You've done everything you're supposed to do—emailed the teachers, met with the principal, followed the policies—and your child is still being overlooked, shut out, or unfairly disciplined. Even in Baltimore Metro's good school districts and respected universities, problems can get brushed aside. But your student's future matters, and we're here to fight for it.
School should be a place where students can focus on learning, not where families have to fight to be heard. The Education Law Team at the Lento Law Firm can help. Call us at 888.535.3686or fill out our confidential consultation form.
Your Child's Special Education Lawyer
One area where issues come up for kids is special education. Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), children are entitled to a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). In the past, disability-related behaviors were often misunderstood in schools. IDEA helped shift the focus from discipline to appropriate support and services.
But what exactly is special ed? How is it implemented? There's no one-size-fits-all approach. One child might receive extra help with reading outside the classroom, another might get in-class support from a special ed teacher in math or writing. In some cases, students learn best in a self-contained classroom where lessons are tailored to their unique needs.
Here are some challenging areas where special ed can help your child:
- Speech and Language Challenges: Trouble understanding spoken language or expressing thoughts clearly.
- Motor Skills Difficulties: Issues with physical movements such as running, writing, walking, or jumping.
- Developmental Delays: Children who are behind in areas like thinking, talking, physical coordination, social interaction, or daily living skills.
- Specific Learning Disabilities: Struggles with core academic areas such as reading, writing, or math despite adequate instruction.
- Health-Related Conditions: Ongoing or short-term medical conditions (like ADHD, diabetes, or cancer) that affect energy, alertness, or stamina in the classroom.
- Emotional or Behavioral Disorders: Ongoing challenges with managing emotions or forming healthy relationships with peers and adults.
- Physical Disabilities: Conditions that limit how a student's muscles, bones, or joints function, affecting mobility or fine motor skills.
- Intellectual Disabilities: Significant limitations in reasoning, learning, and everyday life skills.
- Multiple Disabilities: A combination of two or more conditions that together create complex educational needs.
- Deafness: Severe hearing loss that makes it difficult or impossible to learn through spoken language alone.
- Hearing Loss: Hearing problems that interfere with learning but may not be as severe as total deafness.
- Visual Impairment: Trouble seeing, even with glasses or other correction, that requires specialized instruction.
- Deaf-Blindness: Combined vision and hearing loss that significantly affects communication and learning.
- Autism Spectrum Disorder: Challenges with verbal and nonverbal communication, social interaction, and flexible thinking.
- Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI): Educational difficulties caused by a brain injury from an external force, such as a blow to the head.
Here's how to be proactive to make sure your child gets the help they need:
- Learn How Evaluations Work: Schools are busy, and sometimes they overlook or misidentify learning needs. Knowing how the evaluation process works helps ensure your child gets accurate assessments and the right kind of support.
- Create a Strong IEP: An Individualized Education Program (IEP) is a customized roadmap for your child's learning. It highlights their strengths, identifies areas for growth, and sets realistic, measurable goals.
- 504 Plan: The IDEA law works with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. If your child needs accommodations only, rather than a full IEP plan, a 504 plan may be the way to go. This can include: extended time on tests, preferential seating, modified classroom materials, access to a quiet room for testing, permission to take breaks, or use assistive technology. It's best for students with ADHD, anxiety, diabetes, or temporary injuries (like a broken arm).
- Monitor Progress Closely: Stay in touch with teachers and keep an eye on how your child is progressing. Don't forget to ask your child how they feel it's going. If something's off, you have the right to request adjustments.
- Reach Out for Legal Support: If meetings go nowhere or the school isn't following through.
Proper support at school is critical, and a lawyer can help make sure it's in place.
Your Education Lawyer for Discipline & Expulsions
Disciplinary action can move fast and feel final. A single incident, like a scuffle in the hallway or a misunderstanding during a group project, can lead to multi-day suspensions or even expulsion proceedings. We help families push back against:
- “Fighting” That Was Really Self-Defense: A student is suspended for a physical altercation, but surveillance footage (or witness accounts) shows they were responding to being harassed or cornered.
- Expulsion hearings: If school officials seem more interested in making an example than solving the problem.
- Discipline tied to disability: Behavior is misunderstood instead of addressed properly under IDEA or Section 504. For example: A student with ADHD or autism is disciplined for impulsive or loud behavior, even though it stems from a diagnosed condition that qualifies for accommodations.
- “Sexual Misconduct” Without Full Context: In a Title IX situation, a student is disciplined based on one version of events, without a complete investigation or consideration of consent, miscommunication, or intent.
- “Weapon Possession” That Was an Accident: A student is suspended for having a pocketknife in their backpack—something left over from a family camping trip, with no intention of use or threat.
When schools get overzealous or make assumptions, we are here to help you fight back.
Your Education Lawyers to Fight Discrimination
Discrimination doesn't always look like a slur or an outright denial. Sometimes it's more subtle—a Black student being punished more harshly than their white classmates for the same behavior. A female student was passed over for advanced STEM classes, despite top grades. A student with a disability is continually denied the support they're legally entitled to.
Discrimination based on race, gender, or disability isn't just unfair—it may violate federal laws like Title VI, Title IX, or the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). And while schools may say they're handling things “internally,” families often get little transparency, no clear process, and vague promises that things will change.
Students have a right to equal access to education, whether they attend a high school in Ellicott City or a college like the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). When that right is violated, action matters. Sometimes that means filing a formal complaint. Other times, it means challenging the narrative, collecting documentation, and demanding accountability.
Your Education Lawyer for Student Rights & Free Speech
In the Baltimore metro area, students' rights to free speech and expression are protected under the First Amendment, but these rights sometimes conflict with school policies. Whether it's a high school student challenging a dress code or a college student organizing a protest, understanding the balance between individual freedoms and school regulations is key.
Schools have rules meant to maintain order and focus on learning. But these rules can feel restrictive, especially when they limit how students express their identity, beliefs, or opinions. For example, dress codes may prohibit certain hairstyles, clothing, or symbols, raising questions about whether they unfairly target specific groups or suppress cultural expression. When students push back, it's important to know what the law says about their rights—and how far schools can go.
Protests and demonstrations are another area where students' free speech rights come into play. At colleges like UMBC, students frequently use their voices to highlight social issues, from climate change to racial justice. While universities must allow peaceful protests, they also have policies about time, place, and manner to ensure safety and prevent disruption. Navigating these rules can be complicated, especially if disciplinary actions arise from protests or demonstrations.
Freedom of expression extends beyond speech and clothing. It can include distributing flyers, creating art, or speaking out on social media. When schools in the Baltimore metro area discipline students for these activities, it can raise serious questions. Students need to understand that while schools have some authority to regulate speech to prevent disruption or harm, their rights are not unlimited, and vague or overly broad policies may not hold up under legal scrutiny.
Protecting student rights means carefully examining each situation's context. A student expressing a political view in a classroom discussion is different from one organizing a large demonstration on campus. Similarly, a school's dress code policy that targets specific styles may be challenged as discriminatory. In all cases, knowing the legal framework and the specific policies in place helps families and students advocate effectively.
Ultimately, students in the Baltimore metro area have the right to express themselves, but understanding the limits and protections under the First Amendment is crucial. When conflicts arise, having a clear sense of those rights can make all the difference in standing up for free speech without risking unnecessary discipline or punishment.
Your Lawyer for Bullying, Harassment, and Title IX Issues
Even in the most respected school districts—places like Howard County, Anne Arundel County, and Towson—bullying happens. And when it's persistent or goes unchecked, it's more than a disciplinary issue. It can be a civil rights issue.
We represent students who have experienced bullying based on disability, race, gender, and more. If your child is being targeted and the school isn't responding appropriately, that's a legal issue. Maryland state law and federal statutes like Title IX give students the right to a safe learning environment.
This applies at the college level, too. Whether it's Towson University, UMBC, or Johns Hopkins, students have the right to be free from harassment, including sexual harassment, and to have complaints investigated fairly and promptly. If a college mishandles a Title IX complaint or fails to follow its own procedures, we step in.
Sometimes that means ensuring your child gets counseling. Sometimes it means pushing for a transfer to a safer environment. Other times, it means taking formal legal action. Every student deserves safety and dignity at school—and we're here to help them get it. And if your child is accused of being a perpetrator, we help you fight back and show the school the whole picture.
The Lento Law Firm: How We Win the Fight
When schools are too busy or are making assumptions about your child, we step in:
- Smart, Strategic Advocacy: Whether you're meeting with administrators in Baltimore County or sitting down with a team in Howard or Anne Arundel, we show up prepared. We know when to ask questions, when to push back, and how to keep the focus on what matters—your child's right to a meaningful education.
- Individual Support That Actually Fits: Students in Greater Baltimore don't all learn the same way, and they shouldn't be treated like they do. Whether your child needs a reading intervention in middle school or one-on-one support in an elementary classroom, we help secure the tools that actually make a difference.
- Local Knowledge, Regional Reach: We understand how schools in this region operate. We work with families across the metro area to cut through the delays, confusion, and bureaucratic red tape.
- Always Thinking Ahead: Maryland's education rules are constantly evolving. While districts in the Baltimore area scramble to adapt to new mandates or legal changes, we're already mapping out what's next. Our focus is long-term, because your child's future doesn't end with one meeting.
Success looks different for every child, so does the plan that gets them there.
Your Maryland Education Lawyers
We are your Maryland education lawyers. We know the rules and how to make the system work for your child. The Lento Law Firm Education Law Team is your ally. Call us at 888.535.3686or fill out our confidential consultation form.
