Feds Cite D.C., Others for Special Ed Woes

For five years running, the District of Columbia has failed to uphold parts of the federal law that governs the education of students with disabilities, according to the federal Department of Education's ratings of the district and other states and territories.
In particular, the district can't seem to get a handle on evaluating and re-evaluating students identified as having disabilities, a problem that is more than a decade old.
(The findings about each state are delayed by a year, so the most recent ratings of whether states are upholding the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act reflect the 2009-10 school year.)

D.C. Group Home Operator Focus of Probe

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- When health inspectors showed up at a group home in Northeast Washington in August, they found one problem after another.
A mandatory evacuation drill hadn't been held. Staff members weren't receiving adequate training. And some of the residents' wheelchairs weren't in proper working order.
The D.C. Department on Disability Services was notified, and Careco, the contractor that operated the home, agreed to fix the problems.
More than three months later, a 71-year-old resident died after falling out of his wheelchair. The man, who had been waiting more than two years for a specialized wheelchair, was still waiting Nov. 24 when he fell as he was being loaded into a van.
Not only had the wheelchair been unsuitable for him, but the seat belt had also malfunctioned, and the man was not properly secured when he was being lifted into the van, according to documents and officials.
Last month, the District closed the 57th Street group home.