By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 When a parent or student experiences discrimination in the school system, they have a choice of where they want to file for an administrative review (e.g. by a government body). Should they pick the federal government to review the matter or should they file with…
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This is an interesting case concerning the criteria for determining which children or young persons require a Co-ordinated Support Plan (CSP). Section 2 of the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 sets out the criteria as follows: For the purposes of this Act, a child or young person requires a plan (referred to…
A few things to consider if your child has an IEP {individual education plan) for specially designed instruction: For it’s NOT too early to prepare and plan for school-year 24-25 even though it seems to be so far away: Things to consider … 1. SPRING TESTING: If your child requires accommodation to access these annual…
Clients sometimes include me on communications merely to protect themselves from Connecticut’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), believing that anything sent to me is automatically covered by the attorney-client privilege. In addition, clients sometimes think that merely because a record is maintained by my office (as opposed to the client’s), it is not subject to…
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By: Eric Richwine, Law Clerk Editor: Sanmathi (Sanu) Dev, Esq. On November 9, 2023, the New Jersey Appellate Division issued a published decision in Board of Education of the Borough of Kinnelon v. D’Amico in which it reversed the final decision of the New Jersey Commissioner of Education (“Commissioner”) to remove a parent from her…
In the case of Durig v. Youngstown, 2023-Ohio-4446, an appellate court affirmed a lower court’s order denying the city leave to amend its answer to plaintiff’s complaint to assert immunity as an affirmative defense. The city moved to amend its answer 2 years and 9 months after filing its initial answer, after discovery had…
Recently, a parent sent me an email asking whether a school district could significantly limit an observation of her son’s classroom. The school district was attempting to impose numerous restrictions. An amendment to the special education law in 2008 solidified a parent’s right to observe, and an advisory from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education…
By Hope Kirsch, Kirsch-Goodwin & Kirsch, PLLC https://www.yourvalley .net/paradise-valley-independent/stories/kirsch-heres-what-to-do-when-your-child-needs-help-in-school,288281 If your child is struggling at all — in school work (academics), making friends, teachers complaining about behavior, almost anything that concerns you or the teachers — the school should be notifying you and suggesting to meet to evaluate the child for a 504 plan (accommodations)…
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On July 2, 2024, the U.S. Department of Education’s (Department) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released a Fact Sheet, which provides guidance to help school districts prevent and address discrimination, including harassment, based on race, color, or national origin. The Fact Sheet clarifies the legal obligations of school districts under Title VI of the Civil…
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By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 What does a parent do when their child, a stellar wonderful student, gets a suspension, which may tarnish their education records forever? Attack it and try to get it overturned of course. A student suspension is a permanent black mark in a school record,…
