The Wrightslaw Way

Judge Orders Search for MPS Students in Need of  Special Education

On June 21, 2009 the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported: “A federal judge has ordered Milwaukee Public Schools to launch a wide search for students who didn’t get special education services they should have gotten between 2000 and 2005 and to figure out what needs to be done to make that up to them.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Aaron Goodstein ordered that someone from outside the system be hired to monitor work on providing education services to compensate the students or former students involved because MPS has not shown it will adequately remedy its problems in special education on its own.” (emphasis added)

Read about the lawsuit that dates from 2001… Class Action Lawsuit

Tags:   Child Find · Compensatory Education · Eligibility · Indentification · Legal Decisions · Legal News · Special Ed Law3 Comments

In 2006, the Supreme Court decided that parents could not be reimbursed for expert witness fees in Arlington Central School District v. Murphy. The Murphy decision has made the playing field unlevel and unjust for parents who are forced to pursue due process. H.R. 2740 will override this decision.

Few parents can afford the high cost of paying technical, medical, and other expert witnesses themselves; by contrast, school districts can use taxpayer dollar to pay for experts or use staff on their payroll.

Please sign COPAA’s petition in support of the IDEA Fairness Restoration Act (H.R. 2740), a bill that would permit parents who prevail in due process and litigation to recover their expert witness fees.

Individual petition: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=Ib9OdiMVf9ZE2rcPz5F2DA_3d_3d.

Link for organizations and groups.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=ZqaHLUdhQIhctyl6F_2bSZEA_3d_3d

Why should this bill should be passed?… [Read more →]

Tags:   Expert Witness Fees · H.R.2740 · IDEA Fairness Restoration Act · Parental Rights58 Comments

Question before the Court in Safford United School District #1 v. Redding at http://www.wrightslaw.com/news/09/safford.redding.htm)

• Whether the Fourth Amendment prohibits public school officials from conducting a search of a student suspected of possessing and distributing a prescription drug on campus in violation of school policy.
• Whether the Ninth Circuit departed from established principles of qualified immunity in holding that a public school administrator may be liable in a damages lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for conducting a search of a student suspected of possessing and distributing a prescription drug on campus.

From the SCOTUSblog:

Safford United School District #1 v. Redding (08-479): The decision below is affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded in an opinion by Justice Souter, with the Court dividing 8-1 on the Fourth Amendment question and 7-2 on the qualified immunity question. Justice Stevens filed a partial dissent joined by Justice Ginsburg. Justice Ginsburg filed an opinion concurring and dissenting in part. Justice Thomas filed an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part.

The Court held that the strip search did violate the Constitution but it wasn’t clear that the violation was established at the time of this incident. The opinion is available at http://www.wrightslaw.com/law/caselaw/ussupct.safford.redding.pdf

Tags:   Privacy Rights · Redding · Safford School District1 Comment

On Monday, June 22, 2009, the Supreme Court issued a powerful pro-child decision in Forest Grove School District v. T.A. This is a case about tuition reimbursement for a disabled child  who was not found eligible for special education and received no  special education services from the public school district. [Read more →]

Tags:   ADHD · Advocacy · Burlington · Carter · Child Find · Eligibility · Forest Grove · IDEA · Parental Rights · Tuition Reimbursement6 Comments

I am a counselor with the local mental health agency. I’m working with a 4 year old boy who has been “kicked out of” two preschool programs for behavior problems. He is diagnosed with ADHD. He has not been tested by the local school district. They refuse to offer him services because of his behavior.

Is this child eligible for any services from the local school district?

[Read more →]

Tags:   ADHD · Behavior Problems · Child Find · Eligibility · IEE · Independent Evaluations6 Comments

Although most people are focused on summer vacations, a new school year will be here before you know it. A Wrightslaw training program will teach the knowledge and skills you need to be an effective advocate.

In July and August 2009, Wrightslaw special education law & advocacy training programs will be held in Washington, New York and 4 Cities in Florida.  Sign up today!

• July 16, 2009: Spokane, WA - Special Education Law and Advocacy Training sponsored by the Northwest Autism Center. Speaker: Pete Wright.

• July 30, 2009: Dobbs Ferry (Southern Westchester County), NY - Special Education Law and Advocacy Training sponsored by The Children’s Hearing Institute. Speaker: Pete Wright.

• August 5, 2009: South Florida, August 7: Tampa, August 10: Gainesville, August 12: Panhandle Area - Special Education Law and Advocacy Trainings sponsored by the Florida Developmental Disabilities Council, Inc. Speaker: Pete Wright.

Over the next few months, Wrightslaw programs will be held in Indiana, Virginia, Oregon, New York and Oklahoma. For information about these programs and a complete list of upcoming programs, please visit our schedule page.

Can’t attend a live program?

The Special Education Law and Advocacy Training program on CD-ROM includes all the content of the live Wrightslaw program … and more than an hour of bonus content. Your instructors are Pete Wright and Pam Wright.

Wrightslaw Training programs on CD-ROM are available 24/7 - wherever you live, whenever you want. Work at your own pace. Eliminate distractions and schedule your study periods at times that meet your needs.

Tags:   Advocacy · Conference · IDEA 2004 · Special Education Law · special education trainingNo Comments.

My child has struggled in school for years. He hasn’t failed because we provide private tutoring and work with him at home. We asked the school for special ed services. They say he is not eligible because he does not have failing grades. Is this correct?

Nope. The law says just the opposite . . . [Read more →]

Tags:   Advocacy · Eligibility · Evaluations · Grades · IDEA 2004 · IEPs · Special Education Law · unique needs10 Comments

What can you do if a school team refuses to evaluate a child?

What can you do if the school team insists that an evaluation will not provide relevant information for educational planning?

When the school doesn’t want to test a child, can you force them to evaluate? [Read more →]

Tags:   Accommodations · Advocacy · Eligibility · Evaluations · IDEA 2004 · Rights & Responsibilities · Special Education Regulations · unique needs6 Comments

I am a special education teacher. I have some concerns and questions about how students are receiving the mandated special ed services.

1. Is there a legal definition of self-contained classroom setting?
2. What constitutes a change of LRE when there has been no official meeting to place a student in a particular setting?

There is no legal definition of “self contained classroom” in the federal statute. The term is not in the the law. [Read more →]

Tags:   Advocacy · Inclusion · LRE · Placement · Self contained classroom · Special Education Regulations4 Comments

If you plan to move or change schools, you need to get reliable information about the schools you are considering.

These websites will help:

Great Schools at http://www.greatschools.net/

School Matters at http://www.schoolmatters.com/

[Read more →]

Tags:   Advocacy · Transferring schools · Transition1 Comment