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“?!?*# Buses”

Much as you can count on Autumn in New York City to bring colorful leaves and earlier and earlier Halloween decorations in stores (wait, is that a Santa display I see?!), you can also count on busing issues. But this year busing issues are, as the kids like to say, “extra.” The Department of Education […]

October 17, 2018 by

Rights of Children of Undocumented Parents

I’m a Special Education Attorney always looking for ideas for my Blog. I have been speaking with Immigration Law Attorneys about what educational issues would be most relevant to their clients. Given the current political climate, I thought it would be helpful to explore the rights of children of undocumented parents from an educational perspective. […]

May 23, 2017 by
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New Guidance for Restraint and Seclusion

On December 28, 2016, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) provided school districts with guidance on how the use of restraint and seclusion may result in discrimination against students with disabilities, thereby violating Section 504 of the Rehabilitation act of 1973 (Section 504) and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities […]

December 29, 2016 by

Guidance on Independent Educational Evaluations

In an October 22, 2016 Policy letter (October 22, 2016 to Jennifer Carroll), the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (“OSERS”) addressed Independent Educational Evaluations (“IEE”) and whether, in certain circumstances, a school district must be given an opportunity to conduct an evaluation before a parent has the right to […]

December 1, 2016 by
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Specific Learning Disability and the Twice Exceptional Child

On April 17, 2015 the United States Department of Education’s “Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services” (“OSERS”) sent a Memo to State Directors of Special Education in which they reaffirmed their “Letter to Delisle: Children with disabilities with high cognition” of December 20, 2013. As is evident by its title, that letter addressed the […]

November 14, 2016 by

This Safety Net may have some holes in it

Back in June I wrote about new graduation requirements for New York State students with disabilities. The new requirements were to act as a “safety net” to allow more students with disabilities to graduate with a diploma. I also said that in a future post I would “discuss the implications of this new regulation and […]

October 19, 2016 by

Good News for NYC Special Education Students

There’s some good news tucked away in New York City’s Department of Education’s Report on the Fiscal 2017 Executive Budget. The projected Budget would be $1.2 billion more than the DOE’s 2016 Adopted Budget. Much of the increase reflects an “increased need for special education programs.” Among programs receiving additional funding include those dealing with […]

October 13, 2016 by

Safety Transfers in New York State Schools

Bullying and violence in our schools is finally getting the attention it deserves. Victims of bullying and violence in schools have options. One option may be to transfer to a different school. In New York State, pursuant to No Child Left Behind, when a student is the victim of a violent offense while in or […]

October 6, 2016 by

Has your child been evaluated lately?

I recently represented a child at an Impartial Hearing who had never had a formal evaluation conducted by his School District. This child had been receiving Special Education Services since Kindergarten and was now in 6th Grade. By law, all children must receive an initial evaluation before they are classified as needing Special Education Services. […]

September 24, 2016 by