Special Education Law Blog

This Year IS Next Year: Back to School Advice for Parents of Students with Special Needs

For many parents and students August means that thoughts turn to back-to-school sales on clothes and school supplies.  While those items are on the minds of parents of students with special needs, they often have much weightier things on their minds; how to make this school year experience significantly better and different than last year. At the annual review IEP at the end of last school year, schools often make promises that the issues from last year or the unmet goals will be accomplished, or progress will be made, next (school) year.  Well it is time to make good on those promises and representations, as this year IS next year.  Those promises need to have more meaning than the average New Year’s resolution.  Here are my thoughts on some things to consider, as an attorney who practices in the area of special education law, at the start of this new school year:

SLANT Successfully Used to Teach Students with Downs To Read by Pam Labellarte

I have recently run into a series of IEP teams that all seem to have been making the same claim that students with intellectual challenges can not learn to read beyond the most rudimentary level. When faced with lack of progress even on IEP goals, I am told that students "like that" just do not progress. It is enough to make my head explode when faced with the bias of low expectations. Schools feel that they have a literacy loophole that negates any need to show progress on a basic area of academic developement--literacy.

Pam Labellarte, an experienced special advocate and a parent of a child with Downs Syndrome who works for me, authored the following first person account of her struggle with school to recognize that her daughter can read if taught appropriately, and her wonderful success in recent years with the SLANT method.  At the end of the first person account is her tutor's Masters thesis on her work with SLANT with students with Downs and her data.  It is good stuff and should help in the future when faced with the same argument that students like that can not learn to read.

Bullying In Class, On Playgrounds and Online: Schools Still Out of Touch

The Office for Civil Rights recently provided guidance on when bullying can rise to the level of a federal civil rights violation. Discrimination based on disability status was a topic covered in the OCR letter. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) prohibit disability-based discrimination. The recent OCR letter outlines several examples of harassment and discrimination, here is just one example and the letter's response: 

Several classmates repeatedly called a student with a learning disability "stupid," "idiot," and "retard" while in school and on the school bus. On one occasion, these students tackled him, hit him with a school binder, and threw his personal items into the garbage. The student complained to his teachers and guidance counselor that he was continually being taunted and teased. School officials offered him counseling services and a psychiatric evaluation, but did not discipline the offending students. As a result, the harassment continued. The student, who had been performing well academically, became angry, frustrated, and depressed, and often refused to go to school to avoid the harassment.

In this example, the school failed to recognize the misconduct as disability harassment under Section 504 and Title II. The harassing conduct included behavior based on the student's disability, and limited the student's ability to benefit fully from the school's education program (e.g., absenteeism). In failing to investigate and remedy the misconduct, the school did not comply with its obligations under Section 504 and Title II. 

This is just one example of the type of discrimination that is occurring in schools across the country. Bullying is an issue that we hear about from parents far too often. It is important that parent's and student's understand their rights and that schools are held accountable for turning a blind eye. A critical element of establishing responsiblity is for the parent to write to adminstrative staff who have the power and control to make meaningful changes and after being informed failed to take reasonable actions.  It is also important for parents to review and know the bullying and harassment policies for the school/district.

Fortunately President Obama has brought the power of the presidency to this issue. Many schools that I see, however, are in a profound state of denial when it comes to bullying. I have even had a few schools who meet parents' cliams of bullying with bullying conduct of their own to squelch advocacy on this topic. We should mark the just passed "Columbine" anniversary with more action especially since bullying is still so prevalent in our schools.

 

School District's Gathering Information on Parents

School district's frequently surprise me with the depth and scope of knowledge that they have on parents.  A typical first conversation I have with opposing counsel goes something like: "are you aware of the fact that the parents are on the verge of divorce, mother takes valium and they are nearing foreclosure, so I am concerned that any settlement we enter into will not be viable because of residency issues!" Quite remarkable and far beyond information that should ever be within the ambit of a social developmental study, but this type of information comes to me on a regular basis.

Guidelines for Effective Educational Testing Part 2

Here is the continuation of the last post to help guide parents and advocates through the testing process:

Guidelines for Effective Educational Testing Part 1

In this age of RtI where testing is claimed to be a "thing of the past," even though that position is hogwash, it is even more important to fully understand the language and process of testing. This posting is part 1 of a two part blog post on testing.

Steps towards Making a Strategic Plan for Your Next IEP

The following is derived from several presentations that I have made over the last few years.  I follow these steps as a matter of course. It has been my experience that following these steps will significantly increase the potential of reaching successful outcomes for your student/child.

AT Intake Form Provides Good Guidance

I was recently at an IEP meeting where the main topic was AT or Assistive Technology. The district is part of an educational cooperative in the Chicago area (LADSE). While the district has lots to learn about AT the intake form is a useful, albeit general, guidance for the types of technologies that are commonly in use in school districts. Too often when the subject of AT comes up I get a lot of blank stares or excuses based upon lack of educational relevance. This form could be one basis to educate school personnel about the types of AT in use, and rebut the latter ill-informed justification. Here is the form in pdf format Download 2755_0001

Study Questions Efficacy of "The Diet" for Children with Autism by Nicole Jorwic

In a study published Monday in the Journal of Pediatrics, a panel of 28 medical experts released their findings and recommendations on whether diets restricting gluten and casein work to treat autism. They found that evidence does not support the diet as effective as a primary treatment for autism. This was determined after an extensive review of data related to gastrointestinal issues among children with autism.

Getting It in Writing Easier Said Than Done?

The standard legal advice is to get it writing and specifically written into the IEP. Well in some district's as a matter of policy or practice that is not so easy since the school personnel hold the IEP for final administrative review (revision and editing). Here is a fellow blogger that discusses at length how districts refuse to produce the IEP at the end of the meeting for weeks and even months. This blog refers to this practice, as a legal loophole, because the law does not state when the document must be provided to parents. While the law does not state a definite time frame to provide the IEP, it is safe to say that a reasonable time is implied. I believe that  most schools would be hard pressed to explain to a hearing officer or a SEA why the document was not produced the following day or at the most 2 says later.