If you are the parent of a student with special educational needs in the Portland, Oregon, area, you already know that your child has certain rights established by law that are designed to help them receive the education they deserve. School districts across the Portland region all have special education departments to help them meet their obligations to their special needs students. That doesn't mean, however, that your child is always going to receive the educational benefits that they are entitled by law to receive.
The Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team understands that, while most schools work hard to meet their obligations to their special needs students, it sometimes happens that individuals who are responsible for special education make mistakes. They may fail to properly assess your child's needs or respond to those needs in a way that will help your child progress. When that happens, our experienced education law attorneys are here to help resolve matters. Call us at 888.535.3686 or use our contact form to schedule a confidential consultation to learn more about how the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team can help.
Special Education in the Portland Area
Because the Portland region includes cities and towns in both Oregon and Washington, the way your school handles special education students may depend on what state you live in. Both Oregon and Washington have Education Service Districts (ESD), which provide a range of services to local schools that are within the ESD's boundaries. ESD services include support for local schools to help them meet their obligations to special needs students. The Portland School District, for example, is included in the Multnomah Education Service District, which covers other nearby towns as well. Vancouver, Washington, public schools are part of that state's ESD 112.
In addition to these two ESDs, the Lake Oswego, North Clackamas, West Linn-Wilsonville, and Colton school districts are all served by the Clackamas ESD. And the Tigard-Tualatin school district is served by the Northwest Regional ESD. There are 19 ESDs covering all of Oregon, and 9 ESDs covering Washington.
While ESDs may provide helpful support to local school districts, ultimately, if you are the parent of a special needs student, your most frequent contact will be with your child's school – typically the principal as well as special education staff members. This is where issues can arise.
Your Child's Rights as a Special Needs Student
Federal law has created an obligation for public schools to provide special needs students with Individualized Education Programs that are focused on each student's particular educational needs and to address those needs for education in the “least restrictive environment” possible given the student's needs. Both Oregon and Washington also have laws that support special needs students.
The tailored approach required for each student is expressed through the student's Individualized Education Program, a plan that is based on a detailed evaluation of the student and their needs. Schools are also required to provide special needs students with reasonable accommodations to help the students achieve the same results or benefits as student who do not have disabilities.
Conflicts in the Special Education Process
There are multiple chances for conflict in the process of getting your child the education they deserve. Your child's school may not agree that your child should be evaluated to determine if they have special needs that the law requires the school to accommodate. If your child is evaluated, you may disagree with the results of that evaluation. If the school develops an Individualized Education Program to address your child's special needs, you may disagree with parts of that IEP. Once the IEP is implemented, you may have issues with the way particular teachers or special needs personnel are doing so.
It is at the school level that most disputes happen and where the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team does most of its work when it comes to helping resolve them. In many cases, problems with how the school is handling your child's special education needs can be addressed by communicating with the teachers or administrators involved.
It can be enormously helpful in these kinds of situations to have a strong understanding of what your rights are before you meet with school personnel. Your attorney from the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team can help you understand the scope of your rights (and your child's rights) so that you can participate in the discussion from a position of knowing what those rights are. And where appropriate, we can attend the meeting with you to help guide the conversation in a constructive direction.
Challenges to Special Education
As noted above, there are a number of ways that your child's rights as a special needs student may be challenged by their school. School personnel may not understand how they are supposed to apply existing laws or may do so in a way that you disagree with – for example, by refusing to provide your child with the learning environment or support that you believe your child needs. This can arise out of a disagreement with the evaluation that your child received as part of the process of creating their IEP, or it can happen after the IEP has been created if the school fails to properly implement it.
Another challenge can come from the way the federal government interprets existing federal law. This can change from one administration to another. Longstanding special education practices based on what has been an accepted understanding of what a school's obligations are to their special needs students can change almost overnight if the federal government attempts to instruct schools to do so.
Both of these types of situations can be extremely challenging to deal with. As a parent, you want the best for your child, and it can be infuriating and frustrating when your child's school fails or refuses to provide your child with the education they are entitled to receive. That is where having an experienced attorney from the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team can help. You don't need to take this burden on alone.
How the Lento Law Firm Can Help
At the Lento Law Firm, our Student Defense Team has a comprehensive understanding of what your child's rights are when it comes to special education in both Oregon and Washington. Our attorneys regularly help parents make sure that their special needs children are receiving the educational benefits that federal and state law guarantee. When we're on your side, you benefit from that knowledge and experience, and more importantly, we also understand how to negotiate these kinds of issues with schools. While we won't shy away from taking schools and school districts to court when they are not living up to their legal obligations to their special needs students, we much prefer to resolve matters through discussion, education, and negotiation.
Whether your special needs child is attending school in Portland or in one of the nearby suburbs such as Lake Oswego, Happy Valley, West Linn, Tualatin, Wilsonville, Damascus, or Vancouver, Washington, the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team is able to help. Call us today at 888.535.3686 or use our contact form to schedule a confidential consultation with one of our experienced education law attorneys. Your child's future is important – let us help you protect it!
