What's Going On?

New Service Offered, IEP Checkups:
In the attempt to make my services available to those who can not afford to have me attend IEP meetings, I am starting a new service. I have reviewed many IEP’s in the 20 years that I have practiced special education law. On a regular basis, I see instances where IEP’s do not meet the requirements of the law. Students with good IEP’s typically make better progress, as their needs ate more adequately met. For a flat fee of $500, I will review your child’s IEP, the last IEP, progress reports, eligibility reports, and evaluations. I’ll inform you of any deficits, and, if you desire, I’ll write a cordial letter to your School District requesting that the inadequacies be corrected.

A Visit to the United States Supreme Court:
In April of 2009 I had the opportunity to visit the Supreme Court in a case I have had since 2003. While I did not argue the case as I had in the earlier proceedings, I assisted David Salmons prepare for his argument. David Salmons had previously argued before the Supreme Court in 13 cases. He did a stellar job. Arguably, I had the best seat in the house as I sat at counsel table without the pressure of having to perform. But, best of all, my clients prevailed!

This case began with a request for hearing asserting that the District failed to find a student with ADHD eligible for special education services. Prior to requesting hearing, the family had made repeated requests for assistance. In 2001 the District found the student was not a student with a disability, however, it did not evaluate in all areas of disability. After numerous unsuccessful requests for assistance from the District, the family sought payment for a residential program until the District offered a free and appropriate public education.

After the hearing request, the District evaluated the student for the second time and again found him not eligible. The Administrative Law Judge ruled in favor of the family and found that the District was unfamiliar with the legal eligibility standards; were given inaccurate information about those standards; had stereotypical ideas of hyperactivity and were unaware of the recent reclassification of various forms of attention deficit as subtypes of ADHD; and did not consider relevant the effort required outside of school to enable the student to pass enough classes to move from grade to grade on schedule. The ALJ awarded reimbursement for the private placement until the District offered a free and appropriate public education.

The District appealed, arguing that the IDEA barred reimbursement because the student had never received special education. The district court agreed with the District and reversed the ALJ’s ruling. The family appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals which reversed the district court’s ruling. The District then appealed to the United States Supreme Court which held that the district’s interpretation of the IDEA would “produce a rule bordering on the irrational” by providing a remedy when a school offers a child inadequate special-education services but leaving parents without a remedy when a school district unreasonably denies access to such services altogether.

The case was sent back to the district court to decide how much, if any, reimbursement should be granted based on the specific equitable factors in the case. In December of 2009 the court ruled that the placement was not made for educational reasons and denied all reimbursement. This case is being appealed again to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Good Results in the Albany residential case:
The latest of my residential cases, in this case I represented a student with autism who had been placed in a residential program years ago due to highly aggressive behaviors. The District proposed bringing the student back but was unwilling to provide a group home. Due to the need for a consistent behavioral plan across both the school and home setting, the ALJ held that the District was not offering a free and appropriate public education with its proposed program. The District appealed. The federal district court judge affirmed the ALJ’s order. Pressure from this case resulted in DD Services planning a group home for the student and the District continues to fund the residential placement until a group home is ready.

Exciting New Endeavors:
Feeling the need to do something new, but, still loving what it is I currently do, I began looking at services I could provide which would allow me to continue my law practice yet allow me to work directly with students and young adults. In December of 2008, I completed life coach training at The Centre [http://www.thecentreusa.com]. It was an exciting process which introduced me to the coaching process and the underlying skills and strategies coaches need to make a positive difference in people’s lives.

Following that, in 2009, I completed ADHD coach training with Jodi Sleeper-Triplett [http://www.jstcoach.com]. Building upon the skills from my general life coaching training as well as my 20 years of experience working with families with children and youth with ADHD, this course provided me with the more specialized skills and strategies to coach persons with ADHD as well as others with executive function challenges.

My plan is to open my coaching practice in September of 2010 and balance that with a streamlined legal practice. Between now and then I have plenty of work to do in addition to my legal practice; finish the remodeling of my office; get a coaching website up and running; and create my office systems to support the coaching work I will be doing.

As the sun streams into my office this morning, I think of lyrics from a song: “my future’s so great I gotta wear shades!” Life is good.