The U.S. Department of Education has issued guidelines aimed at preventing schools from discriminating against the growing numbers of students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
In a letter to districts and a “know your rights” document posted on its website last week, the department said schools must obey existing civil rights law to identify students with the disorder and provide them with accommodations to help them learn.
The guidelines come in response to years of complaints from parents who say that their children have been denied needed services and that schools have failed to protect them from bullying. The Education Department, which has received roughly 2,000 such complaints over the past five years, said schools have requested clarification of their responsibilities under the law.
