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By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 Moving your home is never easy, but some stuff should be smooth: calling to set up utilities, finding a local grocery store, enrollment in school.  These things should not be big deals, right?  Sure.  But, what if your child is in special education?  How will their move go?  Things can get sticky or services may stop altogether.  Parents need to take action prior to relocating with a special needs student to try to avert disaster. Technically and legally, nothing should change for your child at their new school.  If a student had a full time aide while being mainstreamed, they should get a full time aide and be mainstreamed at their new school.  If they had Resource English class, they should have it again, at least for a little while.  Sounds simple. The California Education Code section which addresses moves, 56043(m)(1) states:   If an individual with exceptional...

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 So many times I have met with parents who are beside themselves, unable to obtain services for their child based on a school "not having" services available at their site or in their school district.  Parents are often unaware that denial of special education services based on unavailability or lack of providers is not legal. Special education is based on the " unique needs " of each special education child and meeting those needs with educational services tailored to that specific student. Parents, being unaware of their rights and/or believing that a school IEP (Individualized Education Program) team is acting in the best interests of their child, mistakenly believe statements such as "We don't have any speech services in the school district;" or "There are no occupational therapists available here;" or "Those services are not provided in this school/district,...

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 Attorney or non-attorney advocate?  What is the difference?  Parents faced with a school issue, such as expulsion or a special education problem, often do not know who can help.  Do parents really have to hire an attorney?  What about the lady you heard about who helps parents?  Here is the lowdown on advocate versus attorney and how it relates to your school issues. I am an attorney, licensed to practice law in California.  However, a lot of what I do daily is advocacy .  Advocacy is basically helping a cause (my clients' cause).  Per Merriam-Webster.com  " advocacy " (noun-thing) is "the act or process of supporting a cause or proposal."  To "advocate" (verb) is "to support or argue for (a cause, policy, etc.).  An " advocate"  (noun- person) is "a person who argues for or supports a cause or policy."  So "advocate" can mean different yet s...

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 Time and time again, I meet with parents who are baffled why their child's IEP (Individualized Educational Program) or 504 Plan (accommodations plan) is not being implemented at school.  Sometimes parents do not notice for years that although their IEP or 504 has many items which are supposed to be done, not all of them ARE being done.  This can be a heartbreaking discovery as lack of implementation may waste years of valuable time for a child. Special education (both IEPs and 504 Plans fall under special education), is awash with issues like this.  There are always questions of qualification and what to include in the IEP or 504.  But, once the 504 or IEP is finally complete, most parents mistakenly put their minds on other things, trusting the school to follow through.  Not so fast.  A parent's job is NEVER EVER done when their child is in school, special education or otherwise. ...

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 With special education, the magic document is the Individualized Education Program document, simply called the "IEP."  [The IEP document is different from the IEP meeting, which is also often called the "IEP."]  This is a multi-page document which outlines many important items for the child, including his or her placement and services.  As such, this is a very key item!  Often parents and schools disagree on some services and agree on others, but the IEP is presented as an all or nothing document.  How do parents partially consent to an IEP?   So many interesting things happen at IEP meetings to parents.  One of these is the far-too-common situation where the IEP coordinator tells the parents that they must sign the IEP that day, period.  The parents, despite disagreement with some services in the IEP, sign under duress, agreeing to things they don't want for their child. ...

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 When parents are faced with issues at school involving their child's education, such as a lack of school progress or repeated behavioral problems in the classroom, the school may suggest a special education evaluation.  Is this something that should be pursued?  What are the good and bad things to consider in deciding if you should allow your child to be evaluated for special education? With anything in life, there are costs (and benefits).  There are costs for taking a day off, costs for driving one way versus another, and costs for all decisions we make, big or small.  Our decisions add up over time, and choosing to pursue special education for a child is a big decision with many ramifications that may affect that child long into adulthood.   It would be difficult to list all costs and benefits of special education in a single document, but here are just some to consider when deciding whet...

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 Lately it seems not a week goes by that I don't accompany multiple families to IEP meetings (IEP: Individualized Education Program).  My clients find great value in attorney advocacy for their children.  When should you bring an attorney to an IEP meeting?  When you are done being spun in circles by your child's school and/or wondering whether your child is receiving appropriate services to meet their unique needs. IEP meetings can be confusing, tough, and yet, are rather important to a child's education and life.  A student's life can change for better or worse with a well written IEP and proper services.  This is because the purpose of the IEP meeting is the CHILD and their EDUCATION and meeting their UNIQUE NEEDS in the school.  If the IEP is unclear, wimpy or does not address all areas of need, well, the child is being let down and somewhat thrown to the wolves. Parents also are, w...

By  Michelle Ball , California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 In the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision Anchorage School District v. M.P. (July 19, 2012, No. 10-36065), the Court ruled that the lack of an updated annual IEP (Individualized Education Program) plan resulted in M.P. (student) not receiving a Free and Appropriate Education (FAPE).  The Court also ruled that the parents were to receive reimbursement for private tutoring and attorneys fees. In  Anchorage, Judge Paez stated that a school district has only two options if the annual IEP remains unsigned (e.g. a parent wants more changes, rejects it, etc.). The District must then either: 1)  Continue working with the parents to develop an IEP which is accepted by all, OR 2)  Revise the IEP on their own and file a due process hearing to seek administrative approval of the proposed IEP. This is significant.  There are many times that parents have a signed IEP, e.g. fr...

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 It has been a VERY busy year for my office, as our clients come from all across California and issues run the gamut.  With the internet, even MORE parents and students in trouble are finding me!  So, I thought I would reflect on what the recent trends have been in my office where I focus only on Education Law. This year, I have seen a great number of interdistrict (between two districts) and intradistrict (within the same district) transfer issues.  It seems that many districts have been clamping down hard on students attending outside their area of residence.  My phones have exploded with issues where kids who may have been attending a school previously are suddenly denied entry, or the student expected to go to "School A", but now has to attend "School B" which the family thinks is a bad school.  It is distressing for all parties concerned, particularly the student! They don't know where t...

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 What if you cannot get a simple transfer for your special needs children, but believe they will not be appropriately placed otherwise?  My office was hired to assist one family who no matter what they did, could not get a transfer for their special needs children.  When my office became involved, we were able to gather enough information and communicate effectively, thereby persuading the district that the transfers should go through. Here is what one of the parents involved had to say: "I highly recommend Michelle Ball!    Michelle Ball is a fantastic education attorney. Our school district wanted to make a school placement within the district that was not in the best interest of our children (IEP, 504, and handicapped). The district was adamant that our request for transfer would not be allowed, seemingly in opposition to the law.  We felt existing law supported our requested placemen...

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 Oftentimes parents attend an Individualized Education Program (IEP) meeting, and although their child needs additional services to meet his or her goals, can be denied needed services based on reasons such as: "no funding," or "we just don't have the resources," or "that is not available here as there are no staff."  Are these legitimate reasons to deny a student services that will meet their unique needs?  No! The whole special education system can be very overwhelming for parents and they often "trust" the IEP team to guide them on what their child should or should not receive as far as services, placement, and education.  Parents may also simply accept an IEP team denial of services based on money woes of the school district.  However, regardless of the funding problems school districts seem to be having right now, they cannot deny special education services based on t...

By Michelle Ball , California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 Thousands of parents have their children in special education, but do not have any idea what "special education" really is.  In fact their special education definitions can vary greatly as no one is out there giving them instruction or direction on the LEGAL definition of special education.   There IS an actual, specific, legal definition, of "special education" outlined in both state and federal law. Per California Education Code section 56031(a) "Special education," is: " specially designed instruction, at no cost to the parent, to meet the unique needs of individuals with exceptional needs, including instruction conducted in the classroom, in the home, in hospitals and institutions, and other settings, and instruction in physical education." The federal definition, outlined in the United States Code, volume 20, section 1401 (29) [ 20 USC 1401 ], which is even more brief:...

By  Michelle Ball , California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld the denial of a parents request for reimbursement ($$$) for the cost of a private placement at Lindamood Bell .  This case illustrates how tricky it can be to obtain reimbursement from a school district for the unilateral placement (e.g. by parents alone) of a child in a private school. In the case of Berns v. Hamilton Southeastern Schools , decided December 22, 2011, Judge Gottschall opined that the student in question had been provided a Free and Appropriate Public Education ( FAPE ), as the student made adequate progress toward his goals during his public school placement.  According to the case, the student in question suffered from a Traumatic Brain Injury ( TBI ) at age 4.  After that time, the school assessed him and placed him in a pre -kindergarten classroom for four weeks.  While in the placement the student met several of hi...

By  Michelle Ball , California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 As a California Education Attorney, I have heard horror stories for over 16 years since I started helping parents and students.  Sadly, the story of five year old Michael Davis, a student of Stockton Unified School District is nothing unusual.  It is again, a wake up call for parents. From what I can gather from internet reports ( KCRA , Newsone ), Michael is a 5 year old student who allegedly gets in fights and is a behavior problem at school.  The first thing here is HE IS 5 YEARS OLD.   There is no legal obligation to put your kids in school until they turn six years old .  A student who can't sit still, who fights, etc. may just be a rambunctious student and not ready for the controlling environment that the public schools have turned out to be.  Also, sometimes five year olds can simply be wild and enthusiastic in a physical or distracting way.  It was not until the pub...