As the parent of a child with special needs who is attending school in the Sacramento Valley, you are no doubt well aware that your child is entitled to special education benefits provided under both federal and California law. Public school districts across the region have special education departments and programs that are designed to help provide special education students with the educational and other benefits they are entitled to receive.
For the most part, these special education programs deliver the benefits that they promise (and are required to by law). That said, it's also not unusual for the people responsible for special education to make mistakes or to disagree with parents when it comes to deciding what benefits their child should receive. When that happens, it can be very helpful to be advised by one of the experienced education law attorneys from the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team. Call us today at 888.535.3686 with your questions, or complete our contact form, and we'll reach out to you to schedule a confidential consultation to discuss your concerns.
Special Education in the Sacramento Valley
The Sacramento Valley includes a number of cities and towns and, as a result, a number of different school districts. Depending on where you live and where your child attends school, the benefits and procedures that apply to special education services may vary slightly. It's important, then, to have a clear understanding of the special education policies and procedures that apply in your school district and your child's school.
Each district's website typically has a section that focuses on special education and, depending on the district, may provide a lot of information that can help answer questions you may have about the services that the district and its schools provide, and how the district determines whether a student is eligible for those services. There will typically be information about the procedures that parents can use to challenge the school's evaluation of their child, and ways that parents can bring their concerns to school officials if their child's learning plan is not being implemented as it should be.
For example, the Sacramento Unified School District's website includes a Special Education Parent Resources page that incorporates a link to a comprehensive Procedural Guide that parents can use as a reference source to help them answer questions they have about the special education process and procedures. School districts in Folsom, Rocklin, Davis, Roseville, and Elk Grove each maintain similar special education pages on their respective websites, as do almost all school district websites. Generally speaking, if you have a question about how your special needs child is being taught, the school district website is a good place to start when trying to find the answer.
Your Child's Rights as a Special Needs Student
Both federal and California law require schools to provide special needs students with Individualized Education Programs that are tailored to the student's particular educational and developmental needs. These IEPs are generally supposed to address the student's needs in the “least restrictive environment” possible, meaning that, to the extent possible, the special needs student should be taught in the same settings along with other students.
IEPs should be personalized for the student, and should be based on a comprehensive evaluation of the student's abilities and needs. In some cases, special needs students may also be entitled to reasonable accommodations to help them meet their educational goals while learning alongside students who do not share their disabilities.
Conflicts in the Special Education Process
Because of the intense nature of the special education process – from deciding whether a child is entitled to be evaluated to determine if they have special needs; to the IEP evaluation itself; to creating the IEP for that student; to implementing the IEP and any other accommodations that the student is entitled to receive – there are also multiple opportunities for conflict.
Schools do not always agree with parents who believe their child is entitled to special education benefits. Parents do not always agree with the outcome of the evaluation that schools use to determine the types of special education benefits the child should receive. There may be disagreements each year about the scope and content of the student's IEP. And teachers may not always implement the IEP in the way that parents believe they should.
When any of these conflicts arise, it's important to understand what the process is for resolving them. It's also important to understand what your rights are as a parent in that particular situation. Working with one of the experienced attorneys from the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team can be enormously helpful in these kinds of situations. Our attorneys can explain what your rights are; how to assert them with the school or school district; and what the options are if matters are not resolved properly. In addition, we can meet with school officials to help them understand what the law requires them to do, which can often avoid having to go through a long, drawn-out complaint resolution process.
Challenges to Special Education
In many cases, challenges arise at a personal level, when a particular teacher or school official fails to properly understand what they are required to do, whether it comes to following the law in general, or implementing a portion of your child's IEP. In other cases, the challenges may come from the school or school district in general, if they fail to provide your child with the special education opportunities that they are required by law to deliver.
Sometimes the challenge can come from the federal government level. Each administration may want to put its own stamp on special education programs and might attempt to interpret existing special education requirements differently than the way the previous administration interpreted them. In these cases, it might be necessary to take disputes to court in order to have them resolved.
No matter what kind of dispute you're facing, when it comes to your child's education, any conflict that can stand in the way of them receiving the education they deserve can be very difficult and stressful to deal with. When you have the help of an experienced member of the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team, you'll know that you are benefiting from their experience with resolving these kinds of conflicts, and their deep understanding of the laws, rules, and procedures that apply in special education situations.
How the Lento Law Firm Can Help
The Student Defense Team at the Lento Law Firm is composed of attorneys who regularly fight to protect the rights of special needs students all across the US, including in California. Our attorneys know what rights your special needs child has to a free appropriate public education. We can review your child's situation with you and let you know what can be done to resolve the issues you may be having with your child's education.
In addition to helping you understand what your options are when a conflict arises with your child's school, we can meet with school personnel to attempt to resolve the problem in a fair and reasonable way. This is how many disputes end – with an agreement, and a promise by the school to make certain changes.
But when an agreement can't be reached, we won't hesitate to use formal dispute resolution procedures to litigate the issues. In some cases, this may include taking matters to court. We are always ready to be there for you and your child, and to fight for their right to receive the education that they deserve.
To learn more about how the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team can help you and your child with special education conflicts in the Sacramento Valley, call us at 888.535.3686 or use our contact form to schedule a confidential consultation. Your child's education is vital to their future, and we are here to help protect it!
