You want the best for your children: the best doctors, the most nutritional foods, the best toys. You certainly want them to get the best possible education. Getting them that education is not always the easiest thing to do, though, especially if they have a disability.
To be sure, the law provides a number of important tools designed to help ensure your child gets a great education, no matter what their individual needs may be. At the federal level, for instance, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) both offer important protections to those with disabilities, particularly in the classroom. Additionally, South Carolina law includes several policies that buttress federal protections, policies that apply particularly in the Greenville-Anderson metro area where you live.
Unfortunately, not everyone follows the law. You know from experience, that people don't always understand or appreciate the needs of your disabled child. You would expect educators to know better, but that's not always the case. There are a fair number of teachers and administrators who simply don't know the law well enough to implement it correctly. And, even worse, there are those faculty out there who actively resist implementing it, either because they have some kind of misguided ideological viewpoint on education or they see it as an imposition.
The fact is, US schools are for everyone, and it's an educator's job to reach all children. They don't get to decide that boys deserve more attention than girls, or that they don't have to put as much effort into helping a Hispanic student. Wherever students come from, whatever their education level when they show up in class, teachers should meet them where they are and move them forward.
If you don't feel like that's happening in your disabled student's classroom, or if you decide your district isn't treating them as fairly as they should, the attorneys at the Lento Law Firm are here for you. They know the law; they know the Greenville-Anderson schools; and they're ready to fight for your child's rights. To find out more, you can always call 888-535-3686, or use the firm's automated online form.
The Greenville-Anderson Metro Area
The Greenville-Anderson region of South Carolina, located in the Northwest corner of the state, is home to around 1 million residents. The region has experienced steady economic growth over the last decade, based in part on the good work being done in the schools. Elementary, middle, and high schools in the area include
- Sterling School
- Monarch Elementary
- Pelham Road Elementary
- Tigerville Elementary
- Oakview Elementary
- Buena Vista Elementary
- August Circle Elementary
- Concord Elementary
- North Pointe Elementary
- Midway Elementary School of Science and Engineering
- Langston Charter Middle
- Riverside Middle
- Northwood Middle
- Greenville Middle
- Beck International Academy
- Rudolph G. Gordon School at Jones Mill
- Southwood Academy for the Arts
- McCant's Middle
- Glenview Middle
- Greenville Senior High
- Wade Hampton High
- Riverside High
- Eastside High
- Mauldin High
- T.L. Hanna High
- Westside High
Every school works just a little differently from others, based on factors like population size, demographics, and the particular temperament of teachers and administrators. The one thing they should all have in common, though, is a commitment to follow the law when it comes to education. That includes laws and public policies specifically related to students with disabilities.
The attorneys at the Lento Law Firm work with students throughout the region, from Tigerville Elementary to Mauldin High. Any time you need help reminding these schools and districts of your child's rights, they're on your side and ready to step in.
Colleges and Universities in the Greenville-Anderson Area
Of course, disability rights don't just apply to K-12 students. The ADA, in particular, was written to protect the rights of all disabled Americans, and its provisions have important implications for college students.
Greenville-Anderson is home to a number of colleges and universities, including
- Anderson University
- Clemson University
- Southern Wesleyan University
- Furman University
- North Greenville University
- Gardner-Webb University
- Wofford College
- Bob Jones University
- University of South Carolina
College students aren't entitled to the same kind of attention K-12 students are. Professors aren't required to create IEPs, for example, or undertake manifest determinations if they face disciplinary problems. College education isn't a right the way primary and secondary education is.
Even so, colleges and universities must follow federal guidelines when it comes to issues like admissions, and faculty must be willing to make modifications to their pedagogy for students with special needs.
If you or your child are a college student with disabilities, keep in mind that you have important rights, too, and that the Lento Law Firm can help make sure you get them.
The Fundamental Right to Education
Fair treatment for students with disabilities isn't just a nice idea, or even a moral imperative. It's the law. So, let's take a moment to examine just what the law has to say, beginning at the federal level.
First, you should know that every child in this country has the right to a free public education. Every child. That right was enshrined in the original Bill of Rights to the Constitution, and it has been expanded in later Constitutional amendments. There is no condition—including a disability—that can stand in the way of this right. That's a crucial foundation on which disability rights in education rest.
The Bill of Rights doesn't mention disability rights in particular, but some important federal legislation passed in the twentieth century does. The ADA, IDEA, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 contain important provisions that require public schools provide disabled students with the materials and support they need to allow them an “equal” education. Equal access to education means things like wheelchair access points in public buildings and elevators if students need them to get to class. Those are the most visible ways in which the law protects students with disabilities, but there are other crucial protections as well. Not every disability, for instance, is visible. The law also provides that students with so-called “hidden” disabilities, like ADD, ADHD, autism, and dyslexia, are entitled to accommodations as well.
The complete list of federally protected disabilities includes
- Autism
- Deaf-blindness
- Deafness
- Developmental delay
- Emotional disturbance
- Hearing impairment
- Intellectual disability
- Multiple disabilities
- Orthopedic impairment
- Other health impairment (OHI)
- Preschool severe delay
- Specific learning disability (SLD)
- Speech or language impairment (SLI)
- Traumatic brain injury (TBI)
- Visual impairment
The Principles Within the Law
Federal law is underpinned by several important principles. These play a large role in how the laws are implemented and enforced.
- Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE): The first of these principles relates to that basic right all children have to an education. The fact is, students don't just deserve an education but a “free and appropriate” education. Again, FAPE doesn't just apply to students with disabilities. In fact, it originated as a concept in the fight for the educational rights of racial minorities. However, over time it has been extended to apply to all protected classes of persons, including women, the LGBTQ community, and students with disabilities.
- Reasonable Accommodations: In order to create “appropriate” educational opportunities for everyone, schools are required to institute “reasonable accommodations.” Some students don't start with the same advantages as others, and the law asks schools to make changes to level the playing field. Again, that includes physical resources, like wheelchair ramps, but it includes access to other kinds of support and materials as well. Depending on the nature of your child's disability, for example, they may be entitled to use certain technology to complete their assignments, or to more time to complete those assignments, or to a tutor to assist them in class. Perhaps the most important aspect of the “accommodations” requirement is that it must rely on the previous principle—FAPE. Specifically, these accommodations must be “free.” As long as they are reasonable, the district must implement them at no cost to you or your family.
- Individual Education Programs (IEP): More recently, the government has put in place an assessment tool designed to ensure that students with disabilities are getting the accommodations and the “appropriate” help they need. The Individual Education Program (IEP) is basically a plan the district develops, in cooperation with you and your child, to define your child's educational goals, to identify how those goals will be met, and, ultimately, to assess their success in reaching those goals.
- Least Restrictive Environment (LRE): Last, but certainly not least, recent decades have seen the development of an education theory known as “Least Restrictive Environment.” The idea is that students learn best when they're faced with the least restrictions. Studies have shown that the least restrictive environment is most often the mainstream classroom. Students who are placed in alternative learning environments tend to struggle academically. Again, this principle applies to all students, but it has special significance for students with disabilities. It means your district can't isolate your child in a “special classroom” or an Alternative School.
All of these principles, and the laws they've grown out of, are meant to work together to provide students with disabilities the resources they need to get a quality education. Of course, the fact that they exist isn't always a guarantee that they will be followed. There are a wide range of reasons why a particular district, school, or teacher might refuse to comply with the law. Most often it's a matter of misinterpreting the law or simply not having been trained to implement it.
Any time you run into trouble, though, the Lento Law Firm can help. The attorneys at the firm will act quickly to protect your child, whether that involves basic negotiation or fighting to get them what they need and deserve.
South Carolina State Law and Department of Education Policy
In South Carolina, the Office of Special Education Services, part of the state's Department of Education, directs policy as it applies to students with disabilities. These policies offer additional protection to students.
For example, districts are required by law to locate all children with disabilities so that the state can respond to their specific needs. In a 2023 memo from the Director of the Office of Special Education Services directs school districts to use “every available resource” to find and identify children with special needs, including the use of websites and social media posts, the incorporation of multi-lingual messaging, and the authorization of referrals from any source.
Such guidelines can be used alongside the law to pressure districts to provide necessary resources to students with disabilities.
Manifest Determinations
Finally, you should know that there are special laws and policies in South Carolina regarding how students with disabilities are disciplined.
Again, these laws and policies have grown out of important educational research done over the last twenty-five years and a number of pedagogical principles that have developed out of that research.
The first of these principles is that so-called “exclusionary discipline” should be avoided when at all possible. Punishments like suspension, expulsion, or placement in an alternative school, have been shown to have serious negative effects on student learning. Not only do these methods inhibit learning by removing students from mainstream classrooms, but they subject those who are being punished to shame and humiliation. That can frequently doom students to a cycle of low and no achievement. Students with disabilities are especially vulnerable to these negative effects because they may already feel different and separated from their classmates.
In addition, the South Carolina Department of Education policy recognizes that discipline can't be one-size-fits-all, especially when it comes to students with disabilities. What a teacher might normally define as a “behavioral problem” could be the natural response of a child with autism, for instance. As a result, districts must undertake a process of careful review before implementing any disciplinary actions on students with disabilities. This process is known as manifest determination.
In simple terms, a group of experts—usually involving members of your child's IEP team—must decide whether your child's “misconduct” is genuine misbehavior or a product of their disability. In addition, they must consider whether teachers or other members of the IEP team could have prevented the misbehavior through proper intervention. If so, it would be unfair to punish your child.
Here, too, the Lento Law Firm has the background and experience to protect your child any time you think your district might be acting unfairly. No child deserves to be punished just for being who they are.
Protect Your Student's Right to an Education
Disability law can be complicated, particularly when it's applied to education. As a result, it's not unusual to come into contact with educators, even seasoned educators, who either don't know the law or don't know how to implement it properly. This doesn't necessarily mean they don't want to help. They may genuinely have you and your child's best interests at heart but still get things wrong.
In those situations, the Lento Law Firm will be a tremendous help. The attorneys at the Lento Law Firm know the law, and they know how to help others better understand the law. They know how to talk with school officials and work out resolutions. They also know how to be tough when they must, and how to fight to ensure your child is treated fairly and given every chance to succeed.
To find out more about what the Lento Law Firm's Education Law Team can do for you and your family, contact us today at 888-535-3686 or use our automated online form.
