They should give out a flat amount per student for the years and let the parents spend it as needed

Anonymous wrote:The settlement was not about publicity. It was not about singling out FCPS because they are big.

Something HUGE came out in the OCR investigation. Otherwise there is no way that FCPS would have signed such a terrible (for them) settlement. Maybe there was a whistle blower on the inside that spilled the beans even.

Taxpayers of Fairfax County deserve to know the truth. They are the ones who will ultimately be liable for these costs.

Reading between the lines of the settlement, there was something significant found by OCR. Whatever it was will very likely come out soon. There are enough very smart, motivated parents who are spitting mad at FCPS and know how dig for information.

Anonymous wrote:If a parent signed and consented to the proposed IEP for virtual and reduced services, is their child still eligible?

I don't think it matters if you signed it or not. It is not like they gave you an option if you did not sign it. My experience was like- here is your new IEP, please sign.

Anonymous wrote:If a parent signed and consented to the proposed IEP for virtual and reduced services, is their child still eligible?

It sounded to me like it was any kid with an IEP during that time. From the school closures in March 2020 until the end of the 21-22 school year.

Anonymous wrote:If a parent signed and consented to the proposed IEP for virtual and reduced services, is their child still eligible?

I did not sing our IEP and wrote something back like “I don’t agree with this cancellation of legally required services.”and I basically got back a “too bad.”

The settlement was not about publicity. It was not about singling out FCPS because they are big.

Something HUGE came out in the OCR investigation. Otherwise there is no way that FCPS would have signed such a terrible (for them) settlement. Maybe there was a whistle blower on the inside that spilled the beans even.

Taxpayers of Fairfax County deserve to know the truth. They are the ones who will ultimately be liable for these costs.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter did not have services from March 2020-through June 2021. She was 6th grade so the last grade to go back in person (and she wasn't offered to go before that) and she got no special ed services when she returned in person because there was childcare issues with the special ed teacher who could do OG.

So 1 year and 3 months. We hired a tutor and I am hoping we get reimbursed for something. I would be happy if FCPS gave me $1000.

Question did your IEP specifically have OG written in it?

Yes.

I would gather all of your invoices, make a nice spreadsheet and send it to the IEP team before the meeting. If your DD was supposed to get 5 hours per week of OG, they should in theory have to reimburse you for 5 hours per week to hire a tutor.

If a parent signed and consented to the proposed IEP for virtual and reduced services, is their child still eligible?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter did not have services from March 2020-through June 2021. She was 6th grade so the last grade to go back in person (and she wasn't offered to go before that) and she got no special ed services when she returned in person because there was childcare issues with the special ed teacher who could do OG.

So 1 year and 3 months. We hired a tutor and I am hoping we get reimbursed for something. I would be happy if FCPS gave me $1000.

Question did your IEP specifically have OG written in it?

Yes.

Anonymous wrote:Maybe it’s a simple as the coverup was worse than the crime?

According to one blog, FCPS tried to withhold documents from OCR. A whistle-blower alerted OCR to this. I’m guessing the settlement helped avoid possible prosecution of high-level FCPS employees?

Here is the Blog link:

Fairfax County Public Schools Withheld Records from Office of Civil Rights; FCPS Didn’t Provide Full Response to OCR’s Investigation Data Request

https://specialeducationaction.com/fairfax-county-public-schools-withheld-records-from-office-of-civil-rights-fcps-didnt-provide-full-response-to-ocrs-investigation-data-request/

It’s interesting that part of the OCR statement includes a reference to evidence that FCPS falsified logs of services provided to students with disabilities.

This is interesting because, if true, this could *potentially* involve Medicaid fraud. Many students with disabilities are also on Medicaid. School systems in Virginia are allowed to bill Medicaid for OT, PT and Speech. If FCPS was billing Medicaid for services never provided, that is profoundly serious. As in, jail time serious.

Possible they are hoping that an OCR settlement will put a lid on the Medicaid fraud? But HHS could still in theory launch an investigation if they wanted to.

Anonymous wrote:My daughter did not have services from March 2020-through June 2021. She was 6th grade so the last grade to go back in person (and she wasn't offered to go before that) and she got no special ed services when she returned in person because there was childcare issues with the special ed teacher who could do OG.

So 1 year and 3 months. We hired a tutor and I am hoping we get reimbursed for something. I would be happy if FCPS gave me $1000.

Question did your IEP specifically have OG written in it?

Maybe it’s a simple as the coverup was worse than the crime?

According to one blog, FCPS tried to withhold documents from OCR. A whistle-blower alerted OCR to this. I’m guessing the settlement helped avoid possible prosecution of high-level FCPS employees?

Here is the Blog link:

Fairfax County Public Schools Withheld Records from Office of Civil Rights; FCPS Didn’t Provide Full Response to OCR’s Investigation Data Request

https://specialeducationaction.com/fairfax-county-public-schools-withheld-records-from-office-of-civil-rights-fcps-didnt-provide-full-response-to-ocrs-investigation-data-request/

For anyone who is interested, the final parent information meeting is this Wednesday. I attended one last week and the FCPS employee was willing to answer all types of questions. Well worth the time to attend!

We will hold four public meetings to share information about the Plan, the process for determining compensatory education, and formal and informal dispute resolution options available to parents/guardians and adult students.

These meetings will be held virtually via Zoom webinar. Real-time interpretation will be available on demand.

Wednesday, January 25, 2023, from 7-9 p.m.

Virtual link: https://myfcpsk12.zoom.us/j/95585534163
Languages available: Amharic, Bengali, Chinese-Mandarin, Korean, Spanish, Tamil/Telegu, Turkish, Twi

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Anonymous wrote:Can anyone explain:

1) Why did FCPS sign this voluntary agreement?

2) Why was FCPS singled out for an OCR investigation? What happened in FCPS to special education students from 2020-2022 was not terribly unique.

I do not understand the dynamic and politics of the settlement at all.

They picked a few large school districts in the US for this investigation. School districts all over the US did WAAAAAAY less than FCPS did but because we're big and always in the news, we got singled out. FCPS was following the guidance they were given by VDOE but someone decided that wasn't good enough.

where is this data? it is hard to do less than nothing.

Yeah, okay...the teachers did nothing. My kids were online every, single day with their teachers learning the curriculum. My child who receives special education services was pulled into small groups online just like she would have been had she been in person. She got her accommodations and she got instruction. You people who keep saying the teachers did nothing are flat out lying. I simply do not believe you. I understand that some related services such as speech and OT got the shaft, particularly since it's hard to provide those services virtually. But do not lie and say your kid literally got no instruction for a year.

So do you think the Office of Civil Rights at the Department of Education just made this up that special ed services were not given? I am confused.

DP, I think the office could have picked any school district and gotten the same findings, they just choose a large on that is in the news.

they have made judgements against several. They do actually have to do due-diligence and make sure it is true. FCPS usually avoids publicity like this because there are top lobbyists working for them and they have lots of lawyers.

Why didn’t FCPS fight it? It seems like the school system in Ohio who was also in the cross hairs of OCR is fighting.

They seemed to put so much energy into fighting parents at every turn. Why roll over and play dead to OCR?

Bad publicity

They don't care about bad publicity. FCPS did not fight it because OCR has tons of data around what they did (or did not do in this case). I don't think the OCR judgment will make any changes but it is nice to see a small victory for families who have been treated so terrible for years by FCPS.

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone explain:

1) Why did FCPS sign this voluntary agreement?

2) Why was FCPS singled out for an OCR investigation? What happened in FCPS to special education students from 2020-2022 was not terribly unique.

I do not understand the dynamic and politics of the settlement at all.

They picked a few large school districts in the US for this investigation. School districts all over the US did WAAAAAAY less than FCPS did but because we're big and always in the news, we got singled out. FCPS was following the guidance they were given by VDOE but someone decided that wasn't good enough.

where is this data? it is hard to do less than nothing.

Yeah, okay...the teachers did nothing. My kids were online every, single day with their teachers learning the curriculum. My child who receives special education services was pulled into small groups online just like she would have been had she been in person. She got her accommodations and she got instruction. You people who keep saying the teachers did nothing are flat out lying. I simply do not believe you. I understand that some related services such as speech and OT got the shaft, particularly since it's hard to provide those services virtually. But do not lie and say your kid literally got no instruction for a year.

So do you think the Office of Civil Rights at the Department of Education just made this up that special ed services were not given? I am confused.

DP, I think the office could have picked any school district and gotten the same findings, they just choose a large on that is in the news.

they have made judgements against several. They do actually have to do due-diligence and make sure it is true. FCPS usually avoids publicity like this because there are top lobbyists working for them and they have lots of lawyers.

Why didn’t FCPS fight it? It seems like the school system in Ohio who was also in the cross hairs of OCR is fighting.

They seemed to put so much energy into fighting parents at every turn. Why roll over and play dead to OCR?

Bad publicity

I don’t buy it. Something does not add up.