[blindkid] FW: FW: [berkeley-disabled] New Bill Would Help Parents Fight School Districts

[Eric Calhoun]

Disability-related.


Original Message: 
From: "Eric Calhoun" <eric at pmpmail.com>
To: blparent at nfbnet.org
Subject: FW: [berkeley-disabled] New Bill Would Help Parents Fight School
Districts
Date: 
9/18/2014 12:16:44 AM

Disability-related.


Original Message: 
From: "Edward Evans edwevans at gmail.com [berkeley-disabled]"
<berkeley-disabled-noreply at yahoogroups.com>
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: [berkeley-disabled] New Bill Would Help Parents Fight School
Districts
Date: 
Wed, 17 Sep 2014 21:12:11 -0700

 New Bill Would Help Parents Fight School Districts

   - by s.e. smith <http://www.care2.com/causes/author/sesmith>
   - September 16, 2014

   A bill that would help parents fight their school districts might seem
weird - after all, wouldn't parents want to work with their school
districts? Some parents are forced to take their districts to the mat,
though, typically over disability services for their children, and the
process can be frustrating, expensive, and, sometimes, unfruitful.

Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), who has proved to be a tireless advocate for
disabled Americans, has just taken this issue up, and his proposal
<http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2014/09/12/senator-burden-idea-disputes/1966

7/>
will make it easier for parents to take schools on when they refuse to
provide sufficient disability services. If the bill passes, it could be
yet
another step towards full inclusion in schools for disabled children.

The bill involves the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
<http://idea.ed.gov/>. This critical law mandates that school districts
provide educational services to disabled children from ages three through
21. Schools are not allowed to discriminate against disabled students, and
must work with students, teachers,and parents to develop an individualized
education plan (IEP) if necessary to address specific accommodations the
student will need to succeed in the classroom.

Sometimes, parents and schools clash over which services children need,
whether it's permission to bring an iPad into the classroom to take notes,
more time on tests, or more extensive disability services. In these cases,
schools and parents attempt to resolve the issue with a moderator, but the
issue sometimes heads to court if the parties cannot resolve it.

The law allows a prevailing party in a case to recoup legal fees, which
can
be substantial. However, it doesn't currently permit people to recover
costs for expert witnesses. This puts parents in a bind, as they want to
get the best services for their children, but they're also aware that
expert special education, medical and disability witnesses can be
extremely
expensive. If they don't line up enough witnesses, the case may fail, but
if they get the witnesses they need, they might not be able to afford
them.
Senator Harkin wants to change that by allowing parents to recover the
costs not just for their attorneys, but also for their witnesses.

He also proposes that the costs of tests, evaluations and other tools
necessary to build a case be covered as well. This would allow parents and
children to focus on receiving a comprehensive evaluation, building a
supportive witness list, and hiring excellent legal counsel, which will
increase the chance of winning in court if the case has merits. In turn,
this supports the rights of disabled children to go to school and get the
accommodations they need to do well.

This proposal reflects the fact that many parents find it hard to bring
IDEA cases to court, which leaves their children deprived of a full access
to an education. In other cases, school districts simply wait such cases
out, or bring a large complement of witnesses for their side, hoping to
outspend parents. This tactic can be effective for wealthier districts,
which can afford the up-front costs of waiting until parents are no longer
able to keep up with the case. That could all change if this proposal
becomes law, and that's a good thing for disabled children seeking equal
access to education.

Lest you think the proposal puts schools over the barrel, he's also
pushing
for full funding of IDEA
<http://www.help.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/?id=49395c2f-ea55-4133-85

56-827b2e521a62&groups=Chair>
to increase the availability of funds to school districts struggling with
accommodations requests. The goal is to make it easier for schools to meet
the needs of disabled students, thereby reducing the number of IDEA
disputes and to help parents in court when those disputes need to happen
so
that their children get justice.