Special Education Law Blog

New Bus Safety Device

Bus transportation is one of the many areas of special education which causes anxiety for parents of children with special needs.  In one instance, my son was dropped off at our old house on the other side of  town, when he had been picked up in the morning at our present house. The bus company manager excused this error stating "It is not as if we dropped  him off at the wrong house, we simply dropped him off at your old house." Who could argue with such profound illogic like that, especially when we had never lived in the old house during the time our son was receiving special education; how they even got that address remains a mystery.

The more common scenario which I receive several telephone calls throughout the year is "my child fell asleep on the bus, he/she did not come home, and after much panic and confusion I retrieved my child from the bus depot."   The next question is usually can I sue for the years taken off my life during the period my child was missing. There is a new system in place on many buses in New York that may make this situation a thing of the past.

Prepare to Advocate for Extended School Year ("ESY") Now

Even though in Illinois it is the dead of winter with snow on the ground, this is the time to gather the data to advocate for Extended School Year ("ESY") services for the summer.  Most school districts rigidly apply a regression-recoupment analysis to determine eligibility for ESY services.  Regression-recoupment looks at whether a child will regress to a significant degree over the summer, and  then whether the child will require significant periods of time to recoup the skills lost. 

Understanding Siblings of Children with Special Needs

The challenges which confront siblings of children with special needs are often not well understood or fully recognized.  To address these important issues, the group  Special Kids/Special Families is sponsoring a free seminar (although they request contributions to defray expenses) on this topic.  Dr. Richard Ney will discuss "Understanding the Siblings of Children with Special Needs" on Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2006 at the JCYS Northwest Family Center, 1700 Weiland Road, Buffalo Grove from 7 to 9:00 p.m.

Your School District Might Be a Pain In The Neck If... by Lori Miller Fox "worthy"

As a parent of a child with special needs, I suspect that some of my parental involvement may have been considered bothersome by the school district. However, it seems to me that most of the time, it is the district that is the real source of trouble. So in the quest for fairness, I’ve come up with some criteria (a la Jeff Foxworthy) that I hope will be helpful in identifying the real culprit.  So use it wisely and feel confident in knowing that your school district may be a pain in the neck IF…

Autism Program Quality Indicators

Autism is not a low incidence disability.  The irony is that school districts frequently are unable or unwilling to implement quality programs for children with autism.  Too often programs lack intensity, structure, low teacher to student ratios, a systematic curriculum, or supports like communication systems, behavioral reinforcers or visual schedules.  None of these program components are novel,  but when I bring them up at meetings I get a lot of blank stares as if I just invented these ideas. 

Supreme Court Decides Gonzales v. Oregon

The Supreme Court decided the "Death With Dignity" case, Gonzales v. Oregon [Download Gonzales_v. Oregon.pdf] , in favor of Oregon's state statute that permits physician-assisted suicide. The Disability Law Blog has an excellent summary of the case and the newspaper coverage from around the country.  The case was decided on the basis of federalism principles, and the lack of  authority of the U.S. Attorney General to invalidate this statute.  The decision does not  address the fundamental clash of values between groups like Not Dead Yet which advocates against physician-assisted suicide on the basis that for the disabled a right to die will become a duty to die, and proponents of physician-assisted suicide. 

Schools Behaving Badly: Chicago

In an apparent effort to chill parental advocacy,  the Chicago Public Schools suspended  Lillian Mosely's son on at least 3 separate occasions in September 2000.  Each episode of  discipline coincided with Ms. Mosely advocating for her son's rights in school.  In March 2001, the police "arrived at the classroom and pulled [the child] out for questioning" because of a fight "notwithstanding the fact that the parent [of the other child] had spoken with Mosely and had told her that the problem had been solved," and she did not wish to pursue charges.  It was later revealed that the other child was responsible for starting the fight.  Moreover,  in April 2000 the police, at the request of school staff,  removed Ms. Mosely from a school meeting for handing out flyers.

Chief of the National Education Association Speaks Out Against NCLB

Politically the National Education Association has never been  a friend of special education students. The head of a the NEA, Reginald Weaver, recently spoke out in very strident terms against NCLB and President Bush's cuts to education funding to pay for the Iraq war.   See link for the story.

While I am not in favor of cutting spending for education, leaders on behalf of children with special needs have noted that NCLB actually has been helpful.

My Dog Ate My IEP by Lori Miller Fox

A beautiful article came to my attention the other day about Chelsea the companion dog [Download Canine_Help_for Child.doc].  Miraculously,  she can sense a seizure before its onset, thus warning her owner and protecting him from harm. I find this unselfish dog’s work tremendously commendable, and the trainers extraordinary.  I think there are some days that I need a companion dog, albeit a different kind of companion dog, for myself; one that has unique talents that can be useful when you are a parent of a child with special needs.

Schools Behaving Badly: Baltimore

There are myths that have grown up around school systems that are not deserved. One primary myth is that schools are altruistic organizations that have children’s needs at the top of the agenda. Instead, schools are tough self-interested political bureaucracies where children’s interests often do not top the agenda, and sometimes it is hard to discern where on the agenda children fit at all. I recognize and appreciate the vital role that schools play in our society and the devotion of so many teachers, staff and administrators across the country. School systems, however, should not be afforded immunity which does not allow real scrutiny. Their actions and omissions should not enjoy presumptive validity--a premise of the Shaffer case where the Supreme Court found IEPs to be presumptively valid. The following post will be part of an ongoing series to hold school systems up to the scrutiny they deserve when in too many instances they just behave badly.