The ASHA Leader - February 2015 - 12

NewS iN brieF

California School District Cited
for Inadequate Services
Fresno Unified school district is
violating California education law
that mandates schools provide
speech services to children with
communication impairments,
according to a state investigation
(bit.ly/fresno-communication).
The investigation addressed three
allegations made by Fresno Teachers
Association union officials: Students
who are eligible for speech services
aren't receiving them; annual
Individualized Education Program
meetings for some students were
not held; and not all staff required
to attend IEP meetings did so. The
union was reacting to concerns of
several district speech-language
pathologists.
The California Department of
Education found all allegations to
be true. It discovered that 21 of the
district's 106 schools don't have an
SLP and more than 500 students
have received fewer services than
called for in their IEPs.
According to the report of the
investigation, the district has
71 SLPs in 106 schools serving

New Law
Offers Tax-Free
Savings for
People With
Disabilities

February 2015 |

Twenty-one of the district's 106 schools don't have an
SLP and more than 500 students have received fewer
services than called for in their IEPs.
approximately 3,270 students with
speech-language needs.
The state is requiring district
officials to follow the law and has
issued six specific directives. The
district must:
* Implement a plan by March 31
to provide and monitor speechlanguage services to all students
whose IEPs require them, and to
staff schools without dedicated
SLPs.
* Inform the education department
if more schools lose their SLPs
and how the parents of affected
students in those schools are
notified.
* Create a spreadsheet that
documents all students with
special language needs, the
types of services they require,
and how many days or weeks of

compensatory sessions they're
owed.
* Update the spreadsheet quarterly
through October 2015.
* Develop a procedure to ensure
accurate reporting of speechlanguage services.
* Train all special education
administrators and staff on
compliance with state laws.
Fresno Unified has had a shortage
of SLPs for more than a decade,
according to district officials. It
has tried to compensate by offering
services after school and during the
summer for students who attend
schools without a full-time SLP.
The district also is actively
recruiting qualified staff, evaluating
retention strategies, and reviewing
and analyzing its SLPs' caseloads.

Later this year, families of children with disabilities will be able to open special taxfree savings accounts of up to $100,000 without risking their eligibility for Social
Security and other government programs-including Medicaid, which has no savings
account cap.
President Obama signed the Achieving a Better Life Experience Act in December,
eliminating regulations that left people ineligible for benefits if savings topped
$2,000. It will allow parents to establish accounts to cover the lifetime expenses of a
child with disabilities.
Modeled after college savings plans, the ABLE accounts will earn tax-free interest
and can be used for education, health care, transportation, housing and other
expenses.
People who have a condition that occurred before age 26 may open one ABLE
account. Under current gift-tax limitations, as much as $14,000 could be deposited
annually.
The new federal rules allow-but do not mandate-ABLE accounts, and each state
must establish regulations so that financial institutions can make them available.

THe aSHa Le aDer

http://www.bit.ly/fresno-communication

The ASHA Leader - February 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The ASHA Leader - February 2015