lawprofessors

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 Have you filed a complaint alleging discrimination or improper retaliation with the United States Department of Education (USDOE) and their Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and received a negative ruling?  Did they say the clear wrongful acts (to you) were not really bad or not really discriminatory?  If so, you may have an appeal right  if you act fast. Per the  USDOE website , within 60 days of the date of the letter issued by OCR, an appeal must be filed with the "Director of the Enforcement Office (Office Director)."   The bases for appeal listed are: AT LEAST ONE OF THE FOLLOWING 1)  Factual information was incomplete, and/or 2)  Factual analysis was not correct, and/or 3)  Wrong legal standard was applied  AND a)  The outcome would be changed due to #1-3 above. The appeal must be filed timely, and if it isn't, the parent/student/claimant, must show a good reason t...

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 California is a diverse state, with many different cultures, nationalities and languages being spoken.  Residents' children, regardless of language spoken by students or their parents, have the right to attend California public schools.  Still, while non-English speaking students may attend classes (e.g. Spanish/English transition classes) which help them transition to English, their parents may remain non-English speakers.  How do they stay informed about their child's school progress, development, and any issues which might arise? Education Code  � 48985  mandates that documents be translated for non-English speaking parents if pupils speak a language other than English and total more than 15% of a school's population: "(a) If 15 percent or more of the pupils enrolled in a public school that provides instruction in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, speak a single ...

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 Is your son or daughter transgender , identifying as the opposite sex?  Do they play sports?  Which team do they play on: the teams of their physical gender (for example, female for female teams or male for male teams) or consistent with their gender identity?  Per the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) , the governing body for California high school sports, they might be able to pick either team. Per the 2015-2016 CIF Bylaws, " Guidelines for Gender Identity Participation ," hereinafter "Guidelines" [scroll down to the "Policies" section in the link]: "All students should have the opportunity to participate in CIF activities in a manner that is consistent with their gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on a student's records.  The student and/or the student's school may seek review of the student's eligibility for participation in interscholasti...

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 Are you frustrated that your school's Principal or Vice Principal are not listening nor acting adequately on your school complaints?  Are you being given a blank stare when you sit in the office telling your tale?  Is your child's problem not being resolved?  When problems are not resolved at the school site, don't forget the school district. I have sat and consoled many parents who have complained to their child's principal or other school staff about issues, such as continual bullying, targeting by a teacher, a dangerous situation on campus, issues with a student group, etc. to no avail.  The parents complain of getting nowhere, being treated like idiots or bothersome pests, and know their issues are not being taken seriously.  They are at a loss. Often these parents do not know nor think to involve their school district.  I think some parents believe that their school district may re...

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 I get frequent calls from parents with children on 504 Plans (disability accommodations plans) which seem symbolic due to lack of implementation at school.  Failing to follow the 504 Plan is completely and totally improper and schools can get in big trouble for ignoring 504s. Some issues I see with 504 Plans are: 1)  Poorly written (e.g. not adequate number or specific enough accommodations), or 2)  Lack of enforcement, or 3)  No 504 Plan. Presuming there IS a 504 in place with some form of accommodations included, parents should not be faced with the issue of compliance with the 504 by school personnel.  It should be written and done, right?  Unfortunately, 504 implementation issues are common.  For example, the 504 states that the student is to be seated in the front of the classroom, and the teacher refuses.  Or, the student is to be given classroom notes, but these never a...

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 Once a student transitions from high school to college, their world changes.  If they were a special education student with an IEP (Individualized Education Program) in their high school, they will not be anymore.  They may try to muddle through college without supports, and eventually may fail or drop out if they do not obtain some form of reasonable accommodations for their disabilities in college. But, what steps do students need to take to obtain disability accommodations at their college? STEP ONE:  The first thing which a student who suffers from a disabling condition must do is NOTIFY the college they have a disability, preferably in writing.  In the college catalog or handbook, there is likely listed a disabled student services or other office to contact, which is in charge of setting up reasonable accommodations for disabled students.  So, step number one is to contact that offic...

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 According to the " Institute for Jewish and Community Research " (IJCR) the University of California has gotten hit with a lawsuit and an investigation by the United States Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, at two different campuses, for anti-semitic issues on campus. A federal lawsuit was filed against the University of California Berkeley (UCB) earlier this month (March 2011) based on incidents involving alleged targeting of students of Jewish ancestry.  In the complaint are outlined an injury to the claimant (a Jewish student) who was struck by a shopping cart while holding a sign up on campus which read "Israel Wants Peace" during a protest.  There is also an alleged pattern of activities listed as supportive of the claim of anti-semitism at UCB.  The basis for the complaint are alleged denial of the students right to free exercise of religion, deliberate indifference to dis...

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 Hello! The blogging world is a new one for me.  I am an attorney in Sacramento, California practicing education law on behalf of students since 1995 .  I handle a whole gamut of issues, including student discipline matters, expulsions, suspensions and suspension appeals, even protesting inappropriate behavior contracts and other punishments.  I also delve into special education, attend IEP (Individualized Education Program) meetings, 504 meetings, and file due process as needed.  Help usually begins with a review of documents, and correspondence to the school, school district or college involved.  Oftentimes I can resolve matters via phone and email without leaving my office.  Sometimes we have to go further as a personal appearance is required   (e.g. at an expulsion hearing or board of education meeting) or necessary to move things along.  My clients also help determine whic...