Districts that seek to suspend or expel a disabled student must hold a Manifestation Determination Review (MDR) meeting “within 10 school days of any decision to change the placement of a child with a disability because of a violation of a code of student conduct” (20 U.S.C. § 1415[k][1][E][i]; 34 CFR 300.530[e][1]; 8 NYCRR 201.4[a][3]). […]
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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
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So, the school has decided that your child qualifies for special education services and needs an Individualized Education Plan (IEP). You’re probably wondering what role (if any) you’re supposed to play in this process. On the one hand, it’s natural to feel like you should be involved— after all, no one knows your child better
I Found Out My Child Needs An IEP. What Do I Do Now? Read More »
A 504 plan is named after section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. This section made it illegal for any organization receiving federal assistance to discriminate against people with disabilities. The Rehabilitation Act defines disability as “a physical or mental impairment” that “limits one or more of a person’s major life activities.” Major life
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It’s natural for parents to feel upset when their child doesn’t seem to be making the progress they expected. Every parent wants their child to reach their full potential. However, this can be especially difficult for the parents of disabled children, who have to navigate the often frustrating world of special education. Even after going
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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
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“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
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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,
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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