The Fallout has started- Maryland is in the lead!

 The Fallout Has Started

The US Department of Education has decimated the Office of Civil Rights for people with disabilities.  The number of complaints by parents to the Maryland State Department of Education alleging an abridgement of their children’s rights have jumped 200% since 2022.   Is there a connection here?

Families have complained that school districts have failed to test for suspected disability, provide accommodations required in the IEP and/or provided a program that ensured academic progress.   The rate of complaint per 10,000 in Maryland is among the highest in the country.  Overall, states have seen a 50% rise in special ed filings.  In a survey conducted by the Council for Exceptional Children (a professional organization for special educators) and the National Association of State Directors of Special Education, complaints have increased so much that it is difficult for the resolutions within the required 60-day timeframe.  When a complaint is filed, an investigation is triggered.  If the State Department of Ed determines that a child’s rights have been violated, the school district must file a plan for correction and improvement going forward.

So many complaints have been filed in Maryland that MSDE has recently advertised for a 6^thposition to investigate and respond.   Many reasons are advanced for the uptick. Parents know more.  They are also learning to use AI tools to write the complaint.  Complaints to MSDE are free.  Advocates recommend care in the use of AI since it can routinely provide bad information which will slow down any resolution.  A federal special ed center recently published a guide: A Parent’s Guide to using AI for Advocacy.

In Montgomery County, Maryland’s largest school district, roughly 15% of the enrollment is students with special needs.  Montgomery County has been particularly hard hit with complaints including physical abuse of a student.  The overriding problem is that no amount of correction can rewind the tape and replenish what was lost.

It didn’t take too long for the loss of leadership at the federal level to yield loss of civil rights at the local level.