Image by Getty Images via @daylifeIn a press release issued last Friday, the Secretary of United States Department of Education announced that the focus of the department will shift from a compliance driven approach to a results oriented approach. Secretary Duncan said. ""For too long we've been a compliance-driven bureaucracy when it comes to educating students with disabilities. We have to expect the very best from our students—and tell the truth about student performance—so that we can give all students the supports and services they need. The best way to do that is by focusing on results,"
You can read the entire press release here.
Maybe it is the nature of my work and all that legal training and experience, but I always get nervous when the emphasis on compliance gets reduced. That scares me.
Does this mean that the Department will be targeting the achievement gap between student with disabilities and their non-disabled peers? Will the Rowley standard need to be changed? Am I putting too much meaning into a bureaucratic press release? I'm not sure, but this may be a very interesting time to be in the special education law business! Stay tuned.
