requires that the providers of dwellings accommodate assistance animals, which includes not only service animals,…

Chronic absenteeism is a measure of how many students miss a defined number of school days for any reason--excused, unexcused, suspension. Many states define chronic absenteeism as the number and percentage of students missing 10 percent or more of their school days in a year. The purpose of this Brief is to provide information about chronic…

As the focus on bullying has grown, attention to incidents of and concern about sexual harassment has diminished. It is easy to understand that sexual harassment can be a form of bullying, especially when it is used to intimidate, but it is also a form of discrimination prohibited by federal and state laws. Effective implementation and enforcement…

In this article, the author examines how school- and district-level racial/ethnic and socioeconomic compositions influence schools' use of different types of criminalized and medicalized school discipline. Using a large data set containing information on over 60,000 schools in over 6,000 districts, the authors uses multilevel modeling and a…

Research demonstrates that students with disabilities are harassed more than their nondisabled peers. Students with disabilities who have been severely harassed have argued that they are not receiving a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) as required by Individuals with Disabilities Education Act…

The Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) does the following: (1) Clarifies the relationship between bullying and discriminatory harassment under the civil rights laws enforced by the Department of Education's (ED) Office for Civil Rights (OCR); (2) Explains how student misconduct that falls under an anti-bullying policy also may trigger responsibilities…

In recent years, many state departments of education and local school districts have taken steps to reduce bullying in schools. The U.S. Department of Education (Department) fully supports these efforts. Bullying fosters a climate of fear and disrespect that can seriously impair the physical and psychological health of its victims and create…

Universities are providing extra time on tests, quiet exam rooms, in-class note-takers, and other assistance to college students with modest learning disabilities. But these policies are shrouded in secrecy. This paper, "Accommodating College Students with Learning Disabilities: ADD, ADHD, and Dyslexia," by Melana Zyla Vickers, examines…

Public schools have historically embedded mechanisms for control within their policies and procedures through a variety of means. This article investigates a moderately sized integrated public school system in an upscale to low socioeconomic Big Ten university community in Illinois. Through descriptive measures, the author examines the racial…

Survey of state directors of special education in 50 states and District of Columbia gathered data on provision of extended school year (ESY) services to students with handicaps within legal framework of Public Law 94-142 and Section 504 of Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Recommendations are presented for development of ESY policy reflecting current…

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is examined as the impetus for many special admission policies used to admit learning-disabled students into U.S. colleges. Program services provided to these students include diagnostic testing and prescriptive planning, program advisement, instructional assistance, and counseling. (Author/JDD)

A survey of 15 optometry schools investigated degree of compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, concerning accommodation of students with disabilities, particularly in regard to students with learning disabilities. Results indicate institutional policy is made at a different level than that at which it is implemented.…

Discusses the effects of section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and various state laws on the foreign language requirements of Virginia college and university programs. Foreign language instructors and departments need to be aware of their responsibilities in accommodating learning-disabled…