MDOE confirms that students with disabilities outside of their school districts retain all of their rights under the IDEA, including stay put protections

by Julia Endicott | Aug 31, 2021 | Announcements

MDOE confirms that students with disabilities outside of their school districts retain all of their rights under the IDEA, including stay put protections

On November 24, 2021, the Maine Department of Education (MDOE) issued Administrative Letter # 28 clarifying the obligations of Maine schools who receive students with disabilities from a home/sending school district through the IEP process.

DRM has heard from families with students who are left with little to no education when a receiving school decides that they will no longer serve the student – leaving the sending district and the family scrambling. While the sending district maintains the responsibility to provide the student a free appropriate public education (FAPE), it cannot be that the receiving school does not need to follow the IEP process. In response to a systemic complaint filed by DRM, the MDOE issued the Letter which sets out clear requirements for receiving schools, including:

“Special Purpose Private Schools (SPPS) and other out-of-unit entities must ensure compliance with IDEA, utilizing the IEP team process and maintaining “stay put” in the event of a dispute (34 CFR §300.518)” … “the Department has determined that SPPS and other out-of-unit placements are not in compliance with IDEA when they terminate a student’ s placement without going through the IEP process.” And, “Effective immediately, All SAUs must notify the SPPS and out-of-unit placements that in order to continue these placements, they must abide by the federal standard and provide FAPE to eligible students who are placed at SPPS and other out-of-unit placements.”

Often, when schools are seeking to place students outside the District, they seek to reduce the student’s school day or utilize segregated tutoring until a placement is found. This is almost never appropriate.

MDOE Administrative Letter # 28 is available here: https://mainedoenews.net/2021/11/24/administrative-letter-iep-requirements-for-out-of-unit-placements/

DRM Statement on Portland Press Herald Article That Misinforms Voters with Disabilities

by Julia Endicott | Sep 25, 2020 | Announcements

In its September 24, 2020 article “Some voters fear being ‘purged’ at the polls. Should you?” the Portland Press Herald mistakenly reports that “A clerk must remove you from the voting list if they are given notice that you have been placed under guardianship due to mental illness.” This is wrong. Any attempts to enforce this provision are unconstitutional and discriminatory.

In its article, the Press Herald incorrectly relied on obsolete language from Maine’s Constitution, language that was invalidated by a federal judge nearly 20 years ago in Doe v. Rowe, 156 F. Supp. 35 (D. Me. 2001), a case brought by Disability Rights Maine (DRM). In his ruling, U.S. District Court Judge George Z. Singal found that Maine’s Constitution violated the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. To be clear, “the U.S. Constitution gives all citizens the right to vote. [A person] can register to vote if ….. [they are] under guardianship.” https://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/voter-info/right.html

DRM is concerned about the impact on the fundamental right to vote that this inaccurate article may have. At a time when concerns about voter misinformation are at an all-time high, the Press Herald’s article may further disenfranchise voters with psychiatric histories or labels of mental illness.

Since the 1990’s, the Secretary of State’s Office has worked closely with Disability Rights Maine and many other disability partners to educate municipal clerks and registrars about voting rights and to ensure that voters with disabilities have full and equal access to the polls. We are hopeful that through these efforts, municipalities will disregard the information in this article.

Kim Moody
Executive Director
Disability Rights Maine