Special Education Law and Advocacy
ESY stands for Extended School Year and is special education and related services provided to a student with a disability during periods the public school is not in session. The following will break this down into more specifics. The Law The regulations for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) provide as follows: “Each public […]
Dedication: I dedicate this article to a truly inspiring child advocate and professor, the late Irwin Hyman, Ed.D., who fostered my education throughout my time at Temple University. He was a man of brilliance, boundless energy, and intense devotion to the well-being of children. He had a vision of change and helped his students to […]
Filed today is a Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court seeking the Justices take up a case involving burden of proof in a special education case when a school district or public agency seeks to change the placement of a child with a disability. The question presented is: Under the Individuals […]
Before I answer the question in the title, let me share a true story. I appeared before a special ed hearing officer on behalf of a child with a disability – let’s call the child Chris (changed to protect identity). Chris has severe learning disabilities and is far behind age-equivalent peers. Chris does not do […]
Possession of a college degree as well as a Special Education credential does not necessarily mean one is ready for all the challenges of meeting the needs of diverse learners. If one thinks having a curriculum guide and a set of text books is going to do it, one is mistaken and must seriously reconsider […]
There is a common belief among the education community that education theory is evolving. Ph.D.s and school administrators keep thinking up new ways to ‘improve’ our education system, for example ‘common core’ and ‘standardized testing’. Problem with that theory is we are graduating more children from the K-12 system now who do not have the […]
Well, well, well. Seems that someone is taking notice that the NJDOE has been noncompliant with IDEA’s 45 Day Rule (which we’ve written about extensively in the past): Why Special Education Due Process Cases Are NOT Full-Blown Lawsuits SKL’s 45 Day Rule Class Action The 45 Day Rule On May 6, 2019, the US Department […]
Discerning how, when, and why students should access Assistive Technology to support learning involves many levels of decision making. It all starts with the IEP, the student’s present levels of performance, his educational needs, and the impact those needs have on learning. Thank goodness there is help! The Wisconsin Assistive Technology Initiative provides a series […]
In the districts in which I taught as a Special Educator as well as in the districts where my own children attended school, parents would always advocate for certain teachers; “the good ones” —the ones whom everyone respected and the ones who always got good results. It’s hard to say whether there is a correlation […]
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