Special Education Law and Advocacy
According to the American Psychological Association, 40-50% of marriages in the United States end in divorce. Of all children born to married parents this year, 50% will experience the divorce of their parents before they reach their 18th birthday. (Patrick F. Fagan and Robert Rector, “The Effects of Divorce on America,” Heritage Foundation Backgrounder, May 2000.) […]
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”. […]
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 […]
Since the 1980s, there has been a strong movement toward “alternate dispute resolution” of legal cases. Our court system is overloaded and, as a result, the U.S. Supreme Court has encouraged parties to try to resolve their battles somewhere other than in a courtroom. This is particularly true in special education matters. After parents are […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
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