The Rehabilitation Act gives disabled students the right to a free and appropriate public education. This means that schools are required to give disabled students the accommodations they need to learn effectively. A 504 plan is a plan made by the school district to provide these accommodations. For example, a 504 plan made for a […]
What is the The Rehabilitation Act? Read More »
Like so many special education terms, “bricks and mortar” has a unique meaning. Because this phrase is usually part of a Free Appropriate Public Education (“FAPE”) analysis, I always keep the factual context in mind. Just like the Committee on Special Education’s (“CSE”) responsibility to make an appropriate program, they also have the duty to
When the “Bricks and Mortar” Start to Crumble Read More »
“Child Find” is a concept that is fundamental in the understanding of the relationship between a family and a school district: identify and evaluate. The purpose of the child find provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”) are to identify, locate, and evaluate those students who are suspected of being a student
Child Find is Fundamental – Identify and Evaluate Read More »
In this post I attempt to gather the relevant law regarding special education for the home-schooled. Many in New York State choose to “home-school” their children to avoid the mandate to inoculate. Since the removal of the “religious exemption” in 2019 and the heightened standard of “contraindication” or actual harm required for a medical exemption,
Special Education for the Home-Schooled Read More »
An Independent Educational Evaluation (“IEE”) is defined under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”) as “an evaluation conducted by a qualified examiner who is not employed by the public agency responsible for the education of the child in question.” [1] The New York State regulations specifically describe and provide for independent educational evaluations: (1)
The Individualized Education Program (“IEP”) is, in brief, a comprehensive statement of the educational needs of a disabled child and the specially designed instruction and related services to be employed to meet those needs. [1] In New York State, the IEP is produced by a Committee on Special Education (“CSE”), whose members are appointed by
During 2017 the U.S. Supreme Court has again refreshed our understanding concerning the rights of special needs students, having held that an appropriate education for a student with a disability is one that is “reasonably calculated to enable a child to make progress appropriate in light of the child’s circumstances. [1] With this decision, we
The Substantive Standard of the IDEA Read More »
Detailed procedural provisions lie at the heart of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”). [1] In order to achieve the goal of providing all children with eligible disabilities with a Free Appropriate Public Education (“FAPE”), the IDEA statute requires that the states comply with “extensive procedural rights and safeguards” in order to receive federal funds
The Procedural Standard of the IDEA Read More »
To be successful on a Section 504 claim, a plaintiff must put forth evidence that she was “denied a federal benefit because of h[er] disability.” [1] Furthermore, it must be the product of deliberate or reckless indifference to the student’s federally protected rights, i.e. the school district must act with “bad faith or gross misjudgment.”
Raising a 504 Claim Read More »
The term “related services” is defined as transportation, and such developmental, corrective, and other supportive services (including speech pathology and audiology, psychological services, physical and occupational therapy, recreation, including therapeutic recreation, social work services, counseling services, including rehabilitation counseling, and medical services, except that such medical services shall be for diagnostic and evaluation purposes only)
What are Related Services? Read More »