Special Education Law and Advocacy
You may look at the title and think you’ve accidentally wandered onto a blog about pack animals. No, don’t worry, you’re in the right spot. I’m not talking about actual beasts of burden, but rather the beast of the burden of proof in special education disputes and how to overcome the beast that it is […]
If you fell and broke your arm, would you go to a heart surgeon? Of course not. You would go to an orthopedic doctor who could determine whether you need a cast, sling, surgery, etc. The same principle applies in law. If someone has sued you for cutting down the tree on their property, you wouldn’t […]
I am an attorney who represents children with disabilities and their families in special education matters. I am also a member of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (“COPAA”, www.copaa.org), a national organization of special education lawyers and advocates with the same client base. Recently, my colleagues and I have witnessed a substantial uptick in very […]
When a parent disputes a decision made by a school district regarding the special education and/or services of their child, one option is to file a “Due Process Complaint”. [See Procedural Safeguards, 20 USC 1415(b)(6) and (c)(2).] When a complaint is filed, the state’s Department of Education assigns the case to an “Independent Hearing Officer”. […]
I think many, too many, lawyers have forgotten what the ethics rules (“Rules of Professional Conduct”) really say. I encourage every lawyer (especially school district counsel) to go back and read their ethics rules (each state has their own, based on the ABA’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct) periodically. This will help them understand that […]
Many of you probably don’t know there are laws that exist to protect the rights of disabled kids, but perhaps none more important than the special education laws. I’m quite sure that even fewer of you know that your tax dollars are being used to deny those disabled kids their lawful education and thereby violating […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
I’ve had a lot of people ask me lately if I provide free legal services or if I can take their case for free. The answers are: (1) Yes, I do pro bono (free legal) work through South Jersey Legal Services (www.lsnj.org/sjls); and (2) No, if you can afford a mechanic, HVAC repairman or doctor, […]
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