LD News
Each week, LD OnLine gathers interesting news headlines about learning disabilities and ADHD issues. Please note that LD OnLine does not necessarily endorse these views or any others on these outside websites.
To receive these headlines in an e-mail, sign up for our free LD Newsline service. These headlines are available as an RSS feed by clicking on the RSS icon below.
Note: These links may expire after a week or so. Some web sites require you to register first before seeing an article.
Go to page: |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 >> >|
Sort by: | Date | Title |
Decision May Help Special-Ed Families in VT
Brattleboro Reformer (VT)
A U.S. Supreme Court decision this week could help Vermont families with special education students that are battling with their local school districts over out-of-district placement costs. Tim Palmer, executive deputy director of the Vermont Family Network, said the decision will probably not cause an increase in the number of families that ask schools to pay for expensive private education. But Palmer said the decision will likely remain in the forefront of conversations as families and administrators try to determine the best place for the disabled students.
UK: Dyslexia Linked to Muscle Control
BBCNews (UK)
Dyslexia could be caused by defects in the part of the brain that controls muscle co-ordination, Edinburgh scientists have discovered. Edinburgh University scientists have found the cerebellum, at the base of the brain, may influence how a person learns to interpret written language.
Special Education: Schools Taking Ruling in Stride
The Columbus Dispatch
Ohio educators don't expect much to come from a U.S. Supreme Court ruling reaffirming that parents can send special-needs students to private school on a public school's dime. Parents still will have to appeal to the state to force unwilling school districts to cover private-education costs, state officials said. But special-education advocates called the ruling a small victory, and experts said it will put districts on notice that they must provide a "free and appropriate public education," a requirement under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
Unspent Special-Education Funds Under Scrutiny
The Philadelphia Inquirer
Chester Community Charter School, Pennsylvania's largest charter, would be among the biggest losers if an administration proposal from the governor to change special-education funding for charter and cyber charter schools becomes law. The 2,150-student Delaware County charter school received $21,840 last school year for each special-education student from its home district, Chester Upland, but state calculations show that the charter spent less than a third of the $9.4 million it received for special-education students on special education.
Disabled Woman Gets College Dream
The Washington Times
23-year-old Melissa Gurman was diagnosed with information processing delays when she was just 17 months old, and later with attention deficit hyperactive disorder and performance anxiety. She is considered intellectually disabled. But in May, she graduated from George Mason University's Mason Learning Into Future Environments (LIFE) program. Four years at the college have given her a long list of achievements, including mastering her fear of public speaking.
(Opinion) The Tragedy and Triumph of T.A.
The Boston Globe
Charles P. Conroy, Ed.D., executive director of Perkins School in Lancaster writes in this opinion column, "On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a special-education decision, Forest Grove School District v. T.A, that had been closely tracked in many sectors of American education. Those who compulsively need to keep score might conclude that private schools for children with special needs had 'won.' They would be wrong. The true winners were children with what one might call hidden disabilities — social, emotional, and learning needs that are often less apparent than some visual, auditory, ambulatory, or intellectual challenges."
Court Favors Parents in Battle over Special-Education Tuition
Washington Post
Parents of children with disabilities may seek reimbursement for private school tuition even if they have never sent their children to public schools, the Supreme Court ruled Monday in a decision with wide-ranging implications for Washington D.C. area school systems.
Jets' Rex Ryan Acknowledges Toughest Foe: Dyslexia
Associated Press
Words have always been Rex Ryan's biggest challenge. Not so much saying them, of course. The New York Jets' loquacious rookie coach has no trouble speaking his mind. Reading and writing, though, have made Ryan cringe since grade school. That's the effect dyslexia can have, even on the most confident of NFL coaches.
Shared Control of Special Education in LA Local High School Proved Problematic
Los Angeles Times
For its first year at Locke High School in Los Angeles, CA, charter school organization Green Dot Public Schools contracted with L.A. Unified School District to provide and evaluate teachers for students with disabilities. Poor communication between the agencies created personnel problems.
Supreme Court Backs Reimbursement for Private Tuition
Education Week
Federal law authorizes reimbursements for private school tuition, even when a child has never received special education services from a public school, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday. The justices ruled 6-3 in Forest Grove School District v. T.A. (Case No. 08-305) that 1997 amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act meant to rein in the costs of private school placements did not remove the power of hearing officers and federal judges to order such reimbursements under the proper circumstances.
Register for free access to three Education Week articles picked by the editors each day. Other articles are available through paid subscription. Registration is not required to view blogs unless readers wish to comment.
Supreme Court Rules on Special Education Case
NPR
In a 6-to-3 decision, the Supreme Court ruled Monday that school districts could be required to reimburse students who choose special education programs at private schools even if they did not try the public school's special education offerings first.
School Districts Digest Ruling on Special-Ed Reimbursement
Dallas Morning News
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that parents of special education students can seek public reimbursement for private school tuition, a decision that potentially could cost Dallas-area school districts millions of dollars. Texas school officials were still studying the ruling late Monday, trying to determine its impact. A spokeswoman with the Texas Education Agency said they hope to know more later this week.
Court says Public Must Pay for Private Special-Ed
Associated Press
The Supreme Court has ruled that parents of special education students who opt for private school instead of trying the public system cannot be barred from seeking public reimbursement for their tuition costs. The court ruled 6-3 Monday in favor of a teenage boy from Oregon whose parents sought to force their local public school district to pay the $5,200 a month it cost to send their son to a private school.
Judge Orders Search for Milwaukee Public School Students in Need of Special Education
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
A federal judge has ordered Milwaukee Public Schools to launch a wide search for students who didn't get special education services they should have gotten between 2000 and 2005 and to figure out what needs to be done to make that up to them.
UK: Teacher Training to Spot Dyslexia
BBC News (UK)
More teachers will be trained to identify and support children in England with dyslexia, as a report says greater expertise is needed in schools. Government adviser Sir Jim Rose, who recently reviewed the English primary school curriculum, said parents also needed guidance on the help available.
Orillia Packet and Times (Canada)
Educators at an Orillia, Ontario school who realized they could do better than the status quo and do more for special-needs students have been recognized for their efforts. Fourteen staff members, including teachers and educational assistants, at Orchard Park Public School received an Inclusion Excellence award from Simcoe Community Services' public awareness committee. With the support of school board administration, Orchard Park intensified its focus last fall on academics for special-needs students.
'Response to Intervention' in Math Seen as Challenging
Education Week
Educators gathered in Washington, D.C. last week to discuss a recent federal 'practice guide' on response to intervention for students struggling in mathematics agreed that applying the RTI approach to that subject is challenging. But they also suggested that doing so was worth the effort.
Register for free access to three Education Week articles picked by the editors each day. Other articles are available through paid subscription. Registration is not required to view blogs unless readers wish to comment.
Recordings Help Dyslexic Students in NC
Winston-Salem Journal (NC)
Elementary-school teacher Amanda Hummel is 29, but she still remembers the taunts of classmates during her early years in school. Found to have dyslexia in the second grade, Hummel had great difficulty reading with the same speed and confidence as her peers. But during her freshman year at Meredith College in Raleigh, her outlook changed. Meredith's Office of Disability Services told her about Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic, which could provide Hummel with recordings of her textbooks to help her manage her dyslexia.
Canada: Paying Attention to a Debilitating Disorder
Vancouver Sun (Canada)
Alan, an Edmonton sales consultant, has something in common with comic Howie Mandel, host of reality TV shows Deal Or No Deal and Howie Do It. Both were diagnosed as adults with ADHD, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, a genetic chemical imbalance commonly thought of as a kid's disease. Looking back, both think they probably had it in childhood, but ADHD wasn't recognized as a medical condition at the time.
Study Shows Larger NYC High Schools Posting Declining Graduation Rates
New York Daily News
Students at new small high schools opened under Mayor Bloomberg have made real gains, but that progress has come at the expense of students in the large high schools, where the spillover has caused a drop in graduation rates for some of the city's neediest children, a new report shows. The damage to the remaining large schools was inflicted mostly because the new small schools set up to replace the large failing ones did not take as many students as the mammoth ones that closed, the report says. The small schools also weren't set up to serve special education students and English-language learners.
Sponsored Links
About these ads
Consumer Tips
