lawprofessors

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 As the focus of my practice is solely to assist and resolve issues for students, I frequently hear complaints about teacher misconduct, school administrator failures, school personnel allegedly targeting a student and other problems involving specific school employees.  Although my main goal is to resolve matters for the specific student involved, there is something important which parents can do to help get rid of bad school personnel: file a written personnel complaint with the school and/or school district about the teacher, administrator, or staff member. More Parents Need to Complain in Writing If there is a bad apple in a school, resolving a single student's concerns, such as handling the bullying of student Joe Smith by Teacher A, may not result in Teacher A being terminated and/or being punished "enough" to solve the problem long term.  This is because school staff may believe that a single co...

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 Today, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ("Court"), the court which has jurisdiction over federal matters in California, Oregon, Washington, and several other states issued a decision in Lake Washington School District v. Office of Superintendent ( http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2011/02/22/09-35472.pdf ).  This decision defeated the Lake Washington School District's hope of pursuing a matter under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)  http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/uscode20/usc_sec_20_00001400----000-.html , as the Court determined that the District was not granted "standing" (ability to sue) under IDEA.  The Court thus shut down Lake Washington's action which attempted to limit postponements of special education hearings (aka due process hearings). The decision also includes important discussion regarding just WHO has a right of action under I...

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 On June 23, 2010, the Rutherford Institute filed a complaint in federal court against Morgan Hill Unified School District (Morgan Hill, CA) for sending students home on Cinco de Mayo (May 5, 2010) who wore shirts with american flags on them.  That this happened at all in America is disturbing as the administrators did not seem to comprehend even basic freedom of speech and expression rights granted by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.  Students do not lose the entirety of their First Amendment rights just because they attend school. According to the Morgan Hills Time s (newspaper) the Live Oak High School Vice Principal and Principal involved no longer work in the district, but the case is, thankfully, still moving forward.  Just yesterday (February 17, 2011), the students defeated most of the motion to dismiss filed by the school district and are proceeding with the case.  The ...

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 The "Ottowa Citizen," a Canadian newspaper, recently reported that there may be a 4 year wait to receive a special education assessment in that region, and that teachers are specifically being told not to refer students for a special education evaluation (see link following my signature below). Luckily, in the United States we do not have to wait four, three, or even one year for a student to be evaluated for special education.  Assessment is mandated within specific timelines once a referral for special education is made. Under the United States Code [20 USC section 1414(a)(1)(C]):   "Initial evaluation shall consist of procedures- (I)  to determine whether a child is a child with a disability ... within 60 days of receiving parental consent for the evaluation, or, if the State establishes a timeframe within which the evaluation must be conducted, within such timeframe; and (II) to de...

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 I earlier blogged regarding the Big 5 mandatory expulsion categories, for which a student must be both recommended and expelled should allegations be proven correct [ http://edlaw4students.blogspot.com/2011/01/when-is-school-expulsion-mandatory-in.html ].  THIS blog covers the list of bad acts for which expulsion must be recommended, but for which an expulsion may not HAVE TO be issued.  I am not including the "Big 5" covered in the other blog in my list below. In California, a student MUST be recommended for an expulsion for the following  per California Education Code section 48915(a): "1)  Causing serious physical injury to another person, except in self defense; 2)  Possession of a knife or other dangerous object of no reasonable use to the pupil. 3)  Unlawful possession of any controlled substance...except for the first...ounce of marijuana other than concentrated cannabis. 4) ...

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings (for special education students) can be very confusing.  They are made up of a group of individuals with different education levels, credentials, and motivations. Parents also often feel they are outnumbered or ill-prepared.  This is especially true if they disagree with the rest of the IEP "team."  As such, in their IEP preparation, parents should take the necessary steps to record their IEP meetings. WHY SHOULD I RECORD? Although at an IEP meeting there is an official note taker who is an employee of the school district and/or school, WHAT this person notes down and emphasizes is totally up to them.  As such, the note taker may miss things, or may not note down things a parent thinks are important. Also, as parents are usually involved in the IEP discussion, they may be unable to take adequate written notes themselves or may take no notes at all. ...

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 When a special education student is placed up for expulsion and/or a change of placement is recommended due to a conduct violation, school districts are mandated to convene a meeting (aka manifestation hearing) within 10 days where they make a "manifestation determination."  This manifestation determination is supposed to determine if the conduct in question was related to the child's disability as defined under federal law.  The  manifestation hearing is a VERY important meeting as it can stop the entire expulsion/transfer process. However, most parents have no idea what is going on when they arrive at a manifestation hearing and/or how significant it is until after it is held. What is a Manifestation Hearing? Per volume 20 of the United States Code (USC) section 1415(k)(1)(E), districts must determine prior to moving toward expulsion or a change of placement: 1)  "If the conduct in question wa...

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 Have you ever felt that you or the student in your life were treated differently by a school due to race, ethnicity, gender, disability, sexual orientation, national origin, or age?  You could be experiencing illegal discrimination. For example, has your child been excluded from activities, such as a class trip, based on disability-related conduct (e.g. hyperactivity, seizures, hearing impairment, behavior, etc.)?  Have students who were different  races been treated differently in the exact same situation for no apparent reason?  Have staff made some form of slur against you or your child based on race or national origin?  Were you removed from a college program in part due to your age?  Believe it or not, improper discriminatory conduct occurs even today. If you experienced discrimination, or what you believe was discrimination, within the last 180 days, you can file a complaint with ...

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 Last night (2/2/11), the Sacramento County Board of Education approved an application for 5 new charter schools in the Sacramento area.  This will create more choices for our youth to attend school outside the traditional setting.  But, what is a CHARTER school?  Parents want to know. Charter schools are authorized in the California Education Code starting with section 47600  http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=edc&group=47001-48000&file=47600-47604.5  under the "Charter Schools Act of 1992" which states: The purpose outlined by the legislature for such schools is to "[P]rovide opportunities for teachers, parents, pupils, and community members to establish and maintain schools that operate independently from the existing school district structure as a method to accomplish all of the following: (a)  Improve pupil learning. (b)  Increase learning opportuniti...

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 The New York Times yesterday (2/1/11) reported on an attack of a Philadelphia boy by 7 youths on the way home from school.   http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/02/us/02bully.html .  The victim was beaten by a group and then left hanging from a high fence.  Prior to that the boy had been kicked, dragged, punched, and placed upside down in a tree according to the author of the article, John Hurdle.  Don't let this happen to your child. I would suspect this was not the first situation involving these boys.  For example, I bet: 1)  There was a history of targeting the victim prior to this incident at school. 2)  The school knew about the targeting and/or they knew about other incidents involving the attackers. 3)  The school did nothing and/or did not do enough. 4)  The parents did not ask the right questions of their son about what was going on at school, and/or they did not jum...