Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is reconsidering an Obama-era rule that requires states to more closely monitor school districts for racial disparities in special education. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)Education Secretary Betsy ­DeVos wants to delay an Obama-era rule designed to protect children of color from being disproportionately sent to special-education classrooms or from being unfairly disciplined. Congress, responding to concerns that students of color were overrepresented in special education, began requiring school districts to collect data on the demographics and treatment of special-education students. Congress wanted states to track whether black special-education students were more likely to be removed from mainstream classrooms, for example, or whether Hispanic ­special-education students faced harsher discipline. that would impose significant costs and administrative burdens on half of the school districts throughout the country,” Executive Director Daniel A. Domenech said.

Source: Washington Post December 15, 2017 23:15 UTC