Special Education Law

Individuals with Disabilities Improvement Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, § 504 of The Rehabilitation Act.

Special Education Law

As a special education lawyer, I help parents and children with special needs secure the Free Appropriate Public Education ("FAPE") to which they are entitled under the law. I bring dozens of special education administrative due process hearings each year to compel public school boards to provide effective educational programs for children with disabilities. I work with the parents to determine the appropriate placement and program for the student's individual needs and help them secure a program and placement. I often help parents achieve inclusion for their child through placement in a properly supported regular classroom. In still other circumstances, I help parents secure accommodations, curriculum modifications and behavior plans through specialized private placements.

Transitional and Residential Supports

I work with parents and their adolescent or adult children with disabilities to secure transitional services and residential supports. These services are often the difference between a life of independence and a life of dependence. I guide parents through the maze of state and federal regulations and, where necessary, bring legal actions to force public schools and/or adult service agencies to provide the funding and/or the services that are needed.

Personal Injury

I am often asked to represent children or adults with disabilities who have been injured through the negligence or abusive conduct of others. Sometimes those cases are filed against employees of public schools. On other occasions, lawsuits have been filed against employees of state or local governmental agencies. Often, the goal of such lawsuits is to secure money damages where a school district violates the constitutional or civil rights of an individual with disabilities, or turns a blind eye to repeated bullying, which causes severe physical or emotional injury.