The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights-Dallas Office will conduct free technical assistance presentations on Tuesday, Feb. 11 concerning students with diabetes who attend public elementary and secondary schools in Arkansas. The presentations will take place at the Northwest Education Service Cooperative, located at 4 North Double Springs Rd., in Farmington, Ark.
It's estimated that there are more than 240,000 people in Arkansas have diabetes. The OCR Dallas Office has recently addressed numerous complaints of discrimination from parents and responded to inquiries from advocates and other experts regarding students with diabetes. These concerns include whether students with diabetes have been properly identified as qualified students with disabilities and are receiving appropriate services.
OCR will conduct a morning session for education and health care professionals that will address specific requirements of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504), Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (Title II), and the differences between Section 504/Title II and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) regarding the provision of services to students with diabetes.
An evening session is scheduled for parents, students, community leaders and other interested stakeholders about the rights of students with disabilities and how to access educational services from their local school districts.
ABOUT OCR
U.S. Department for Education’s Office for Civil Rights’ mission is to ensure equal access to education and promote educational excellence throughout the nation through the vigorous enforcement of civil rights. OCR is responsible for enforcing Federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination by educational institutions on the bases of disability, race, color, national origin, sex, ages as well as the Boy Scouts of America Equal Access Act of 2001. For more information about OCR, see http://www.2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/index.html.
For details on how the OCR handles civil rights cases, visit http://www.ed/gov/about/offices/list/ocr/complaintprocess.html.