JD Special Ed Law & Advocacy Strategies

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REED MARTIN, J.D.

Special Education Law Advocacy Strategies

 

A weekly newsletter from s Media, LLC

Volume #36 -September 22, 2003

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TV Show, Webcast to Highlight Ways No Child Left Behind Empowers Parents

Board member liability raises legal questionsBy Morehead, Shelton Island Reporter.

was interviewed for this article

SOME AUTISTIC CHILDREN MAKE REMARKABLE PROGRESS WITH INTENSIVE BEHAVIORAL PROGRAM, STUDY SUGGESTS

 ASK REED

Q. My child is having trouble with one of his teachers putting him in the hallway during class to punish him? " What can I do next to make sure this teacher doesn't keep treating my son this way?

A. I would write the President of the School Board and ask for a copy of the minutes of the School Board meeting when the School Board adopted this outrageous policy. The Supreme Court has made clear for over 50 years that schools cannot take actions that humiliate, isolate, and stigmatize students that a teacher does not like. The teacher needs to be informed that she/he could be liable for a very big lawsuit which, if pursued under the Gebser format could produce a damage award that the teacher's insurance policy would be forbidden to pay.

 You have a right under No Child Left Behind to write and get a written reply as to EVERY element of that teacher's background -- when they graduated from school, what degree they took, what course in education they took, EVERY training session they have been in since graduation, whether they have ever taught a student like yours (and how can they teach someone in the hall way).

Finally I might total up the number of days and partial days that the student was out of the class and demand compensatory hours (hour for hour) for being denied access to class.  

This information is educational and not intended to be legal advice.

 

Education News Parents Can Use 

Television Programming—U.S. Department of Education"No Child Left Behind: Helping Your Child Succeed in School "(Read program details)

View the Archived Webcast:RealPlayer 28kbps (modem speed)RealPlayer 150kbps (network speed)View with Captioning  

History of the IDEAHISTORYTWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF PROGRESS IN EDUCATING CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES THROUGH IDEA

 

Federal Statues Affecting Education by

 

Can School Tuition and Educational Fees Be Income Tax Deductions?By Goldsberry, CPA, Luke and Tenney, PKF Texas, P.C.

 

STOP! Are You Really Ready To Ask For A Due Process Hearing?

Contact us to hold a Workshop in YOUR area

 

 

 

A RIGHT TO EDUCATION:

SPECIAL EDUCATION LAW WITH ATTORNEY

REED MARTIN

9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Saturday, October 11, 2003

Italian Heritage Center, Portland, Maine

$95

www.reedmartin.com/portland.htm

Please join Sweetser’s Partners in Disability and attorney for this lively training. is a leading expert on special education law, having handled several cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. An advocate for children’s rights, this is an exceptional and unique opportunity for Maine families of children with disabilities and their service providers.

 Parents, Advocates, Attorneys, School Personnel and Related Service Providers

This one-day conference will explore:

Federal laws and special education

Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act

 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

Family Educational Rights Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA)

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)

No Child Left Behind (NCLB)

IDEA Amendments of 2003 ??

Review of important federal court cases since the 1997 IDEA Amendments

Accountability under NCLB, IDEA, Section 504 and the ADA

The ABC's of Advocacy

Preparing for the IEP or 504 planning process 

Reviewing all of your child's records         

Prior Written Notice  - The Procedural Safeguard that helps solve problems

Evaluations that are required under the IDEA and Section 504/ADA  

The Written Plan

IEPs and 504 Plans

Discipline and the Positive Behavior Intervention Plan

Discipline must be based on evaluation

Planning the educational program as a team

The planning meeting and participants 

The role of the parent

The regular classroom teacher and the planning process

The role of related service providers

Evaluations and independent evaluations

Evaluators at the planning meeting

Baselines and goals     

Related services must be available for planning

Accommodations and modifications

Transition planning - Making The Whole Program Make Sense

Are you considering placing your student in a "private" school?

Compensatory services

 Do you need extended school year services?

And More!

 Please register by contacting Sweetser’s Partners in Disability at , or post email to pid@....

Please register by September 26, 2003

Student Whose Parents Did Not Go To College

 NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION STATISTICS U. S. Department of Education

The Autism Society of Michigan (ASM) and Michigan Protection Advocacy Services (MPAS) are studying restraint in school settings.  Please answer the quick poll questions below.  Results will be on our home page within a few weeks

"Section 504" How You Can Use It To Get Your Child What They Need (Including Students on IDEA IEP'S)

Shopping Cart

 

Toll Free Fax Number For Orders ONLY

 1- 

Phone Workshop

GET AS MANY OF YOUR STAFF, ORGANIZATION OR FRIENDS TOGETHER AND LISTEN BY SPEAKER PHONE

 

September 23

7:00 - 8:30 PM, EST

 

 ONLY $40

Getting Your Child With Autism What They Need To Succeed

(Methodology, Regular Classroom, Teacher Training, Meaningful Goals)

Register Here

 

Some of the info included:

How Is Autism Defined In The Law?

How Early Should Publicly Provided Services Begin?

 Can The Parent Choose The Methodology?

The "Least Restrictive Environment" Is Not A License

For "Dumping" Children Into Regular Education Classes 

What If Your Child's Behaviors Interfere With Their Learning Or The Learning Of Others Around Them ? A Positive Approach To Behavior Change Is Required 

 All Staff Must Become Knowledgeable  About Autism     

Getting Access To Your Child's Records And What To Look For

 Creating The Written Plan For Your Child

  Transition Planning -- Making Sure Your Child Has The Future They Deserve                                   

Using Section 504 And The ADA To Advocate For Your Child   

 Using All Your Complaint Mechanisms Effectively 

"Going Private" To Get The Services Your Child Needs

  SPECIAL: Each Registrant of the Autism Workshop may purchase 's manual:  Getting Your Child With Autism What They Are Entitled To Under Federal Laws at the special workshop price of $30.00 ($4 s/h)(Save $9.95)

American Sign Language Software

Improving teacher quality  

 

Non-Regulatory Guidance

 

REVISED DRAFT 

September 12, 2003

 

 Academic Improvement and Teacher Quality Programs

Office of Elementary and Secondary Education

U.S. Department of Education

Phone Workshop

September 30

 3:00  4:30 PM, EST

 Getting What Your Child Needs Under Section 504 (Your Rights, The Plan and Accommodations)  (Register Here $40)

 Tips for Parents To Boast Your Child's Reading Skills

These tips may help boost your child's reading skills and make reading fun—

Get a library card for your child. Children love seeing their names on the cards and choosing books they either want to read or have read to them. Many libraries offer story hours and computers for public use. Librarians also can help your child with everything from locating books to tackling research.

 

Read with your child for at least 20 minutes every night from a broad selection of children's books, including fairy tales, songs, poetry, fiction and nonfiction.

 

For beginning readers, point at each word as you read it. This helps children learn that we read from left to right. It also helps children understand that the word they say is the word they see.

 

Let your beginning reader read to you.

 

Talk with your child about the pictures and what is happening in the story to help develop comprehension skills.

 

Read your child's favorite book over and over again. Children love hearing certain stories many times, and the repetition helps them connect the sounds they hear with the written words.

 

Invite your younger children to join in when you read stories that have rhyming words and lines that repeat.

 

Point out new words and explain what they mean.

Source: Adapted from Summer Reading Achievers brochure

 

Special Education ReportAccording to the Department's 24th annual report to Congress on the condition of special education, which has become a benchmark in conveying the progress being made in serving America's 6.5 million children with disabilities, children who receive early intervention services show significant developmental progress a year later, and families report increased confidence in their ability to deal with their child. The report, "To Assure the Free Appropriate Public Education of All Children with Disabilities," cites several sources, including the Department's ongoing National Early Intervention Longitudinal Study (NEILS). NEILS tracks 3,338 infants and toddlers with disabilities who received early intervention services. For more information, please go to http://www.ed.gov/about/reports/annual/osep/2002/

Note: Between 1995-96 and 1999-2000, the high school graduation rate for students with disabilities increased from 52.6 to 56.2 percent, and the percentage of students dropping out declined from 34.1 to 29.4 percent.

Learn Spanish the Easy Way!  Only $15, includes One CD, One Audio Tape Booklet

 

 JOIN OUR SPECIAL EDUCATION CHAT EVERY THURSDAY NIGHT  9:00 - 10:30 PM, EST  

The Kindergarten Year  

GAO-03-397 Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice: Federal Agencies Could Play a Stronger Role 

 

Student Discipline: Individuals With Disabilities Education ActGAO United States General Accounting Office Report to the Committees on Appropriations, U. S. Senate and House of Representatives January 2001

 

 

 

 United States General Accounting Office: GAO: September 2003: Special Education: Numbers of Formal Disputes Are Generally Low and States Are Using Mediation and Other Strategies to Resolve Conflicts: Dispute Resolution under IDEA

 

International Education Report: U.S. Students Are AverageDespite leading education investment, U.S. trailing many industrialized nations

 

IN THE NEWS

Two-thirds of N.J. high schools receive failing markBy Toni Callas, Inquirer Staff Writer,

Phila. School District to post online report cardsBy SnyderInquirer Staff Reporter 

At home in the schoolroomEducation: The number of children being taught by their parents is rising, and these families' backgrounds are increasingly diverse.

 

Dropout Rates in the United States: 2000 This report presents national data on high school dropout rates and high school completion rates from 1972 to 2000. It also provides state level information for the 1990's. Apart from showing basic rates, the report studies the relationship between various individual and family characteristics on one hand, and high school dropout and completion propensity on the other.

The Condition of Education for Hispanic Americans

 This report compiles from existing data sources statistical information concerning the educational participation and achievement of Hispanic Americans

 

Homeschooling in the United States: 1999

 

 

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