Making a Complaint About Your Child’s Special Education

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Your child is not receiving the attention or services he or she needs in school. As a result, your child is doing poorly in school. You’re not even sure of the cause of the problem, but you know something is wrong. What do you do? If you are the parent of a child with special […]

Are Special Education Advocates Performing UPL (Unauthorized Practice of Law)?

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The answer to the question posed in the title is, typically, lawyerly – it depends. What is the “practice of law”? “Unauthorized practice of law (UPL)”? First, let’s discuss what is the “practice of law” and “UPL”.  Virtually every licensed occupation is regulated by the State.  For example, in Pennsylvania, the Bureau of Professional and […]

I love teachers! . . . (really, I do!)

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There is a bad reputation out there for special education lawyers, advocates and parents of special education kids.  The reputation is that we hate all school teachers and those who work in the schools and we are simply out for vengeance. I’m going to focus this post on the misrepresentation that I must hate teachers […]

What’s a FERPA letter?

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For those of you who are new to education law or are in a battle with your school district to make sure your disabled student is getting a “Free Appropriate Public Education”, you may have heard the term “FERPA” or been told to send a “FERPA letter“.  And you’re probably wondering “What the heck is […]

The Law on Independent Educational Evaluations (IEEs)

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Evaluations of your disabled child are critical to your child’s success in school and life.  If done properly, they can provide insights into services, therapies and accommodations that your child needs to access a “free appropriate public education” or FAPE.  But if not done properly, it can prevent your child from ever getting a proper […]

Special Education law is not about revenge

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Many clients come to me with vindication on their minds.  They feel they have been wronged and want to inflict pain on whomever did the wrong.  They want revenge.  This is especially true in the field of special education law.  They want to “get back” at the school district that they felt is interfering with […]

Playing (and Winning) the School District’s Game of Chicken

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[Appeared previously on Special Education Advisor blog] Probably the most frustrating part of being the parent of a child with a different ability[1] is the response from the very organization you hoped you could trust the most to do right by your child – your school district.  After all, teachers and administrators are trained to […]