Supreme Court Takes on Special Ed Case
National News
The Supreme Court is again trying to decide when taxpayers must footthe bill for private schooling for special education students.
The court will hear arguments Tuesday in an Oregon case in which alocal school district contends that students should at least givepublic special education programs a try before seeking reimbursementfor private school tuition.
Afederal appeals court sided with a high-school student identified incourt papers only as T.A. The student enrolled in a $5,200-a-monthprivate program and sought reimbursement from the Forest Grove SchoolDistrict.
The Supreme Court heard a similar case from New York in 2007, but split 4-4 on the outcome.
The case is Forest Grove School District v. T.A., 08-305.
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Texas Adopts Statewide Texting-While-Driving Ban
Effective September 1, 2017, Texas will become the 47th state to pass a statewide ban on texting while driving. Governor Abbott’s signing of House Bill 62 is an effort to unify Texas under a uniform ban and remedy the “patchwork quilt of regulations that dictate driving practices in Texas.”
The bill specifically prohibits drivers from reading, writing, or sending an electronic message on a device unless the vehicle is stopped. That includes texting and emailing. It does not, however, prohibit dialing a number to call someone, talking on the phone using a hands-free device, or using the phone’s GPS system.
Violations would be punishable by a fine ranging from $25 to $99, to be set by each municipality. Although penalties could rise to as much as $200 for repeat offenders.
Studies have found that a driver’s reaction time is half as much when a driver is distracted by sending or reading a text message. According to state officials, in 2015 more than 105,000 traffic accidents in Texas involved distracted driving, leading to at least 476 fatalities.