Washington Post: Catania to propose sweeping special-education legislation

The Washington Post reported on the new package of legislation introduced to overhaul special education services in the District. The reforms—introduced by Councilmember David Catania—promise to get special education to children earlier, give parents the tools to be involved, and build capacity at DCPS and charter schools.

Children’s Law Center spearheaded a large-scale collaborative effort to help develop these recommended reforms. We reviewed lessons learned from our work helping more than 20,000 of the District’s children over the past 17 years; examined special education best practices from around the country; interviewed more than 40 DC education advocates; and drew on our close collaboration with all of the District’s education agencies.

You can also read Children’s Law Center’s remarks from the March 18 press conference to introduce the special education legislation.