If your special needs child attends public school anywhere in the Augusta, Georgia area – which includes nearby portions of South Carolina – you are probably already familiar with the range of services that their school offers to special needs children. If your child has an Individualized Education Plan (IEP), you likely participated as a member of the team that created it. And, as any parent does, you try to stay on top of what your child is doing at school and how they are progressing.
In most cases, the education of special needs children proceeds relatively smoothly, as smoothly as any child’s education does. Of course, there are day-to-day challenges, but typically those can be addressed and corrected quickly. But when that doesn’t happen – when a problem develops that appears to be the school’s fault, and the school fails to correct it within a reasonable time period – you may need help. That is where the LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team comes in. Call us at 888.535.3686 or fill out our online contact form, and we will schedule a confidential consultation with one of our experienced education law attorneys. Tell us about your child’s issue, and let us explain how we can help.
Special Education in the Augusta Area
The special education programs at public schools in the Augusta area are each administered by the school district that is in charge of that particular school. So, for example, public schools in Augusta report to the Richmond County School System’s Department of Special Education. Special education programs at public schools in Aiken, South Carolina, are administered by the Aiken County Public Schools. Similarly, special education programs in schools located in Burke and McDuffie counties are administered by the school districts for those two Georgia counties, and the Edgefield County School District administers special education programs in schools located in Edgefield County, South Carolina.
Each of these districts has one or more webpages that provide some information about the special education services that the district provides. Richmond County’s page, for example, notes that its Department of Special Education is “dedicated to providing support, resources, and guidance for educators, parents, and students” involved in special education. The page offers some information for parents who may have questions or who want to know more about the department’s services and procedures.
The Aiken County Public Schools Department of Special Programs webpage, on the other hand, provides relatively little information about the special education programs it administers, beyond some general statements such as that a “full continuum of services is available,” and that the department “supports schools in ensuring students with disabilities appropriately access the grade-level standards and provides specialized instruction as determined necessary” by the student’s IEP.
The point here is that, depending on where your special needs child is attending school, you may be able to find varying levels of information about their school’s special education programs on your own. That may still leave you with unanswered questions, and when problems arise, you may not know the best or fastest way to resolve them. That is where the LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team can help. Our attorneys know the laws, regulations, rules, and procedures that apply to special education programs in the Augusta area – both in Georgia and South Carolina. We can help answer your questions and decide how best to proceed when problems arise with your child’s education.
Your Child’s Rights as a Special Needs Student
School districts across the Augusta area understand that when a child has been evaluated and determined to have certain disabilities, the child is generally entitled to receive an Individualized Education Plan that sets forth in writing exactly how the school will address those needs, and what the goals are for that child for the next year. Parents have a right to be on the team, together with school educators and special needs professionals, who create the IEP. In some cases, the student may also be part of the team. The IEP must be, as it says, individualized. There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to IEPs, and if you believe your child’s IEP does not properly address their education or behavioral needs, you do not have to sit by and simply accept it.
This is another area where the LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team can help. We can review your questions about your child’s IEP with you, and work with you and the school to make appropriate changes to the IEP where those are called for by the particular facts of your child’s case. And if there are other issues – for example, your child is being isolated during school and is spending too little time with the rest of the student population – we can help address that as well. Students are entitled to be educated in the “least restrictive manner” possible, meaning as part of the general student population. When that doesn’t happen and there is no good reason to support it, our education law attorneys can help.
Conflicts in the Special Education Process
Most issues that arise on a day-to-day basis with respect to a child’s special education needs and progress can be resolved fairly quickly and easily – typically by speaking with the teacher or administrator responsible for the matter. The goal should be to fix problems as soon as possible, so that your child’s educational and social progress doesn’t suffer.
Sometimes, however, problems become chronic. No matter who you talk to, no matter what you do, nothing seems to change. When that happens, the LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team can help. When we discuss issues with school officials, we can help them understand what their legal obligations are to your child. We can also use our experience with these kinds of matters to help them solve the problems in a way that benefits your child – and that follows the law. Of course, when discussion and negotiation don’t work, our attorneys are ready to ask a judge to step in and order the school to take the necessary steps to help your child receive the education they are entitled to under the law.
The LLF National Law Firm Can Help
If your child is a special needs student attending school anywhere in the Augusta area – whether it’s in Augusta itself, or in nearby Aiken, Grovetown, North Augusta, Evans, Edgefield, or another nearby town – the LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team is here to help them get the education they are entitled to under federal and state law. Our experienced education law attorneys understand the laws, regulations, rules, policies, and procedures that apply to special education in both Georgia and South Carolina, as well as the rest of the country. We are ready to use our experience to help you and your child, to try to resolve the issue as quickly as possible, so you both can focus on your child’s learning and development.
Call us today at 888.535.3686, or fill out our online contact form. We will schedule a confidential consultation to discuss your child’s situation – and to explain how we can help.