At what point do you hire a lawyer...

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 1/29/2004 3:20:01 PM Eastern Standard Time,

BILLCHERIE@... writes:

> To assist you with the Child Study Team? I FINALLY got a meeting

> with them...90 days to the date that I signed paperwork to have

> evaluated. This is after months of phone calls (they were

> done their evaluation in MidDec, I'm getting a meeting Feb 10th). I

> really think that trying to get an FM system from them is going to

> be an uphill battle and I'm wondering if I should be hiring a lawyer

> to assist me.

>

> Any input?

>

> Thanks!

>

> Cherie

>

It sounds like you are having MY experience with our district. And my

reaction is that if you are thinking you may need a lawyer, then call for a

consultation. Around here the initial consultation is free and often done over

the

phone. Get your details together, get your questions in order and then makes

some

calls. fidn a lawyer who knows education law, the ADA and I also asked if

he/she/d ever sued a district. It took a while to find people who had the

knowledge we needed. I then I asked about a consultation. Ask if the first would

be

free to help evaluate whether you really need the lawyer at this point.

Ours gave me advice (several times over the phone/fax -- we never actually

met) on how to word my letters and responses to the school's delaying

techniques. Within two months we did reach the point where we were about to sign

over

power-of-attorney and pay him a retainer. He would then deal with the district o

n our behalf and I would not have to have any more direct contact with the CSE

Chairman. Suddenly the district became very compliant.

In retrospect, I should have called the lawyer about a year earlier than I

did. So if your gut tells you you might need it, then call for a consultation.

If the lawyer is not needed, then, in my experience, the lawyer will tell you

that you don't need him/her yet and will give you some advice on what you can

try and when you'll actually need him/her.

Best -- Jill

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 1/29/2004 4:48:38 PM Eastern Standard Time,

enriquez16@... writes:

> I say that hiring a lawyer is a really good idea, but you should do it

> after they give their argument that they don't want to provide one, because if

> you bring one with you right off the bat they may get defensive and be less

> likely to work with you. Then again who knows they might be more

accomidating.

> I wish so much that I could afford a lawyer, because there are so many state

> laws that are not being followed here it's rediculous.

>

>

I hate to sound jaded, but if you're at the point of getting a lawyer, then

they are already being defensive and difficult. In my experience, using the

word " lawyer " in a sentence got them to finally get my son's IEP worded

correctly. It caused them to agree to hire the TOD but then they conveniently

" forgot

to arrange the services in time so there were none available. " And then they

misplaced the papers requesting the testing period for the boot-style FM system

he needed. It took the threat of signing over power-of-attorney to the lawyer

for them to finally get him the correct kind of FM system and hiring a

qualified TOD.

After we informed them (in writing) of the dates in early July when we would

not be available for meetings, the CSE scheduled more " testing and

evaluations " for that time " to determine the extent of our son's hearing loss

and its

educational significance. " (He'd had surgery at Columbia in NYC the previous

spring -- how were they planning on confirming the surgeon's findings?!) We sent

a

letter stating that they were forum shopping and intentionally scheduling

things during our vacation time as a delaying tactic. At our meeting in June I

politely informed the CSE chair that the meeting would not proceed as planned

since the people I had requested were not in attendance (another delaying

tactic). And also that the following morning we would be signing papers so that

the

lawyers could handle the issues from that point on. No appeals, no bringing in

more people from the State Ed Dept ... we were done and the lawyer would be

contacting them. I was polite, direct, almost soft spoken (which is a miracle

for me) and I left the meeting. By 4pm I had a call saying that they were

giving us everything we asked for. I told them to put it in writing and fax it

to

our lawyer.

They did and he has been getting whatever he needs ever since. No more need

for the lawyer or even using the word in a sentence. However, there is a note

in my son's file warning anyone and everyone that I am extremely difficut to

deal with. That makes me smile with pride every time I think about it.

So, if you're to the point of calling a lawyer, I'd say that the time for

cooperative anf polite discussion has ended.

-- Jill

[Guest guest]

To assist you with the Child Study Team? I FINALLY got a meeting

with them...90 days to the date that I signed paperwork to have

evaluated. This is after months of phone calls (they were

done their evaluation in MidDec, I'm getting a meeting Feb 10th). I

really think that trying to get an FM system from them is going to

be an uphill battle and I'm wondering if I should be hiring a lawyer

to assist me.

Any input?

Thanks!

Cherie

[Guest guest]

I say that hiring a lawyer is a really good idea, but you should do it after

they give their argument that they don't want to provide one, because if you

bring one with you right off the bat they may get defensive and be less likely

to work with you. Then again who knows they might be more accomidating. I wish

so much that I could afford a lawyer, because there are so many state laws that

are not being followed here it's rediculous.

At what point do you hire a lawyer...

To assist you with the Child Study Team? I FINALLY got a meeting

with them...90 days to the date that I signed paperwork to have

evaluated. This is after months of phone calls (they were

done their evaluation in MidDec, I'm getting a meeting Feb 10th). I

really think that trying to get an FM system from them is going to

be an uphill battle and I'm wondering if I should be hiring a lawyer

to assist me.

Any input?

Thanks!

Cherie

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the intellectual property of the author and therefore subject to copyright

restrictions.

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[Guest guest]

Cherie,

I'd listen first to what they have to say. ' first IEP meeting was delayed

for months by the district as well but, in the end, we got MORE than what we

were asking for. Yes, I had the right to have an evaluation within 30 days of

my initial request and yes, I had the right to an IEP meeting within 30 days of

that evaluation. Did it happen? No. Somehow, the paperwork just never seemed

to get where it was going on time or one of the therapists was on vacation, or

maternity leave, etc. Once we sat down at the table, though, things were

different. The district understood what was going to be needed and, after a

couple of false starts (experimental placements, I call them), they came

through.

Sometimes what looks like delaying tactics is a district which is understaffed,

scrambling to cover all the requests that they have with too-few therapists and

teachers. I'm not excusing this at all...but I have worked on the " other side

of the table " and have seen what goes on behind the scenes. What I would

suggest is to immediately get a copy of the evaluations which have been written.

This is your right and they should not challenge you on this. If possible, pick

them up at the district office and do not allow further delay while they go

through the mailroom or some such nonsense. Look them over. The therapists and

teachers who do the eval are supposed to make recommendations at the end of

their reports and this will tell you what their thinking is. These

recommendations are where the IEP goals will come from. If you walk into the

meeting with the same info that the team has, then there will be fewer

surprises.

If you are considering hiring an attorney, you might first want to find one who

specializes in special ed in your area and pay for a consultation. Good

attorneys can be quite expensive and, depending on what you're asking for and

how much of a struggle it becomes, you could wind up paying the cost of an FM to

protect your child's rights to one. (Getting the school district to pay the

fees after the fact might require a trip to court.) On the other hand, paying a

few hundred dollars to have an experienced attorney go over your state rights

and to tell you your chances with the district, based on his past experiences,

may be helpful. Still, I'd wait until after the the IEP meeting.

You can bring people to the meeting with you. I wasn't sure if you realized

that but you can basically " invite " anyone you want to who may be able to

assist. This includes your audiologist or even a good friend who knows how to

be tough. LOL!

Carol - mom to , 7.9, mod to profound, LVAS

At what point do you hire a lawyer...

To assist you with the Child Study Team? I FINALLY got a meeting

with them...90 days to the date that I signed paperwork to have

evaluated. This is after months of phone calls (they were

done their evaluation in MidDec, I'm getting a meeting Feb 10th). I

really think that trying to get an FM system from them is going to

be an uphill battle and I'm wondering if I should be hiring a lawyer

to assist me.

Any input?

Thanks!

Cherie

All messages posted to this list are private and confidential. Each post is

the intellectual property of the author and therefore subject to copyright

restrictions.

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