Special Education

You are currently browsing the archive for the Special Education category.

Food Allergies and Special Dietary Needs in School

June 28, 2010 in Special Education, Student Rights | No comments

When a student has food allergies or special dietary needs, schools may be legally obligated to provide accommodations. When a student has special dietary needs, she may qualify for a 504 plan. Likewise, a student who has a life threatening allergy to certain food ingredients may also qualify for a 504 plan. The “504″ refers to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability.

To qualify for a 504 plan, a physician must first sign a statement (1) identifying the student’s disability or health need, (2) an explanation why the student has a dietary need or allergy, (3) an explanation how the disability or health need constitutes a major life activity, and (4) an explanation what the school can do to address the matter. The next step will be to share this information with school personnel and schedule a meeting to develop a 504 plan.

What types of 504 accommodations might be available to students who have special dietary needs or food allergies? Consider these examples:

  • Diabetes
    • Schools may be obligated to hire a certified school nurse or RN in the building when there are diabetic students in schools.
    • School staff may be required to ensure that a student with diabetes eat snacks throughout the day.
    • School staff may be required to know where insulin and hypoglycemia supplies are stored.
    • School staff may be required to monitor glucose levels.
  • Cystic Fibrosis
    • Students with cystic fibrosis may require additional calories, and the school may be required to provide either larger food portions or a high calorie diet.
  • Allergies
    • A student is allergic to a specific food ingredient. The school nutrition staff may be required to make food substitution or modifications.
    • The school nurse may be required to be trained to give epinephrine to alleviate allergic reactions.
  • Feeding difficulties
    • A student cannot chew solids and must consume liquid diets. The school nutrition staff may be required to provide a liquid diet.
    • School staff may be required to hire a qualified person to assist a student who feeds through a tube.
    • School staff may be required to assist a student who is unable to feed herself.

The United States Department of Agriculture has an excellent primer titled “Accommodating Children with Special Dietary Needs in the School Nutrition Programs.” The entire 59 page manual is available here. (If you want even more information beyond the USDA’s primer, check out this 200 page course manual.) The USDA also has published other resources here.

Guidance to developing a 504 plan for food allergies may be found here. A sample 504 plan for students with diabetes may be found here and there. The American Celiac Disease Alliance has a model 504 plan for students with celiac disease.

IEPs for HOH/Deaf Kindergarteners

May 31, 2010 in Special Education | No comments

One of several email listservs that I belong to discuss how best to assist children who are hard of hearing or deaf. A listserv member recently asked a question about developing an Individualized Educational Plan (“IEP”) for hard of hearing and deaf children entering kindergarten. A discussion ensued regarding appropriate services and IEP goals that might be incorporated in the IEP.

Since I was born profoundly hearing impaired and am a practicing special education attorney, I offered some general thoughts based on my own personal and professional experience. I would like to share some of these thoughts in this blog post.

Click here to continue reading this article.

Preparing For Your First Meeting With A Special Education Attorney

May 24, 2010 in Law Practice, Special Education | No comments

When parents of children with special needs contact me for an initial consultation, I always ask them to bring copies of every document that pertains to their special needs children. No matter how “thick” the file might be, I tell parents that I want to see it. During the initial consultation, I will scan through the documents to get some idea of what I am dealing with and what the potential issues may be.

Some parents, however, do not seem to realize how important it is to share the entire file with their special education attorney at the initial consultation.

In the mind of every special education attorney, every single document is important, no matter how old it might be and no matter how irrelevant a particular document may appear. So, when a special education attorney asks, “Please bring every document that you have in your file,” they really do mean that. Even if you think that a document is irrelevant or “too old,” show it to your attorney anyway. Let your attorney make the decision whether it is relevant or not. You will not waste the attorney’s time by sharing too many documents.

By and large, many of these IEPs, evaluation reports, waiver forms, and correspondences between you and the school are very, very important. In fact, they are among the most important pieces of evidence. Without having had the opportunity to carefully review these documents, it is impossible for any special education attorney to make an educated guess what can be done from here on in.

Click here to continue reading this article.

Services at Public Expense for Students with Disabilities in Private Schools

April 19, 2010 in Special Education | No comments

There are two basic scenarios why a parent would place her disabled child in a private school:

  1. the parent has a disagreement with the School District and unilaterally places the child in a private school, or
  2. the parent has no disagreement with the School District and unilaterally places the child in a private school.

Under Scenario #1, the parent believes that her child is not being provided a free and appropriate education (“FAPE”) at a public school, which is the reason why the parent is unilaterally placing her child in a private school.

Under Scenario #2, the parent simply believes that the private school will provide a better (or the “best”) education for her child.

I want to focus on one aspect of special education law when Scenario #2 occurs.

Click here to continue reading this article

Twice Exceptional Students: A Primer

March 29, 2010 in Special Education | No comments

The first time I heard of the term “twice exceptional” was several years ago; and at the time, I had no idea what it meant. I scratched my head, and tried to think what it could possibly mean before researching the topic. It just sounded like a strange way to describe a person: “This person is twice exceptional.” “I am twice exceptional.” “This student needs special services because she is twice exceptional.”

The term “twice exceptional” (sometimes denoted by the symbol ‘2e’) refers to individuals who have learning disabilities but are gifted in one or more fields, such as music, art, science, or mathematics. There is no universal definition of the term “gifted,” but many agree that it can mean extremely talented in a particular area or having an unusually high IQ.

“Twice exceptional” is not used to refer to those who may be gifted and physically challenged. Rather, “twice exceptional” is reserved for those who are gifted and exhibit some type of learning, behavioral, social, and emotional deficit. For example, individuals who excel in mathematics and have been diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, central auditory processing disorder, dyslexia, schizophrenia, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder may be classified as “twice exceptional.” Thus, “twice exceptional” students are students who need assistance with improving deficits while improving their strengths.

Click here to continue reading this article

Carter’s Service Dog Case

March 8, 2010 in Service Animals, Special Education | No comments

In a previous blog article (“Are IEPs Necessary for Service Animals?“), I argued that a child with a disability does not need an Individualized Educational Plan (“IEP”) in order to bring a service dog to school. At the time I wrote and published that article, there was an Illinois state case pending which involved a School District that refused to allow Carter, a five year child with autism, to bring his service dog to school (Kalbfleisch v. Columbia Community Unit School District Unit No. 4).

In that same blog article, I mentioned that the Columbia School District had argued that Carter could not bring his service dog to school because it was not in his IEP. I wondered how a judge would respond to that argument.

Click here to continue reading this article

College Bound Students with Intellectual Disabilities

March 1, 2010 in Special Education | No comments

Many people are surprised when they hear that individuals with intellectual disabilities can attend college. Yes, college is possible for students with intellectual disabilities. In 2006, the New York Times ran a story about Katie Apostolides, a young lady with Down’s Syndrome who was attending a liberal arts school in Massachusetts. In 2009, Katie had graduated with an Associates Degree from a college in Pennsylvania. Katie’s story is remarkable, and she is part of a larger group of individuals with intellectual disabilities who have benefited from the college experience. According to UCLA Professor Olivia Raynor (see video below), there are over 10,000 students with intellectual disabilities attending college across the country.

Along with other special education attorneys who blog, I have previously discussed the importance of IEP transition planning (“The Day After Graduation“). I have written that it is never too early to think about what happens to your child the day after graduation. By the time 9th, 10th, or 11th grade rolls around, some students with disabilities, including those with intellectual disabilities, will start thinking seriously about going to college.

It is important individuals with intellectual disabilities who plan to go to college have a basic understanding of disability rights laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitiation Act of 1973.

In addition, it is important to have some familiarity with the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA). Many parents and students with disabilities have not heard of this law. At the time of this writing, even Wikipedia did not have an entry for HEOA (though it does have an entry for the Higher Education Act of 1965). This is not surprising since the HEOA is a fairly recent statute that President George W. Bush signed into law on August 14, 2008.

Click here to continue reading this article

Guest Blogger at Connecticut Special Education Lawyer Blog

February 25, 2010 in Special Education | No comments

This month, I am a guest blogger at Jennifer Laviano’s Connecticut Special Education Lawyer Blog. This is an outstanding honor. I’ve long admired Jennifer’s blog and was very happy when she and I discussed the possibility of my writing an article for her blog.

I’m glad that Jennifer found my article, “The Day After Graduation,” worthy of publication on her blog. This is an article that encourages parents who have children with disabilities to think about what will happen to their children after they graduate from school. I feel that this is an important article because I have, unfortunately, seen parents who realize too late that their children aren’t ready for graduation–either the annual IEP goals were not met, or the transition planning were not developed properly.

After reading “The Day After Graduation,” be sure to check out the many, many special education articles posted on Jennifer’s blog.

Thank you again, Jennifer!

Whither Aspergers?

February 17, 2010 in Special Education, Uncategorized | No comments

The news that Asperger’s Syndrome may be removed from the next edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (better known as “DSM”) is spreading like wildfire. There is already intense debate. Bloggers are writing about it too:

Although the final edition of the proposed DSM-V will not be published until 2013, some people find the move to “merge” Asperger’s with autism disturbing.

Autism spectrum is a neurological disorder. It affects learning, language, social development, and behavior. But not all people with autism are the same. People with Asperger’s are regarded as high functioning individuals who are extremely intelligent, yet their social interactions are poor and their behavior may be awkward. In contrast, some people with autism may have extremely low IQs, as well as poor social and behavioral developments. The differences between a diagnosis of ‘Aspergers’ and ‘autism’ can be significant.

What are the reasons that the American Psychiatric Association (APA) wants to eliminate ‘Aspergers’? According to this report, one reason is because ‘Aspergers’ has become “too vague.”  I found this rationale very interesting since the next edition of the DSM eliminates “substance abuse” and will be replaced by more specific diagnoses, such as “cannabis-use disorder” and “alcohol-use disorder.” Why, then, does the DSM propose to eliminate Asperger’s and opt for generalization such as “low functioning autism” and “high functioning autism”?

Click here to continue reading this article

Special Education Services in Charter Schools

February 1, 2010 in Disability Discrimination, Special Education | No comments

Education Week recently published a very interesting article titled Charters: Students With Disabilities Need Not Apply? Although charter schools have existed since the early 1990s, many people do not understand what it is and how it works. The almost always reliable Wikipedia provides a nice overview of charter schools; and in the very first sentence, we learn that:

Charter schools are elementary or secondary schools in the United States that receive public money but have been freed from some of the rules, regulations, and statutes that apply to other public schools in exchange for some type of accountability for producing certain results . . .

In Charters: Students With Disabilities Need Not Apply?, Thomas Hehir reminds us that charter schools are not exempt from special education law. Indeed charter schools must comply with the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act, Section 504, Americans with Disabilities Act, as well as applicable state anti-discrimination laws. Randy Chapman, the Director of The Legal Center for People with Disabilities and Older People in Colorado, provides a concise overview of the laws that charter schools must comply with in The IDEA and Charter Schools. For more specific examples in Question and Answer Format, see the Pennsylvania Education Law Center’s pamphlet, Students With Disabilities Attending Public Charter Schools.

Yet, according to studies and anecdotal evidence that Mr. Hehir cites, charter schools apparently serve few students with disabilities and may be discouraging students with disabilities from enrolling.

Click here to continue reading this article

« Older entries

Copyright © 2009 Matthew Stoloff All Rights Reserved