Lawyer assisting parents of children with special needs, due process, discipline, expulsion.
If you don’t agree with the services and/or program your child’s school district is offering your child with special education needs, you should consider consulting with a special education attorney.
What does a Special Education attorney do?
Special education attorneys are familiar with the various laws and regulations that govern a child’s rights to special education and can guide you through the process of securing appropriate programs and services that your child may be entitled to by law.
Special education attorneys are useful resources for helping a parent identify his/her child’s specific difficulties because they can refer the parent to psychologists or other qualified professionals experienced in testing and evaluating children with similar difficulties. If you have existing evaluations, special education attorneys will review those documents and advise you about what resources your child may be entitled to and whether further testing is necessary.
Special education attorneys are experienced in litigation, mediation, and negotiation with school districts and can advise you about the benefits and risks of pursuing further legal action.
In sum, a special education attorney is in a position to tell parents what they need to know. Some parents are unaware that they have rights and procedural safeguards and it is a special education attorney’s duty to educate them. Once parents know what their rights are, they can determine how to enforce them.
Dedicated defenders for Parents and their children.
By consulting with a special education attorney, you can get a clearer picture as to whether or not the school district is acting within the law as it pertains to your child’s education needs. In addition, many school districts have legal counsel of their own to guide them in making decisions at IEP meetings. Don’t risk going to one of these key meetings without sufficient support of your own.
Institute of Special Education Advocacy at William and Mary Law School
I am certified by the William & Mary Law School in Special Education Advocacy. Which means I have specialized, unique training related to special education and representation of parents with children who are facing obstacles from their school district.
Let us be your best defense
If you have a child with special needs and you don’t think your child is getting the education he or she deserves and has a legal right to, call or email us immediately.
Call Potter Law at 864-214-6233 or contact us online to schedule your initial consultation.
Six important questions parents of children with IEPs should ask at the end of a marking period.
When you receive your child's IEP progress reports, it's an opportunity to evaluate how your child is progressing, to consider your child's work habits, achievements, struggles and social-emotional growth, and to consider the development of new goals. You should ask yourself:
1. How is the school system measuring your child’s progress?
2. Were you given enough information (data) to understand how/why your child is making sufficient progress or not and does the school data support the reported progress?
3. Is the pace of the class too fast so that your child feels “lost,” or is it too slow, causing your child to feel “bored”?
4. Is a better/different home-school communication system needed?
5. Is your child recording all assignments and bringing home materials necessary to complete those assignments?
6. Has your child completed and turned in all class work and homework?