The Wrightslaw Way

Setting high expectations and a strong work ethic is really important for the success of our students with special educational needs. Ann Marie understood the importance of keeping the standard highs.

Ann Marie has 3 children with special needs.  Two children have dyslexia and one was born with Spina Bifida.  “My late husband and I always instilled in our children the value of doing a complete and good job. We had three guidelines to help our children achieve success.”

You Must Complete the Assignment

Guideline #1: One guideline in our home — It’s okay if it takes you longer to do it, so long as you complete the assignment. [Read more →]

Tags:   Dyslexia · High expectations · Parenting · Spina Bifida · Strategies · success storyNo Comments.

Help us support the Lewis B. Puller Center by voting in the Pepsi Refresh Project.  The Center hopes to provide computers, software & lockers for people with disabilities.

Wrightslaw has been a long-time business partner with the Puller Center. The Center offers employment to intellectually challenged adults by contracting on-site jobs for a wide range of services.

Check it out - please vote today! www.refresheverything.com/friendsofthepullercenter

The Puller center proposes to purchase 5 laptop computers and learning software to teach the individuals everyday life skills. [Read more →]

Tags:   Lewis B. Puller Center · Pepsi Refresh Project1 Comment

Bringing police into public schools is a trend that exploded in the 1990s, after high-profile school shooting incidents at Columbine and Jonesboro.

When a reader asked a question about school resource officers,  we realized how little we knew about these officers.

Are school resource officers law enforcement officers? Disciplinarians? Counselors or educators? Let’s take a look at school resource officers - what they do, training requirements, effectiveness, and more. [Read more →]

Tags:   Behavior Problems · Crime prevention · Discipline · Police in Schools · School resource officers · School safety · school violence6 Comments

In a unanimous decision, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that parents of two siblings with autism may seek monetary damages for the school’s failure to provide them with a free appropriate public education.

The parents alleged that the department of education failed to provide the children with appropriate services during their formative years. The “window of opportunity” to learn to speak and interact with people closed… [Read more →]

Tags:   9th Circuit · Damages · Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) · Keith Peck · Levin Education Access Project · Michael Livingstone · Section 504 · Stan Levin · Susan Dorsey · Window of Opportunity6 Comments

We are about to go into mediation and have concerns and questions about the process.

Q: Can parents tape record the meeting? If the district will have an attorney present at mediation, can one be appointed for the parent, at no charge?

Mediation is a problem solving process that is confidential. Success depends on both parties being able to communicate openly. The parties cannot use information gained in mediation in later litigation, so the answer is “No.” People should not attempt to tape record mediation. If there is litigation later, a judge will come down hard on them for violating the confidentiality of mediation. [Read more →]

Tags:   Confidentiality · mediation · Negotiation · Problem solving10 Comments

In their article, Eye on the Prize: Keeping All Children Safe, Tricia and Calvin Luker, from Our Children Left Behind, provide a summary of the provisions passed by the House in The Keeping All Students Safe Act. You’ll find a status report on the bill introduced in the Senate, information from significant informal discussions, links to the bills, and position statements.

The Lukers explain, “We are keeping our eye on the prize -  protecting the children.” [Read more →]

Tags:   Keeping All Students Safe Act · Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act · Restraint · Restraint and SeclusionNo Comments.

We receive wonderful stories about parents who have become seasoned and powerful advocates for their children. Now these parents are paying it forward by providing advice and information to others, developing advocacy study groups, or training parents, service providers, and educators in special education advocacy.

Special education advocate Graciela Tiscareño-Sato and her husband have compiled their knowledge of law and seven years of negotiating experience into a multimedia DVD for all parents, service providers and educators in the educational system. They attended a Wrightslaw Special Education Law Boot Camp… [Read more →]

Tags:   Advocacy Resources · advocacy training · Advocates · parental role · special education training4 Comments

My son is in 9th grade and is ADHD.  He has very poor executive functions causing problems in math and writing. He has been evaluated twice with the school deciding that he has normal IQ.

I know of many other cases where poor executive function has not been recognized as a reason to give IEPs, yet  children with this problem are  struggling and failing.

How can we get the law changed?

I don’t see that either the IEP law or that the law regarding the definition of “‘child with a disability” needs to be changed.

The law is clear that if a child has a disability, and the disability adversely affects educational performance, then the child is entitled to services under IDEA 2004 and entitled to an IEP. [Read more →]

Tags:   "Child with a Disability" · Eligibility · Executive function · Grades · IQ Scores · Labels6 Comments

What do we do when our children are bullied by teachers? My son has a teacher who actually calls the kids wieners and makes fun of them if they are struggling. He has a mug and sign in the classroom that say “I see stupid people.”

Unfortunately, this is not uncommon. You see it more often in middle school and high school. This teacher is allowed to continue because the principal or superintendent don’t really see the behavior as a problem. How you handle it depends in part on the age of the students.

If elementary school, your strategy needs to be… [Read more →]

Tags:   Bullying · Harassment and Bullying · Teachers4 Comments

In our training programs, we tell parents, “Unless you are prepared to remove your child from public school forever, you need to view your relationship with the school as a marriage without the possibility of divorce.”

As a parent, it’s important to understand that you will be negotiating for special education services with the school on your child’s behalf for many years.  If your relationship with the school is polarized, you need to work on restructuring your relationship with school personnel.

Focus on Problem Solving

How do you react when another person - someone you do not know well - makes demands of you? [Read more →]

Tags:   advocacy strategies · Negotiation · Parent School Relationship · Teachers5 Comments