The Wrightslaw Way

On March 17, 2011, federal legislation was introduced to allow parents to recover expert witness fees in due process hearings and litigation under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. “This legislation is an essential step for protecting the rights of students with disabilities and ensuring that all families, regardless of their financial resources, can advocate […]

Success Story: How We Got an Appropriate Education and Avoided Due Process I wanted to let you know about the difference you are making in the lives of disabled children. After struggling with our school district for over a year to provide services to my disabled child without success, I knew I had to educate […]

Even with great preparation and the advice of an attorney, due process hearings are very time consuming and stressful.  This is especially true for parents. Before proceeding to due process, try to turn the situation around first. Here are some tips about what you can do.

We requested that our son be put in an inclusion classroom at his home school. The school denied our request. We don’t have an attorney. What can we do? Should we threaten litigation? Never tell a school, or anyone else, that you plan to sue them. There are other ways to resolve parent-school disputes. Depending […]

“My 11 year-old daughter is blind and language impaired. She has been in a public school for the blind. As part of her triennial re-evaluation, the team insists on doing IQ testing. I refused as these tests are not designed for the blind. The school is threatening me with due process.” Before we can give […]

I am an attorney practicing Special Education. I do not attend IEP meetings. We have an advocacy service and an advocate attends IEP meetings with parents. In our district, when an advocate from our advocacy service attends an IEP meeting, the district makes sure their attorney is also present. The parents request that the school […]

Last month, we posted Independent Evaluations: Should parents provide a copy to the school? at http://www.wrightslaw.com/blog/?p=30# That post elicited a number of comments before dropping off the sidebar. Recently, a school psychologist added comment about reasons why she did not provide parents with a copy of reports before IEP meetings. Her comment included inaccuracies so […]

I have just a short time to post today – I have a flight to MO this afternoon for the conference being held in the Jefferson City area on Thursday. I did want to respond to a question from a public school speech language therapist who attended one of our conferences earlier this year. This […]

Kids rely on their parents, family members, friends, child advocates, to speak on their behalf. We are asking you to step up to the plate on Tuesday, May 6 by calling your Congressional Representatives (202-224-3121) (TTY 202-225-1904) and asking them to co-sponsor H.R. 4188, the IDEA Fairness Restoration Act (H.R. 4188). The IDEA Fairness Restoration […]