Charles P Fox Law Offices

Special Education Law and Guardianship

Law Offices of Charles P. Fox
355 W. Dundee, Suite 209
Buffalo Grove, IL 60089
Phone: 847-205-9897

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Special Education Law and Advocacy

Experienced Special Education Attorneys

Lack of IEP Implementation is Also an Outrage

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In a recent Washington Post editorial, the D.C. school system was taken to task for its failure to deliver books to all students, even as late as December 2005.  The editorial described the school system as follows: "it is a warehouse for students and a pretty poor one at that."  The scope of this failure is certainly an outrage, and it is severe enough to get the attention of the mainstream media.

The rest of the story (which the editorial did not address) is that for special education students, such fundamental breakdowns in the system are all too commonplace.

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U.S. Supreme Court Considers An IDEA Case for Appeal on Expert’s Fees and Rejects Two Other IDEA Cases

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The U.S. Supreme Court has requested that the Solicitor General’s Office for the United States submit briefs regarding the merits of a case that is pending appeal.   The case is Arlington Central School District Board of Education v. Murphy (No.05-18).   The Murphy case presents the question as to whether expert’s fees are recoverable under IDEA.   This question has been answered in the negative in the T.D. v. La Grange Sch. Dist. case in the 7th Circuit and in Illinois.   If Murphy were to be accepted for appeal and decided favorably for the parents’ side, it would effectively reverse the decision in T.D.

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Pen-Top Computer May Be a Help to Some Children With Disabilities

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For sheer gee whiz alone, the latest technology gizmo is worth checking out.  It is called “the FLY”, and it is from LeapFrog Enterprises, the same people who make the LeapPad for students in the early stages of literacy.  The FLY is not yet on the market, but it is projected to retail for $99.00.

The FLY is being described as a pen-top computer.  While this may be a bit of an oversell, it does do some fun and educationally relevant things.  For instance, with specially designed “Flypaper,” a student can draw a piano and then use the FLY to play the keys.  Draw a calculator and then use the FLY to solve problems.  For foreign language exercises, students can write a word in English and hear it translated into Spanish.  There is additional software for test preparation in science, math and social studies.  For geography exercises, the pen-top can tell you the name of the capital of a state when you point to it, play the national anthem of a country when you point to it on a map, and create timed, interactive geography exercises.

Whether the Fly will have applications for children with disabilities remains to be seen, as this technology is still untried in the classroom.  But given its low cost, it does not present a huge investment to try it out and see.  It may in fact help struggling readers and be a useful tool for math exercises.  Even though it will never replace a laptop computer for power and functionality, it is fairly unobtrusive, so a child may be more likely to use it.  One of my personal frustrations is when I fight hard for a laptop at the parents’ request, and the school finally complies, only to have the child refuse to use it because of the “geek factor”.  Most teens would rather do anything other than use a piece of technology that stigmatizes them as different.  In any event, the FLY satisfies my personal fantasy from third grade, when I looked at my pencil in math and wished that it could give me the answers.  Now it can.

To read the LeapPad Enterprise  press release for the FLY (in .pdf format), click here.

From Teasing to Torment: New National Report on School Bullying

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A recent national survey has shown that fully two-thirds of high schoolers have experienced physical harassment and bullying in school, and the vast majority of these incidents are not reported to school personnel.  The majority of these incidents center on two primary areas: whether a student looks different from the norm in some way, and whether the student is perceived to be gay, lesbian or bisexual.  This survey brings to the fore some difficult realities for children with disabilities in high school. Very often, a student with a disability looks different or acts different in some way.  Whether the disability is autism, NVLD, a physical challenge or an attentional issue, the differences are there (though some more obvious than others). Moreover, if that same student is perceived to be other than heterosexual, the student will likely suffer a double dose of harassment and abuse.

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Report on Standardized Testing in Lower-Income Schools Disputes Conventional Wisdom.

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On Wednesday, October 26, 2005, the L.A. Times featured an interesting article summarizing the findings of a report on the effect of parental involvement on students’ progress.

The new study examining why similar California schools vary widely in student achievement produced some surprising results: Involved parents and well-behaved youngsters do not appear to have a major effect on how well elementary students perform on standardized tests.

Four other factors seemed to count a lot more, at least when combined in schools, according to EdSource, an independent group that studies state education issues.

The study of lower-income schools found that the strongest elements in high-performing schools are as follows:

  1. Linking lessons closely to state academic standards;
  2. Ensuring there are enough textbooks and other teaching materials;
  3. Carefully and regularly analyzing student performance; and
  4. Putting a high priority on student achievement. 

The study’s authors say that these criteria show that poverty and other challenges need not keep students from doing well.

Chicago White Sox

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We are all riding high on the Chicago White Sox, the new World Champions.  Here is another reason to celebrate the Sox organization–they also care about children with disabilities.   About a month ago, the Sox organization donated a large block of prime tickets to CNS Foundation so that a group of children with disabilities could go to the game along with their families.   CNS Foundation is an organization that raises money to benefit research on diseases and disorders of the Central Nervous System ("CNS").

Many of these children (including my son) had never been to a professional sports game before.   The children had a super time, especially when the scoreboard exploded.   The food was great and the stadium was incredibly accessible.  The stadium staff was helpful without pity.   They seemed prepared and accustomed to helping individuals with disabilities.   Kudos to the Sox for great baseball and for making the experience accessible and enjoyable.

Baltimore “Breakdown” in Special Education Prompts Federal Court Ruling For State Control Over City’s Program.

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On October 3. 2005, the Baltimore Sun published an article about a five-year "breakdown" in the provision of appropriate services to students with special needs in Baltimore’s public schools.  Reportedly, throngs of psychologists, social workers, and speech and language pathologists had been leaving local school districts since 2000, because the city’s "child study team model" was fraught with excessive and restrictive administrative burdens.  Allegedly, the time spent preparing for meetings and completing follow-up paperwork significantly limited the time and ability of the clinicians to directly serve students with special needs.

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Evanston/Skokie School District #65 Settles First Amendment Case Over No Child Left Behind

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Below is a summary of an article reported in the September 21, 2005 edition of Education Week:

Two years ago, a grade school teacher at Evanston’s King Lab School, Vickie Proctor,  was transferred from her teaching post after expressing her views on No Child Left Behind (NCLB).   Ms. Proctor stated she was protesting the requirements of NCLB when she hung a skeleton dressed in a Michael Jordan jersey in the teachers’ lounge.  She hung a sign on the skeleton that said NCLB had killed it.  She hung another sign that said "I am a Texas scholar, this is an oxy-Moron."

Other teachers were upset, feeling that the skeleton resembled a lynching.

She filed suit in Federal Court in Chicago claiming her First Amendment rights had been violated.  The case was settled for $250,000 and a letter acknowledging Ms. Proctor’s years of service.

Justice Roberts: Time to Adapt to New Conservative Realities

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Even though John Roberts has not been confirmed in the Senate, it is a question of when, not whether. His pedigree as a conservative is without a doubt.   After the gone-awry appointments (from the Republican perspective) of Justices Kennedy and Souter, this candidate has most assuredly been vetted for his rock solid views that are sympathetic to the Bush administration. Arguably, there are open questions on where John Roberts stands on special education issues.  He has little track record to speak of on special education, but his views on educational issues are better known and are certainly conservative.

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Corporal Punishment Up In New York Schools

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On September 24, 2005, Associated Press writer Michael Gormley reported a significant rise in formal corporal punishment complaints in New York public schools over the past five years.  Specifically, complaints more than doubled over that time period, with 4,223 accusations in 2004 alone.  At the same time,  there has also been an increase in the number of school districts that failed to file the required semiannual reports detailing corporal punishment allegations. 

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