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.
The new book entitled A Parent’s Guide to Special Education by Dr. Linda Wilmhurst and Dr. Alan Brue represents itself as an "insider’s" guide to the system. I am happy to report that the book lives up to this claim especially regarding the process of psychological testing.
Recently I ran into a dear parent of another child with special needs, who has been in the hospital for most of the last 5 months, and has not been well enough to attend 8th grade all year. Appropriately enough we met in a chocolate store [as my wife says MDC means "must devour chocolate"]. She shared her whimsical shopping list of medical miracles that she hoped to "find" at Wal-Mart and elsewhere. Below is her follow up letter detailing the outcome of her "shopping trip." The real miracle is the undying devotion of parents and the unwavering courage of this beautiful young man:
Under IDEA 2004 transition planning begins at 16 instead of 14 [much too late for many but that is another posting]. The good news is that under the new IDEA transition plans need to have measurable goals and outcomes that lead to post-secondary school and employment. For too many former special education students unemployment is the norm. One of the key elements to changing these dismal outcomes is through good planning and the provision of technology. The webcast described below will hopefully further the discussion of good effective transition planning with an emphasis on the need for technology as part of that process.
People everywhere are more similar than they are different. As long as there have been parents, they have been worried about their children with special needs. I would venture to guess that even Mother Goose has had to attend an IEP now and then. Here are just a few of the statements we would likely see from her children’s student records.
Wisconsin’s House of Representative in December 2005 passed a bi-partisan bill that was sponsored by Rep. Kitty Rhodes to provide $15,000 vouchers or scholarships to children with autism to go to private school or for treatment. Juxtaposed against this news is the ruling of the Florida Supreme Court on January 6, 2006 that struck down vouchers as being unconstitutional on religious and educational grounds.
This weekend on break from Lake Forest College, David Kuriniec came over to visit with my family and me. He is an excellent student and an inspiring human being. Best of all, he is a role model for other students with disabilities, as my son, Cole, expressed in this post: This was a great weekend because David Kuriniec came over. He is a person with disabilities like me. He is older and has tested the water and paved the way for kids like me. People think it will be hard for me but if David can do it so can I.
The U.S. Supreme Court has accepted the appeal of the case Arlington Central v. Murphy. This case has been pending appeal for several months. The issue in this case is whether parents who prevail in a due process case can recover their expert’s fees and costs from the school district. In the underlying case, from New York’s 2d Circuit Court of Appeals, the ruling went in favor of the parents and the school district appealed. (download Murphy_v. Arlington Central.pdf)
Judge Alito was nominated to the Supreme Court for his very conservative stance on issues such as abortion, business interests, and civil liberties. My focus is narrower in this post to look at the handful of cases that he has participated in regarding special education law and the ADA. His record on special education cases is surprisingly positive for parents but not very favorable in most of his ADA cases.
Special Kids/Special Families is an excellent parent’s group that presents free monthly presentations, although they ask for voluntary contributions to defray expenses, at the JCYS in Buffalo Grove (address below) including this presentation from Dr. Michael Frey: Dr. Michael Frey of Comprehensive Psychological Services will discuss, "Emotional Regulation: Helping Your Special Needs Child Cope with Frustration and Disappointment" on Tuesday, January 10, 2006. Dr. Frey will help you to understand the negative emotional states that affect children, how to respond to these challenging situations, and how to encourage your child to take positive advantage of these opportunities to learn coping skills.
In too many districts, the notion that staff bully students is scoffed at and simply dismissed. There are psychological reports that bare out that bullying is not a mere fiction of overzealous parents and their advocates.