There are a number of federal and state laws that provide for special education services and accommodations for students who have a wide range of conditions and disorders that make it more difficult for them to learn. While some of these may be specifically listed in those laws and related regulations, if your child has any kind of health impairment that stands in the way of their ability to learn, they may be entitled to special education benefits and accommodations from their local public school. The key is whether the learning challenges presented by their health impairment can be reduced if the school provides your child with appropriate accommodations or special education strategies.
The Lento Law Firm Education Law Team can help you make sure that your child's school takes their health impairment seriously, evaluates your child as required by law, and, where appropriate, delivers the benefits your child is entitled to. Contact us today at 888.535.3686 or by scheduling a confidential consultation to learn more about how the Lento Law Firm Education Law Team can help your child secure the educational benefits they're entitled to under the law.
What is a Health Impairment?
As a very broad term, a health impairment can describe any sort of health-related condition that impacts a child's abilities. When a health impairment stands in the way of learning, the child may be entitled to certain benefits provided under federal and state law. Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, a “child with a disability” is generally defined to mean a child with a number of specific mental and physical impairments, including “other health impairments,” who, as a result of any of those impairments “needs special education and related services.”
The focus is less on the label that is placed on the type of impairment that the child has and more on whether, as a result of the impairment, the child needs special education and similar types of services. This means that even in situations where the specific type of condition that a child suffers from can't be defined, the child may be entitled to receive special education benefits if that condition makes it more difficult for them to learn.
While it may be more of a challenge to get your child special education services in a situation where a precise diagnosis can't be made of the type of impairment that is standing in the way of their progress in school, that doesn't mean that your child isn't eligible for accommodations and special education benefits provided under federal and state law. This is why it can make all the difference if you are persistent with your child's school in seeking help for your child – and why it can be helpful to have the Lento Law Firm Education Law Team as part of your team in those efforts.
A Health Impairment Can Have a Severe Impact on a Student's Education
Any type of health impairment that makes it more difficult for a child to learn can have a cumulative impact on their educational progress, not to mention their confidence and sense of well-being. The more time that passes without the learning issues being addressed, the further behind the child will be, and the more their sense of self-worth will be affected. This is why it's important to recognize when a student's lack of progress is attributable to an impairment or a condition and not simply because the child isn't paying attention or working hard enough.
Because it's such a broad category, health impairments can cover a wide range of health-related issues. These can range from physical problems such as hearing loss or vision problems, to emotional disturbances, such as anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder to neurological conditions such as autism or ADHD. Sometimes, as noted above, a child's condition won't fit into a specific diagnosis, but if it stands in the way of the child being able to learn, the child will, in many cases, be entitled to accommodations and special education benefits from their public school.
Students With Health Impairments May Have Disability Rights and May be Entitled to Disability Accommodations
As discussed above, if a student has a health impairment that makes it more difficult for the student to learn, they may be entitled to a range of disability benefits under federal and state law. The three main federal laws that provide these benefits are the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. These laws provide different types of benefits, depending on the type of disability that the child has and the age of the child. Sometimes, a child will benefit from an accommodation that helps them overcome their disability, such as when a child with hearing issues is seated close to the front of the classroom so that they can hear the teacher. In other cases, the child may need a comprehensive set of strategies designed to help them learn in spite of their particular disability.
Students in grades K-12 in most cases are entitled to a broader range of benefits than those who are in college. For example, while the college or university may be required to provide the student with accommodations that address the student's particular disabilities, they won't be required to provide the Individualized Education Plan (or IEP) that are often required students in public grade and high schools.
One thing that K-12 schools should do is respond when a parent contacts the school with a request that their child be evaluated for a disability. How each school addresses these types of requests may vary from one school to another, but at a minimum, the school is expected to conduct an initial evaluation of the student to determine whether a more formal and comprehensive evaluation should occur.
If you have questions about your rights as a parent of a child who may have a health impairment that affects their ability to learn, the Lento Law Firm Education Law Team is here to answer those questions and help you be the advocate at school that your child may need. We're here to learn more about your child's particular situation and to use that information to help you understand what your options are when discussing their health impairment and their educational rights with their school.
Students With Health Impairments May be Entitled to an IEP
When a student has a health impairment that stands in the way of their education and can't be addressed with only an accommodation, the student may be entitled to an Individualized Education Plan or IEP. The IEP is developed by a team of educators that includes the child's parents and is intended to act as a comprehensive, personalized plan covering the types of special education benefits and accommodations that the child will receive from the school;how those benefits will be delivered; and what the child's goals are for a given time period. IEPs are intended to be flexible documents that should be revised periodically, at least once a year, to reflect the child's progress and to address any new issues that may arise.
Schools are expected to use a child's IEP to help guide the child's education, and to share it with relevant members of the faculty and staff who interact with the student on a regular basis. When a school fails to implement a student's IEP, parents can intervene and ask the school to meet its legal requirements to do so. The Lento Law Firm Educational Law Team can help with those kinds of situations by using our experience to point out to the school exactly what the law expects the school to do for your student based on your child's IEP.
Note that private schools are not required to provide their students with an IEP; neither are colleges or universities. While these schools may rely on the student's most recent IEP to help guide what accommodations or educational benefits they provide for the student, they are not required to follow the IEP or to develop their own IEP for their students.
Students With Health Impairments May be Entitled to a FAPE
Public schools are required by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to provide students with disabilities with a “free appropriate public education” (or FAPE) on the same basis as these schools provide education to all enrolled students. Students with disabilities are generally entitled to be educated together with other students – “mainstreamed” is the common word used to describe this – instead of in isolation or with other special education students. While this isn't always possible depending on the educational challenges faced by the student with a health impairment, schools are expected to educate special needs students in the “least restrictive environment” to the extent it's possible to do so while still benefiting the special needs student.
What one student's FAPE may look like can differ from what another student's FAPE looks like. Each special needs student has different needs, faces different challenges, and may have different strategies that are part of the student's IEP and are designed to help the student learn. As a result, it's not always fair to compare the way your child is being educated by their school to the way other special needs students are being educated. That said, in situations where the school is not mainstreaming your child when you believe they should be; or when they're doing so at the expense of your child's educational progress, it may be time for you to have an informed discussion with school administrators about your child's education. The Lento Law Firm Education Law Team can help in these kinds of situations by making sure the school understands its legal obligations to your child and is willing to meet those requirements.
College Students With Health Impairments May be Entitled to Reasonable Accommodations
As noted, college students aren't entitled to an IEP or to the same special education benefits as students in grades K-12. They are, however, entitled to certain “reasonable accommodations” under the ADA. These accommodations should generally try to help the student manage the rigors of their collegiate education by providing the student with necessary ways to accomplish that education in spite of their health impairments.
For example, the college or university may provide the student with extra time to complete tests; or require that tests be administered in a particular way that accommodates the specific disability. And while the school doesn't need to create an IEP for the student, it can use the student's most recent IEP to help guide the types of accommodations it provides.
What to Do If a School Fails to Accommodate a Student's Health Impairment
Schools sometimes fail to respond properly when a parent contacts them with questions or concerns about how the school is educating a child with a health impairment that affects their ability to learn. This is where having an experienced education law attorney as part of your team can help. In many cases, having a meeting with school officials where your attorney from the Lento Law Firm Educational Law Team explains what the school's legal obligations are can help move things from the discussion phase to the change-making phase. While nobody will be a better advocate for a child than a parent, a team approach where both the parent and an experienced education law attorney go to bat for the child can make a significant difference in how the school reacts.
We are here to be your ally, to help you understand how the various special education laws apply to your child's specific situation, and to work with you to make sure your child's school provides the accommodations and special education services the school is required to by law. Your child's future depends on how well they're educated now; the Lento Law Firm Education Law Team can help you protect that future.
The Lento Law Firm Education Law Team Can Help Students with Health Impairments Get the Accommodations They Need and the Education They Deserve
At the Lento Law Firm Education Law Team, we regularly help parents with special education issues. Our experienced attorneys have a deep understanding of the federal and state laws, regulations, and rules that relate to students with health impairments of all types. We are here to learn about your child's particular challenges and to be your advisor and your child's advocate when discussing their education with their school. Our clients include students all across the country whose education has been improved by our help.
We're here for you. Call us today at 888.535.3686 or schedule a confidential consultation with one of our experienced education law attorneys. The Lento Law Firm Education Law Team understands how important your child's education is to you, and we are ready to help.
