lawprofessors

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 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...