On December 28, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued critical new guidance to “clarify the rights of students with disabilities and the responsibilities of educational institutions in ensuring that all students have the opportunity to learn.” The first of these documents, entitled “Parent and Educator Resource Guide to Section 504 in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools,” provides a broad outline of schools’ obligations and parents’ rights under Section 504. The document devotes significant attention to the proper identification of students with disabilities. Given its recent concerns about TEA’s alleged “caps” on special education students, OCR will likely concentrate enforcement efforts on districts’ identification processes and procedures in 2017. Consequently, this document is a “must read” for all educators, especially new teachers and educators with limited special education experience.

The other documents released by OCR cover the use of restraint and seclusion. First, in a 23 page Dear Colleague Letter, OCR extensively details the relationship between federal disability discrimination and the use of restraint and seclusion. Although the letter mostly reiterates concepts familiar to seasoned educators, the document is highly useful as a primer for educators unfamiliar with federal discrimination laws implicated when a student with a disability is restrained. However, even experienced teachers and administrators would be well-served by reading the letter to review key concepts, such as the need to reconvene a student’s ARD committee when occurrences of restraint increase, and the potential that the overuse of restraint could result in the denial of a FAPE. The Dear Colleague letter was accompanied by a “Fact Sheet” that quickly summarizes a school’s obligations to avoid using seclusion and restraint in a way that discriminates against students with disabilities.

When OCR investigates a claim of discrimination, it often gathers information on the district’s training practices. Accordingly, a district should be able to show that educators are up-to-date on federal anti-discrimination laws. These guidance documents provide an easy to understand format to bring all educators up to speed on disability law requirements, and should be a part of training all new teachers and campus administrators. To download the documents, visit OCR’s website at https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-department-education-releases-guidance-civil-rights-students-disabilities.