If your child is attending school at any level in the Chicagoland area, you are already very aware that things that happen at school don't necessarily stay at school. If your child's rights are being ignored by their school, or they are being bullied, or are facing learning challenges that the school won't adequately address, that can affect their mental health both at home and at school.
When that happens, it may be time to take steps to correct the issues that your child is facing at school. The Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team is here to help with that. Our experienced education law attorneys can advise you of your and your child's rights; can meet with school officials to discuss the problems and how to remedy them; and when necessary take matters to court to secure an order directing the school to take the appropriate steps to give your child the education and the learning environment that they are entitled to. Call us today at 888.535.3686 or fill out our online contact form to schedule a confidential consultation to discuss your child's situation and learn how we can help.
Student Issues in Schools in Chicagoland
With dozens, if not hundreds, of laws, regulations, rules, policies, and procedures that school administrators must understand and follow in the course of operating a school and educating students, it is understandable that they sometimes make mistakes. But when those mistakes affect your child's education or sense of well-being, the question of whether the mistake was intentional or not becomes irrelevant. Your focus is on your child's best interests and on getting the school to correct the problem so that your child is able to get the education the law says they should have.
When issues arise, you might turn to the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) for help. While the ISBE website offers a lot of information on many different topics, the fact that there is so much information available may leave you wondering whether you have the answer you need to help you discuss your child's problem with their school.
The same goes for your child's school district. Districts across Chicagoland have their own websites that include information about school policies and procedures for resolving issues that arise during the course of your child's schooling. But whether your child attends Chicago public schools or a school in a suburban school district such as Evanston-Skokie, Winnetka, Arlington Heights, Barrington, Glenview, or elsewhere, district and school websites may also not be enough.
This goes for colleges and universities as well. There are dozens of these in Chicagoland, including some of the country's best schools. The University of Chicago, Northwestern University, the University of Illinois–Chicago, DePaul University, Loyola University–Chicago, and Northern Illinois University in DeKalb are just some of the many schools where students in the Chicagoland area can study. But when your child is in college and encounters problems created by the school that the school fails to correct, it doesn't matter how prestigious the school might be – you want the problem fixed so that your child can focus on their education and their future.
This is where the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team can help. We can level the playing field when it comes to discussing your child's school-related concerns with school administrators. Our education law attorneys have a deep understanding of all of the requirements that schools face when it comes to educating their students. When we are involved in discussions with school officials, we can make sure they understand what their obligations are and can suggest ways that the schools can correct the problems they have created and that are affecting your child's education and, often, their sense of well-being.
The education law attorneys from the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team are here to help you resolve almost any issue that your child may face at school. Here are some of the ones we regularly help parents and students in Chicagoland resolve.
Special Education and Disability Rights
The ISBE understands that it has an obligation to provide a range of special education services to children who have been found to have disabilities that affect their ability to learn. The obligation comes from both federal law and the Illinois state administrative code.
Federal laws that typically apply to special education include the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA); Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Americans With Disabilities Act. Depending on the situation, one or more of these may apply to your child if your child has special educational needs.
The fact that there are requirements in place that schools are expected to follow is one thing. Whether school officials follow them, or do so properly, is another question. Problems can arise beginning with having your child evaluated to determine if they have special educational needs that the school is required to help with. Or, once evaluated, the school may not provide the services that your child needs or is entitled to receive. The Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team can review your child's situation with you and give you both the benefit of the years of experience that our education law attorneys have in this area. Our goal in these cases is to help you get your child the educational benefits from their school that your child is entitled to under the law.
In most cases, resolving problems like this involves talking with school officials about the issues and helping them understand the steps that they are required to take. In other cases, we have to bring the situation to the attention of a judge and ask the judge to order the school to take the appropriate steps. At the Lento Law Firm, our Student Defense Team is ready in either case. While it is almost always better to work things out without going to court, we are ready to do so if that's what is necessary to help your child.
Individualized Education Programs and 504 Plans
In many cases, students who are evaluated and found to have special educational needs are entitled to an Individualized Education Program, or IEP. As its name suggests, the IEP is designed for each child individually. It is meant to focus on your child's specific educational needs and provide a road map for teachers and administrators to use when addressing those needs during the school year. It should be updated each year to take into account your child's progress and any changes in the services they require.
IEPs are meant to be collaborative documents, with parents playing an important role in the development of their child's specific program. Because it's collaborative, parents and school personnel don't always agree on the educational strategies included in the child's IEP. In other cases, school personnel may disregard the IEP when teaching or interacting with the student. When that happens, the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team can help you resolve the issues with the school. Our continuing focus in these cases is on your child's welfare, making sure they get the education they are entitled to under the law.
Students who have disabilities are also often entitled to reasonable accommodations from the school designed to help them receive what is known as a Free and Appropriate Public Education, or FAPE, as required by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. As with an IEP, the reasonable accommodations should be focused on the needs of the individual student. When schools fail – or refuse – to provide the accommodations that a student is entitled to receive under the law, the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team can help parents resolve the matter.
Our education law attorneys find that in most cases, problems like these can be resolved through discussions with school administrators or teachers. These discussions can be much more productive when you have someone on your team who knows exactly what the school is required to do, and can explain that to school personnel and offer suggestions as to how the school can make that happen. Of course, when necessary, the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team is willing and able to take matters to court. We are ready to do what is necessary to protect your child's rights when it comes to their educational needs.
Student Discipline
Schools across Chicagoland have codes of conduct that explain the types of behavior that schools expect students to observe while at school and, in some cases, outside of school. They also describe procedures that schools will follow when misconduct allegations are made against a student. These codes can be very detailed; for example, the Chicago Public Schools Student Code of Conduct runs for nearly 50 pages, and the Palatine School District has an extensive multi-section webpage focused on Student Behavior and Discipline. Each school district and, at the college level, each college or university, has some form of a code of conduct that applies both to students and to the school.
There are two issues that are particularly important when misconduct allegations are made. First, whether the school followed its own procedures when it came to investigating the allegations made against the student and deciding what sanctions, if any, to impose on the student. And second, whether the school fairly applied those procedures and policies. It is not unusual for school personnel to make mistakes when it comes to how they administer discipline to students, or to single out particular students for punishment while giving others a pass.
When those types of things happen, the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team can help by bringing the issues to the attention of school administrators and focusing them on what they are required to do when it comes to properly administering their own disciplinary policies. We are also able to represent students accused of misconduct, particularly serious misconduct that could result in suspension or expulsion. Our experienced education law attorneys regularly defend students at the college level as well as those attending grade, middle, or high school against misconduct allegations, and we are ready to help your child, too.
Bullying and Harassment
Schools in Illinois are required by state law to have and enforce anti-bullying policies. The ISBE enforces this requirement and also collects the data on bullying in schools that the law requires schools to disclose regarding bullying incidents, including online or cyber-bullying.
Because of Illinois's anti-bullying law, all schools have anti-bullying policies in place. But just as with other policies, the strength of an anti-bullying policy depends on how well it is followed by school personnel. Unfortunately, it is not unusual for school administrators to dismiss bullying allegations or to treat them as a one-off occurrence instead of a chronic issue that can cause the student targeted by the bully to suffer both physical and mental harm. No child should have to go through school worrying each morning if that day will bring them more bullying at school.
If your child is facing a bullying situation that their school is not taking proper steps to address, the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team can help. We will review the situation with you and can then bring it to the school's attention, reminding them of their obligation under the law to address it properly. When necessary, we can also bring it to the attention of a judge by filing a lawsuit against the school. In certain circumstances, both the school and the bully (or their parents) can be sued, both to put a stop to the bullying and to recover damages for the harm your child has suffered.
Discrimination
There are a number of federal laws that can protect students attending public and, in some cases, private schools in Chicagoland against discrimination. These include:
- Title IV and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
- Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972
- Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
- The Age Discrimination Act of 1975
- Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments of 2008
- The Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act
- USDA Title VI
The Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team has a comprehensive understanding of each of these laws and how they may apply to students enrolled in schools at all levels. If you believe your child is being discriminated against by their school, contact us. We can review the situation with you and advise you on what your legal options are when it comes to correcting the situation.
Student Rights and Free Speech
It can be challenging for schools to both maintain a safe and effective learning environment while also recognizing their students' rights, including the right to free speech. With the primary role of schools being to educate large numbers of students, typically in a classroom setting, it is obvious that individual students cannot be allowed to say whatever they want whenever they want. That said, students should not be punished for exercising their free speech or other rights in ways that do not inhibit the school's ability to educate.
If your child is being unfairly disciplined for properly exercising their free speech or other rights, contact the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team for help. We are ready to go to bat for you and your child with their school, and to protect them against school officials who may try to punish them for saying or doing things that may be unpopular.
The Lento Law Firm Can Protect Your Student's Rights in the Chicagoland Area
If you have a student attending college, high school, middle school, or grade school anywhere in the Chicagoland area and you believe they are being treated unfairly by their school, contact the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team for help. Our experienced education law attorneys can help with almost any school-related problem you and your child may be facing, including special education issues, disciplinary matters, discrimination, bullying, and student free speech issues.
Call the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team today at 888.535.3686, or fill out our contact form, and we will reach out to you to schedule a confidential consultation. Tell us about your child's situation at school, and let us tell you how we can help.
