Nothing matters more to a parent than their child's well-being. It's not easy sending your kid off to kindergarten, watching them go to school day after day for thirteen years, and wondering if they're being properly cared for, kept safe, and given the education they need and deserve. It's hard on any parent. It's especially hard for parents of students with disabilities. You have to pay special attention to your child's physical, psychological, social, and emotional needs, and it's your job to make sure their school does the same.
You don't have to do the job all on your own. The federal government is here to help with laws like the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Your local Omaha-Council Bluff school districts play a part, as do Nebraska and Iowa state laws and state departments of education policies.
Unfortunately, not everyone respects the law. You know from experience that there are plenty of people out there who don't truly appreciate the importance of disability rights. You've probably even run into teachers and administrators—educators who should know better—who either aren't knowledgeable enough about what the law has to say or have simply abrogated their responsibilities to follow it.
The fact is, sometimes you have to make people honor their responsibilities. That's what the Lento Law Firm is here for. The attorneys at the Lento Law Firm understand what you and your family are up against. They understand how important your child's education is. Most importantly, they have the background and experience to hold educators accountable. The firm's attorneys know educational law, particularly where it intersects with disability law. They've helped hundreds of students and their families fight for and receive the rights they deserve from school districts and universities across the country.
If a school in the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area isn't treating your disabled child as they should, you owe it yourself to find out just what the Lento Law Firm can do for you. Help is just a phone call away at 888-535-3686. Or, if you prefer, use our automated online form.
The Omaha-Council Bluffs Metro Area
Sitting on the border of Nebraska and Iowa, the Omaha-Council Bluffs area contains a population of just under a million residents, with an additional half million residents residing within fifty miles of the Omaha city center. The area also encompasses a number of different school districts, including
- Omaha Public Schools
- Council Bluffs Community Schools
- Westside Community Schools
- Millard Public Schools
- Elkhorn Public Schools
- Papillion La-Vista Public Schools
- Bellevue Public Schools
- Bennington Public Schools
- Ralston Public Schools
- Gretna Public Schools
- DC West Community Schools
- Springfield Platteview Community Schools
- Plattsmouth Community Schools
No two school districts are alike, of course. Each one is influenced by its location and factors like population density, demographics, history, and the particular personalities of the educators who work there. The one thing they all have in common? They're all subject to the same federal and state laws concerning disability education. If your child attends any of these districts, and you don't feel they're getting the resources, materials, and attention they deserve, the Lento Law Firm is here to help.
Colleges and Universities in the Omaha-Council Bluffs Area
Disability rights don't just apply to elementary, middle, and high school students. Many state and federal laws, such as the ADA, apply to colleges and universities as well. Of course, institutions of higher education aren't required to provide the same level of services as public K-12 schools. Professors aren't required to develop IEPs for their disabled students, and there are no “manifest determination” procedures. Even so, schools like
- University of Nebraska, Omaha
- Creighton University
- Bellevue University
- University of Nebraska Medical Center
are accountable for creating an equal playing field for students with disabilities, especially when it comes to admissions and classroom accommodations.
And, just as they help K-12 students with disabilities, the attorneys at the Lento Law Firm are available to help college and university students with disabilities get the treatment and services they deserve.
Federal Law as it Applies to Students With Disabilities
It's one thing to know the law protects your child's rights. If you're truly going to be an advocate for your child's education, though, you need to know just what their rights are. Just what kinds of services and resources is your school district required to provide?
Let's start with federal law.
The first thing you need to know is that every child in the United States is entitled to a free public education, an education equal to any other child in the country. That fundamental right is enshrined in the Bill of Rights and other Constitutional amendments. It should go without saying, but it applies to students with disabilities as well.
If the Bill of Rights lays the foundation for your child's educational rights, more recent federal laws have delineated exactly how that foundation applies in the context of disabilities. In particular, the ADA, IDEA, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 require public schools to provide all students with the materials and support they need to get an “equal” education, regardless of any disabilities they may have.
What does that mean in practical terms? It means public buildings, including schools, must have wheelchair access points. They must be equipped with elevators that allow students to get to class. And your school district isn't just liable for providing “materials and support” to physically disabled students. They must also make accommodations for students with so-called “hidden” disabilities, such as dyslexia, ADD, and ADHD.
In fact, federal law applies to a broad range of disabilities that 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
Fundamental Principles of Disability Education
If we dig deeper into these federal laws, we discover that they rely on a set of fundamental principles, each of which shapes how school districts must protect students with disabilities.
- Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE): First, there's the concept of “free and appropriate education,” or FAPE. While this concept originates with the Bill of Rights, it has been extended by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and important court decisions such as Brown v. Board of Education (1954). As this history suggests, FAPE was originally used to protect the education rights of racial minorities. However, it now applies to members of all protected classes, including those with disabilities.
- Reasonable Accommodations: While FAPE protects a number of groups, it has special meaning for disabled students. In order to provide “appropriate” education for students with disabilities, a school district may need to make “reasonable accommodations” for those students. Instructors can be required to modify their teaching approaches, materials, and methods of evaluation. Your child may need special technology, or the district may need to hire personnel to help meet their needs. The “free” part of FAPE is just as important here. In most cases, your district must supply your child with whatever they need for an “appropriate” education at no cost to you or your family.
- Individual Education Programs (IEP): As a guarantee that your child is receiving a free and appropriate education, your child's school is required to set up an IEP, or Individual Education Program, for them. An IEP sets goals for your child that are comparable to those of other students and outlines exactly what steps the school and district will take to ensure that those goals are met. Of course, you have an important right to participate in the development of your child's IEP and to ask for modifications if you think they're needed. Perhaps the most important value of an IEP, though, is that it places the burden on the district to understand and respond to your child's educational needs rather than requiring your child to meet the district's standards.
- Least Restrictive Environment (LRE): Another important principle of disability education is the concept of LRE, or Least Restrictive Environment. It acknowledges the proven fact that students almost always learn best when they are with their peers, and it allows disabled students to remain, where possible, with those peers. In simple terms, your district must make every attempt to keep your child in a mainstream classroom. They cannot arbitrarily place students with disabilities in separate classes and so-called alternative schools.
Taken together, these several laws and basic educational principles work to safeguard disabled students' education and ensure they're being given equal opportunities to succeed. Again, however, the fact that they exist doesn't always mean an individual teacher, administrator, school, or district will follow them. Districts sometimes drag their feet when they're asked to spend money installing an elevator, even if a child legitimately needs it. Individual instructors sometimes balk at changing their teaching methods to suit students with special requirements or allowing absolutely necessary technologies into their classrooms.
The moment you feel like your district isn't doing all it should to provide your child with a quality education, you need to call the Lento Law Firm. The attorneys at the Lento Law Firm take you and your family's needs seriously. They'll act swiftly to protect your child from harm and to make sure they get all the rights that they deserve.
Nebraska and Iowa State Laws and Educational Policies
The departments of education in both Nebraska and Iowa have Special Education departments whose sole purpose is to respond to the needs of students with disabilities. These departments maintain strict policies—many of which are underpinned by state law—that are meant to guide how school districts within the state operate with respect to disabled students.
The Iowa Department of Special Education, for example, has rules that
- Require districts to include parents in developing IEP plans
- Require educators to keep information on disabled students confidential
- Ensure private schools provide disabled students with the same protections as public schools do
- Prohibit schools and districts from requiring students to take certain medications in order to attend school
Likewise, the Nebraska Department of Education has rules that
- Require districts test all children to determine if they might have a disability
- Require districts make every effort to keep disabled students in mainstream classrooms
- Require districts develop a range of options when it comes to alternative learning environments
The attorneys at the Lento Law Firm are as well-informed as to state policy guidelines regarding disability education as they are of federal law. No matter what your child's particular situation, they can work with you to advocate on your child's behalf or, if necessary, fight for their rights.
Manifest Determinations
Finally, as part of your district's obligation to provide your child with a free and appropriate education, they must treat your child fairly when it comes to discipline.
Educational discipline is a controversial topic in relation to all students. Studies have consistently shown that certain types of discipline—especially so-called “exclusionary” discipline, such as suspension and expulsion—can have serious adverse effects on children. It isn't just that students miss out on educational opportunities when they're sent home or placed in alternative schools. When children are subject to humiliation and shame, it can have far-reaching effects on their psychological and emotional development.
These dangers are especially pronounced for students with disabilities, many of whom already feel like outsiders in their peer groups. As a result, both Iowa and Nebraska take special care when assigning disciplinary sanctions to such students. In both states, educators must perform a “Manifestation Determination Review” (MDR) before administering any punishment.
An MDR is a process of deciding whether a student's disability might have contributed to their misconduct and whether instructional personnel may have failed in their obligations to prevent certain types of misconduct. In simple terms, your child should never be held responsible for their conduct if they could not be reasonably expected to control that conduct. Only a team of experts is allowed to decide that.
This is yet another area of disability education law with which the Lento Law Firm can help. The attorneys at the Lento Law Firm are dedicated to the principle that all students deserve an education and are determined to make sure that all students are treated fairly.
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 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.
