Our OCR ruling

[socks on a rooster]

  

I'm posting this in case this information is useful to anyone. We're in CA.

In order to comply with Section 504 the District had to implement and train staff District wide on new 504 policy which specifies the need to document Section 504 placement decisions and when to provide procedural safeguards to parents.

OCR ruled violations on both counts above.

In course of investigation OCR found that the District's practice did not reliably give parents notice of procedural safeguards.

In course of investigation OCR discovered several other student's at the school site who have life threatening food allergies and have health plans, but do not have 504 plans. OCR recommends that the District consider evaluation whether other students in its District who have identified themselves as having food allergies qualify for Section 504 related aids and services.

[my3guys]

  I'll dance with you!! Great job!

[CMdeux]

WTG!!   


Good job to YOU, and good job to OCR! 

[MomTo3]

Great!!!

[hithere]

 

I

In course of investigation OCR discovered several other student's at the school site who have life threatening food allergies and have health plans, but do not have 504 plans. OCR recommends that the District consider evaluation whether other students in its District who have identified themselves as having food allergies qualify for Section 504 related aids and services.

That is a bit ironic...gee, think it's because the school district tries to not give 504 Plans and instead tell parents a Health Plan is enough? Sounds familiar! 

[ajasfolks2]

CONGRATULATIONS!

Thank you for taking your case to OCR and persevering.

Federally guaranteed rights need to be upheld and protected.

Now let's see if your school district can comply and improve things in a meaningful and concrete way . . . without more footdragging and game-playing.

Wondering what the written response from school district attorney will be?  Does that (redacted for identifying info, if necessary) become open information via FOIA eventually?

[socks on a rooster]

I don't know the answer to that question about the school's response.

I do intend to share our OCR finding letter here. Nothing in the letter said I couldn't, but I have emailed the OCR attorney to make sure it's ok.

[twinturbo]

*If* you think you can and you want to, would you walk through your experience with OCR? I'm interested in first contacts, job titles of who you worked with... in general, I don't mean out anyone specifically there. I was looking through DOE and OCR structures the other day and there seems to be similarly titled jobs and what not. Some of the DOE I've contacted are a bit dodgy on the state level though the federal was completely on the ball.

And, congrats!

[socks on a rooster]

Yes, I'd be happy to share my experience.

I filed a complaint online through OCR's website in November 2011. I received a phone call from an OCR attorney within two weeks to discuss our complaint. I received a letter in December saying that OCR had accepted our case. An investigation began on January 1, 2012. All of my interviews were done over the phone, perhaps three phone calls and a few email exchanges. The attorney seemed knowledgeable in terms of the law as it pertains to LTFA as a disability. I received a phone call from the attorney last month as I recall, to discuss resolution. Did I intend to homeschool independently next year, or did I want to receive services from the district? Had I changed my mind about anything? I told the attorney I did not want services from the SD, only a ruling. I received OCR's letter of finding this week. It was actually quite simple from my end.

As far as DOE, and overlap. Yes, it seems that way, and I'm not sure I can really explain why it's necessary. I did use DOE Office of Equal Opportunity a couple of years ago for help with the nonstop flow of treats given to classmates at recess which was blocking my child's access to socialize normally. My child was also suffering a lot from the emotional effects of repeated exclusion. I used DOE OOEO because it was not an issue OCR would touch, the treat issue was not in our 504 plan, nor would the school consider it. The DOE person did help in that regard, however that direct intervention actually set us back on another accommodation we already had because the school pushed back on an allergen free classroom (which was already written into our 504). I'm almost certain this was due to some piece of incorrect information the DOE OOEO gave the school that emboldened them to do this to us. The school made a statement to us immediately afterward that if a child didn't require an allergen free lunch table, they did not require an allergen free classroom. I felt very betrayed by the DOE OOEO. But, someone else here had a good experience with the same person.

[twinturbo]

Oh, now that's interesting about the allergen free lunch seating and classroom bundling because there was another poster recently dealing with that. Thank you kindly I shall ruminate on it all.

As far as DOE and OCR, OCR falls under HHS which is health which will overlap disability discrimination because it's health related. Disability within educational setting is the education portion of Section 504 (Part 104 Subparts D & E, General Provisions always apply, etc., etc.). Right now I'm trying to find a way reliably identify who is a recipient of Federal financial assistance as per the definitions of 104.3... and federal DOE (rightly) pointed me towards state. State wasn't too happy with my inquiries so I need to think if it was the question itself or the way I asked it.

Want to form a study group on the entire Section 504? It's http://www2.ed.gov/policy/rights/reg/ocr/edlite-34cfr104.html#S3 and http://www2.ed.gov/policy/rights/reg/ocr/index.html#Notice has an important notice to readers including how 28 CFR Parts 35 and 36 ADA falls under DOJ for enforceability.

You're a double threat as someone who shoots bureaucratic lightning bolts from your fingertips AND you've had first hand experience through a complaint and resolution process. Start at the top and definitely pay attention to the General Provision, particularly Definitions, as they are global elements that must be applied throughout.

Adding http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2010-09-15/html/2010-21821.htm which is Title II & Title III 28 CFR Parts 35 and 36. This is nice in the sense it's provided directly by the Government Printing Office.

[twinturbo]

As far as DOE and OCR, OCR falls under HHS which is health which will overlap disability discrimination because it's health related. Disability within educational setting is the education portion of Section 504 (Part 104 Subparts D & E, General Provisions always apply, etc., etc.).

This is wrong.

Sorry to quote and argue with myself here but I'm trying to tease out the pathways here. Bear with, please, I need to get disparate statements on the same page.

OCR, a component of the U.S. Department of Education, enforces Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, (Section 504) a civil rights statute which prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities. OCR also enforces Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (Title II), which extends this prohibition against discrimination to the full range of state and local government services, programs, and activities (including public schools) regardless of whether they receive any Federal financial assistance.

28 C.F.R. Part 35 is enforced by the U.S. Department of Justice. The U.S. Department of Education is designated by the U.S. Department of Justice to resolve complaints alleging noncompliance with this part against public elementary and secondary education systems and institutions, public institutions of higher education and vocational education (other than schools of medicine, dentistry, nursing, and other health-related schools), and public libraries. On September 15, 2010, the U.S. Department of Justice published a final rule revising the regulations implementing Titles II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (75 Fed. Reg. 56163).

[Macabre]

Thank you for clarifying. I was just about to post:  "No, DOJ.".


Socks--when I discovered that the OCR finding letter for Gloucester existed, I contacted OCR by phone and asked them to send it to me, which they did by fax. I did not file that complaint btw.

I the scanned the letter and emailed it to wrightslaw.com.  They posted it on their website, and not only was I able to share it here in that way, but the rest of the FA community had access to it.   Wrightslaw didn't know about the ruling before I sent it to them, but it was a sentinel ruling.

So--ponder letting them know about it.

[Macabre]

And congratulations!

[socks on a rooster]

Macabre, That's such a great suggestion. I will absolutely do that. Thanks!

[twinturbo]

Okay, I finally found exactly what I was looking for but unfortunately the answer is all of the above is correct.

OCR is under HHS.
OCR is under DOE.
OCR is under DOJ.

From DOJ's OCR site

Other Federal Government Civil Rights Agencies:
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Office for Civil Rights
U.S. Department of Education – Office for Civil Rights
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development – Fair Housing/Equal Opportunity Office

From HHS.gov's OCR

I have a complaint against a major university and was told by OCR to file with the U.S. Department of Education. Why?

Answer:

It is possible for several Departments to have provided Federal financial assistance to that University. In order to avoid duplication of effort and to be more efficient, we coordinate our activities with other agencies to determine which agency would be the most appropriate agency to handle your complaint. This decision is made on a case by case basis with many factors considered. Some of these factors include:

the subject matter, which department provides the largest portion of Federal financial assistance, and whether an agency has started an investigation.

Generally, HHS does not investigate educational institutions unless the complaint is against a health-related portion of the University, e.g., the University's School of Medicine.

So when filing a complaint identifying the most correct department would matter. For education, specifically 504 related, one would most likely pick DOE's OCR rather than DOJ's OCR especially considering the statement that the DOJ has designated the DOE to resolve complaints in education.