Special Education Law Blog
A special education legal resource discussing case law, news, practical advocacy advice, and developments in state and federal laws, statutes and regulations. Postings include insight and sometimes humor from Charles P. Fox, a Chicago, Illinois attorney who is also a parent of child with special needs, and other guest authors.
As stated in previous posts, Arlington Central v. Murphy is set for oral argument on April 19, 2006 before the U.S. Supreme Court. Click to read a summary of the oral arguments.
Inclusion has many rationales. At its most basic, inclusion is based upon the mutual benefits, exchanges and learning that go on between children with disabilities and non-disabled peers. To me inclusion is a collision of two worlds. The world of people with disabilities and that of people without disabilities. While there is no compelling reason why there should be two separate worlds, historically that has been the reality. Over the decades, IDEA incrementally has fused these two worlds. This fusion has in my experience resulted in some meaningful and life changing lessons for both the disabled and the non-disabled.
A new study from Indiana reveals severe short comings in the juvenile justice system. Overworked public defenders who lack sufficient training and motivation are among the findings. Many children go without representation or at best perfunctory representation in court. For special education students the findings of the report are especially troubling.
The U.S. Supreme Court IDEA case Arlington Central v. Murphy is set for oral argument before the Court on April 19, 2006. A written decision in this case is expected this year. The case discussed in earlier posts involves whether parents who prevail in due process can recover expert’s fees. Marilyn Arons, a lay advocate/consultant, was the expert who is the subject matter of the case now pending before the Court.
The F.B.I. and other law enforcement agencies have developed guidelines for people with autism, families and police to address elopement behaviors. The topics are as follows: What Families Can Do To Lessen Police Interactions Information for Persons with Autism Information for Law Enforcement Officers Police Training Sessions The guidelines are intended for people with autism, but have application to any person who exhibits elopement behaviors.
While I have not seen any scientific or statistical studies, in my personal experience the period from mid-April to the end of the year can be among the most problematic periods for serious behaviors in school. I do not think that it is an accident or happenstance that some of the worst violence in schools has occurred during this period of time. Bad things can happen in school at any time but during this period the odds seem higher.
The U.S. Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights (OCR) for Denver decided a case, Granite School District , 45 IDELR 65 (2004) which ruled that where the school failed to provide paper, pencils and books while the child was in his jail cell was not a violation of law. The reasoning of this decision was noteworthy even for students who are not in jail.
Test protocols are the answers provided to educational testing, and explanations and interpretations of test questions even if the answers are integrated with the test question. The legal question which frequently arises is whether test protocols are "student records" and therefore, subject to parental inspection and copying. Schools almost reflexively answer "no" to this question and parents are left to fight this response. A recent hearing officer decision from Illinois, School District U-46, 45 IDELR 74 (2005) provides some sound reasoning for the parents’ position on this question.
Virtual reality, teaching and meetings/hearings should have an important role in providing an appropriate education for our children. Some of these technologies are still cutting edge and not yet here (e.g. virtual meetings/meetings), virtual reality is in the testing stages (and actually in use in some schools) for use with children with disabilities, and virtual teaching is already in use.
Oh how things have changed and thank goodness for it. Today at least mothers have rights and a voice. Sometimes I imagine what it would have been like to have had a child with special needs in the 1950s. Here are some of the things a mother of a child with special needs might have said at that time: