BLOG
More visitors than ever visited this special education law blog last year. I am so happy to see that parents, advocates, and other professionals are using this (free) information to educate themselves about children's rights. I hope to revisit the Advocate vs. Attorney issue soon, as it has been a popular topic for several years.
A recent story from Portland, Oregon caught my eye. An occupational therapist is suing her former school district, claiming she was fired for reporting violations of special education law. The occupational therapist claims that her schedule did not permit her to service all children who needed it, as required by law. Instead, the school district allegedly told her to only service the students whose "parents are litigious." You can read the entire article here.
In June 2010, the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a report that found that students with disabilities were not being afforded an equal opportunity to participate in extracurricular athletics in public elementary and secondary schools. The GAO emphasized that participation in extracurricular athletics provides important health and social benefits to all student, particularly those with disabilities. You can read the entire report here.
The Question
Parents and educational advocates often ask me what to do when a teacher is "bullying" a student.
Massachusetts' Bullying Law
Many people are surprised to learn that the Massachusetts Anti-Bullying law does not apply when teachers are "bullying" students. The Massachusetts Anti-Bullying law defines a "bully" as a "student," making it legally impossible for the teacher to be labeled a bully under this statute.
Question: My child has complicated issues and the district granted a 45 day placement for evaluation. I am not in agreement with what they have proposed. The 45 day placement is over and I wanted to reject their proposal to bring him back to district. I am told I have no stay put rights. Is this true?
"Grades alone are an insufficient basis upon which to determine whether a student has a disability," and that "Grades are just one consideration and do not provide information on how much effort or how many outside resources are required for the student to achieve those grades." Often, school districts will deny 504 and IEP eligibility because the child is receiving good grades. This OCR document provides support that the "report-card-only" eligibility test is not permissible.
Special education law is always changing. That's why the best special education lawyers and advocates never stop learning.
In order to better advocate for her clients, Attorney Wong attends conferences and connects with other special education experts.
On December 16, 2011 the State Director of Special Education, Marcia Mittnacht, issued a Memorandum advising against Procedures Lite for "legal and policy reasons."
Wong & Boscarine LLC
P: (857) 529-8494
F: (617) 334-7306
info@wongboscarine.com
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Cambridge, MA 02138
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