Under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, a school district that identifies a child who potentially has a disability and needs special education first must evaluate the child. The point of the evaluation is to determine if, for purposes of federal...
Education Law
Advocating for you and your special needs child
Having a child with special needs often means that parents require additional services to aid their child. No matter the form of disability, resources are available to children with special needs. When it comes to education, specific services are designed to make the...
The rate of autism in children continues to rise
According to information from Autism Parenting magazine, the rate of children across the country diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, or ASD, continues to increase. According to government estimates, over 2% of children in the country have a diagnosis of ASD. By...
Understanding Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
As many New York families know, the world can be cruel and unfair to people with mental and physical disabilities. Fortunately, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act was implemented to prevent this type of discrimination. Under Section 504, employers and organizations...
How does mediation operate within special education law?
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) establishes requirements for your special needs child to receive a free and appropriate education (FACE). The process involved to achieve that goal involves decisions by various parties: parents, educators and...
Representing the client’s rights in a disciplinary hearing
Many students in New York and throughout the country face disciplinary problems on a regular basis. Over the last couple of years, students have been under a tremendous amount of stress – regular school attendance has been disrupted, many have had to adapt to remote...
Study finds possible racial and gender bias in special education
New York schools have systems designed to meet the needs of children with disabilities, but these systems can benefit children only if someone first refers the child to the necessary services. In many cases, it is the parents who take the initiative in securing...
What services are associated with an IEP?
There are a variety of different services that may be available to students with an individualized education plan (IEP). It is important for parents to be familiar with the different types of services that may be available to their child once they have an...
What is a Section 504 accommodation?
As this blog has discussed in the past, sometimes, children with impairments do not qualify as disabled. But, they may nonetheless, need some accommodation to achieve educational success and parity. This is where a Section 504 accommodation can be useful. What is...
Key points about violence, weapons, drugs and IAES placement
Long Island parents who have a child with disabilities will undoubtedly understand that challenges might arise in school. Some, however, are more serious than others and can lead to various disciplinary steps. For some, the school might remove the child to an Interim...