1350 - cap on atty fees

[Guest guest]

from an advocate on another list I'm on

- Becky

Here's the deal:  There is currently no cap on attorney's fees for either

side (school or parents).  Currently all civil rights laws allow a successful

litigant (here, the parents) to recover their attorneys fees from the losing

party (here, the school).  Under HR 1350, the school can still spend as much

as they want of our tax dollars on their OWN lawyers to fight giving parents

services (instead of spending that same money on needed services!), but if

the parents win (because the school should have been providing services to

the child), the governor (of all people - he represents the State, which is

the entity being sued - the fox is being given the keys to the henhouse!!)

sets the amount that the parents can recover. 

In reality that means one of two things: (1) parents who WIN because they

were right cannot get their legal fees back and are stuck with a big bill

even though they won; or (2) lawyers won't be able to afford to take the

cases if the governor sets the cap too low, so parents won't be able to get a

lawyer and schools will have no incentive to comply with IDEA and provide

needed services (because there's no meaningful state or federal oversight -

parents are the enforcers of IDEA but how can they enforce if they can't

afford/get a lawyer??)

So please understand that this is not an issue of making lawyers rich. 

Special ed is not a lucrative field.  I read that 80% of special ed lawyers

are women with connections to a special needs kid.  They do it for passion,

not money.  But with no hope of reasonable fee recovery, they won't be able

to afford to do it at all.

Also, if this is such a good idea, why isn't it found in ANY OTHER civil

rights law in this country?  Why should parents be treated worse than any

other litigant, and schools treated better??

I don't want parents thinking this is an issue of money for lawyers, when

it's really an issue of money for parents!! (If this passes, parents will

have to use their own money to pay a lawyer to get their child services, or

else skip the lawyer and pay their own money to get their child private

services that the school will now refuse - with no incentive to do otherwise

- to provide.)

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 5/3/03 9:04:40 AM Pacific Daylight Time,

donnagreenwell@... writes:

> Our county has had a record amount of complaints & due process

> proceedings(straight from the mouth our State Regional Associate) in the

> last couple of years.. Our Director of Spec. Ed. & CSE Chair constantly

> threaten parent's with due process knowing that most can't afford the legal

> fees, but they can use our tax dollars all they want. If this bill goes

> through, I can't even imagine how much worse it will get.

>

Are you familiar with the Holland case? Sacramento Unified spent an

estimated $1,000,000+ over several yaers to fight lputting in

Inclusion... even tho the school district lost EVERY STEP OF THE WAY right up

to the US Supreme Court! It wasn't until the US Supreme Court denied cert.,

so that the CA Supreme Court ruling (that belonged in Inclusion) was

made final that the parents were entitled to reimbursement of legal fees.

Meanwhile they had borrowed from everybody, had a second mortgage on the

house, and were a week away from bankruptcy when they got the final

determination.

- Becky

[Guest guest]

litigant (here, the parents) to recover their attorneys fees from the losing

party (here, the school). Under HR 1350, the school can still spend as much

as they want of our tax dollars on their OWN lawyers to fight giving parents

services (instead of spending that same money on needed services!), but if

the parents win (because the school should have been providing services to

the child), the governor (of all people - he represents the State, which is

the entity being sued - the fox is being given the keys to the henhouse!!)

sets the amount that the parents can recover.

In reality that means one of two things: (1) parents who WIN because they

were right cannot get their legal fees back and are stuck with a big bill

even though they won; or (2) lawyers won't be able to afford to take the

cases if the governor sets the cap too low, so parents won't be able to get

a

Our county has had a record amount of complaints & due process

proceedings(straight from the mouth our State Regional Associate) in the

last couple of years.. Our Director of Spec. Ed. & CSE Chair constantly

threaten parent's with due process knowing that most can't afford the legal

fees, but they can use our tax dollars all they want. If this bill goes

through, I can't even imagine how much worse it will get.

It has gotten so bad here that a large group of parent's have banded

together & we are scheduling a special meeting with the school board, the

State Regional Associate, the Director, Asst. Dir. of Spec. ED.,

Superintendent. A lawyer from our Disabilites Law Clinc is even offering us

her services(no charge).

It has been proven to me over & over again that their are too many people

who don't have our children's best interest at heart.

I have met some who do, but they are usually people who don't have a lot of

authority & are trying to hold on to their jobs.