Ninth Circuit Takes California Department Of Education (CDE) To Task

December 15, 2016
The Ninth Circuit affirmed U.S. Northern California District Court Judge Thelton Henderson's orders that the California Department of Education (CDE) must implement a corrective action plan designed to ensure that its special education monitoring system would comply with the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the Consent Decree in the case, a class action brought to protect the special education rights of students with disabilities. The decision is the culmination of nearly 20 years of attempting to reform failed local and state-level special education policies.

DREDF Comments on Significant Disproportionality

July 29, 2014
DREDF recently submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Education regarding actions that the Department should take to address significant disproportionality based on race and ethnicity in the identification, placement, and discipline of children with disabilities. In addition to making recommendations for a standard definition of significant disproportionality, DREDF addressed the interconnection between the lack of compliance with the Individuals with Disabilities Act and the disproportionate suspension of students with disabilities.

Children With Diabetes Sue School Districts, State for Assistance

October 11, 2005
Oakland, California — Four elementary school-age students, along with the American Diabetes Association, filed an unprecedented civil rights complaint today in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California seeking class action relief against the California Superintendent of Public Schools, the California Department of Education, members of the California Board of Education, the San Ramon Valley Unified School District, the Fremont Unified School District, and their Superintendents and Boards of Trustees. The suit asks the Court to compel public school officials to comply with federal law by providing the assistance that California students with diabetes require to manage their diabetes during the school day.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2003

June 24, 2003
Washington D.C. — The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is the most important civil rights law ever passed for children with disabilities in the United States. IDEA was reauthorized and strengthened in 1997.  The law is again up for reauthorization and faces substantial threats.  The House of Representatives passed a bill, HR 1350, on April 30, 2003 making sweeping changes that weaken services and protections for students with disabilities.