Special Education Law and Advocacy
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 […]
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 […]
Here are my thoughts and observations about what is wrong with our public education system today: 1. Too much is spent on school administrators and not enough is spent on teachers 2. Too much is spent on extracurricular activies, particularly sports, and not enough is spent on arts, music, home economics, and trade (auto shop, […]
When parents disagree with their child’s school about special education or services the student with a disability is receiving, they might consider hiring a lawyer. This may be the first time they’ve ever needed or interacted with an attorney, so they may be overwhelmed and unsure how to decide whether to employ his/her services. I’ve […]
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 […]
Recently, I have heard (far too many) stories from parents that the schools are taking away services from their child and/or denying providing services because the school does not believe the child’s diagnosis. This is wrong and illegal on so many levels, but I will adress the three (3) most important reasons why schools should […]
School board attorneys have managed to turn special education due process hearings into all-out, scorched Earth lawsuits, as if it was Microsoft vs. IBM. In fact, they have convinced administrative hearing officers and judges that this is the way it should be. But Due Process cases are not supposed to be full-blown litigation. Here are […]
I’m going to tell you something about myself, but first I’m going to tell you a story. You’ll wonder for a paragraph or two where this is going, but stick with me. You will learn why this post is on my special education law blog. What is a “Michigan Man”? There are many articles and […]
A new tactic being used by schools against parents of children with disabilities is to require / funnel all communications with the school through one person, usually the case manager. We’ve seen numerous questions by parents if this is illegal or whether parents can request two-way communication be listed as an accommodation in the IEP. […]
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