New executive order protects 504 students and not just IDEA students
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/22/bullying-special-ed_n_6031078.html
The reason this matters is because schools have the ability to claim that they are exempt from the requirement to provide care and protection to students when the fail to prevent bullying. Seriously – they don’t have to protect your child while they are in school. This has obviously been a problem.
So, the federal government has started to sue on behalf of students who are bullied as a result of disability – once again – forcing schools to protect students they otherwise wouldn’t, by law, have to.
Now – the government has said that kids with 504s are also covered by these rules AND can file civil rights complaints against a school that fails to protect them from bullying.
It is critical that schools LEARN what it takes to stop bullies – because unless they know how to get it to stop – they are liable for the legal consequences – and they are no longer going to be able to skirt them!