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 Our experienced attorneys
provide advocacy and legal representation to children and
parents in the area of education law, specifically in the
areas of special education, civil rights violations and
student discipline.
We provide representation in all areas of
disabilities:
Autism/Autistic Like Characteristics
Specific
Learning Disabilities
Emotional Disturbance
Mental
Retardation
Developmental Disabilities
Speech or
Language Impairment
Orthopedic Impairment
Hearing
Impairment/Deafness
Visual
Impairments/Blindness
Deaf-Blindness
Traumatic Brain
Injury
Multiple Disabilities
Other Health Impairments -
ADHD/ADD
IDEA: The Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act provides that children, ages
3-21, with exceptional needs have a right to participate in
free appropriate public education (FAPE) and access needed
special educational instruction and services to met their
unique needs. Local Educational Agencies in California are
required to identify, assess, and provide appropriate special
education and related services to eligible students in order
to benefit from education.
Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973: This Act is an
anti-discrimination law that protects the rights of persons
with handicaps in programs and activities that receive Federal
financial assistance. Section 504 protects the rights not only
of individuals with visible disabilities but also those with
disabilities that may not be apparent.
Section 504 provides that: "No otherwise qualified individual with
handicaps in the United States . . . shall, solely by reason
of her or his handicap, be excluded from the participation
in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to
discrimination under any program or activity receiving
Federal financial
assistance...."
In the area of education, a local educational
agency that operates a public elementary or secondary
education program has responsibilities to persons with
disabilities. The responsibilities include:
- Locate and identify all unserved children with
disabilites;
- Provide a "free appropriate public education"
(FAPE) to each student with disabilities, regardless of the
nature or severity of the disability, including providing
regular or special education and related aids and services
designed to meet the individual educational needs of the
student with a disability as adequately as the needs of
non-disabled students are met;
- Ensure that each student with disabilities is
educated with non-disabled students to the maximum extent
appropriate to the needs of the student with
disabilities;
- Establish and provide nondiscriminatory
evaluation and placement procedures to avoid the
inappropriate educational programs and plans that may
result from the misclassification or misplacement of
students;
- Establish and ensure procedural safeguards to
enable parents/guardians to participate meaningfully in
decisions regarding the evaluation and placement of their
children; and
- Afford children with disabilities an equal
opportunity to participate in nonacademic and
extracurricular services a nd activities.
Student Discipline:
School districts in California must adhere to specific due
process and procedural rights of
students’ when imposing discipline against students. Students
must be provided due process protections prior to being
expelled from school.
Civil Rights Violations: Students’ freedom and
civil rights are not left at the school house gate. Children
should be allowed to access a public education without
abrogating their freedoms.
Attorneys and staff are available to:
- Discuss your child’s educational program, IEP,
or 504 plan.
- Attend IEP team meetings or Section 504
meetings.
- Provide legal assistance with filing State compliance complaints, Due Process
Mediation/Hearings, or complaints with the Office for Civil Rights.
- Provide legal representation during Mediations,
Due Process Hearings, or Section 504 hearings.
- Initiate legal action
Fees are determined on a case-by-case basis.
Contact us for a consultation.
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