North Carolina Special Education Lawyers

All children in this country are entitled to a free public education under federal and state law. Children with disabilities may face difficulties in the classroom that other students do not. Because of these difficulties, it may be appropriate to seek out special education for your child with a disability. Children with disabilities are equally entitled to a free public education as any other student. Your school district must help your child with a disability by ensuring they have all the accommodations, modifications, and specialized instruction in place for academic success.

The process of getting your child special education can be complicated. With overwhelmed school districts and differing resources from district to district, things can get confusing. The Lento Law Firm's Education Law Team can work with you to ensure your school district appropriately addresses your child's special education needs.

What is Special Education?

Special education can mean many different things, but the state of North Carolina defines it as instruction specially designed at no cost to the parents to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability. Basically, suppose your child has a social, mental, or physical disability that impacts their ability to function and learn in a general education classroom. In that case, they may be eligible for educational options outside those offered to all general education students. The type of special education your child could receive may vary drastically from the special education of another disabled child because each special education plan is built around the individual child's needs.

Relevant Laws

There are three federal laws that play a significant role in disability rights in the education system. These are the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504).

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

IDEA is the primary law that will dictate if and how special education services are administered to your child. Specifically, the law governs how states and public agencies provide special education to children with disabilities. The purpose of IDEA is to accomplish the following:

to ensure that all children with disabilities have available to them a free, appropriate public education that emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet their unique needs and prepare them for further education, employment, and independent living;
to ensure that the rights of children with disabilities and parents of such children are protected;
to assist States, localities, educational service agencies, and Federal agencies in providing for the education of all children with disabilities;
to assist States in the implementation of a statewide, comprehensive, coordinated, multidisciplinary, interagency system of early intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families;
to ensure that educators and parents have the necessary tools to improve educational results for children with disabilities by supporting system improvement activities; coordinated research and personnel preparation; coordinated technical assistance, dissemination, and support; and technology development and media services;
to assess and ensure the effectiveness of efforts to educate children with disabilities.

The aspect of IDEA you will likely become most familiar with is the Individualized Education Plan/Program (IEP). The IEP is a plan developed by you and members of your school district that details what special education services your child needs and will receive. It is a legally binding document. The IEP will be further discussed in the sections below.

Americans with Disabilities Act

While the ADA isn't specific to children, covering all Americans with disabilities is important. The ADA prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities in state and local government services. These state and local government services include public schools, even public schools that do not receive federal funding.

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973

Section 504 prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities attending public schools that accept Federal funding. Even if a student isn't eligible for special education through IDEA, they may be eligible under Section 504. Students' eligibility for Section 504 hinges upon meeting one of the following requirements:

Have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities
Have a record of such an impairment
Be regarded as having such an impairment

North Carolina State Laws & Regulations

North Carolina General Statutes Chapter 115C – Elementary and Secondary Education, Article 9 – Education of Children with Disabilities (NCGS § 115C), is the law governing special education in North Carolina.

The North Carolina State Board of Education and the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction developed the state regulations governing special education. These regulations are referred to collectively as Policies Governing Services for Children with Disabilities (NC 1500, et seq.). These regulations cover all topics related to special education, from federal and state funding to requirements for student evaluations, procedural safeguards, and even the number of children permitted in each special education classroom.

Who is in Charge of Special Education in North Carolina?

The Exceptional Children Division of the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction handles everything related to special education. The Exceptional Children Division, also referred to as the Office of Exceptional Children, offers special education services to over 200,000 North Carolina children. The Exceptional Children Division states that its job is "to assure that students with disabilities and those who are academically or intellectually gifted develop mentally, physically, emotionally, and vocationally through the provision of an appropriate individualized education in the least restrictive environment.

Who Qualifies for Special Education?

There are four basic criteria your child must meet for eligibility for special education in North Carolina; these criteria are as follows:

Your child must be aged 3 through 21
Your child must have a disability that fits into one of the fourteen categories established by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
Your child's disability must have an adverse impact on their education
Your child must require specially designed instruction to make
reasonable educational progress

To receive special education services, your child's disability must fall into one of the following disability categories:

Autism Spectrum Disorder
Deaf-blindness
Deafness
Developmental Delay
Emotional Disability
Hearing Impairment (Hard of Hearing)
Intellectual Disability
Multiple Disabilities (where two or more disabilities are occurring together, and the combination is so severe, complex, and interwoven that identification in a single category cannot be determined)
Orthopedic Impairment
Other Health Impairment (when a child has a chronic or acute health problem resulting in limited strength, vitality, or alertness)
Specific Learning Disability
Speech or Language Impairment
Traumatic Brain Injury
Visual Impairment/Blindness

The process for determining eligibility is covered in more detail in the section below.

What is the Process for Getting My Child Special Education Services?

Getting your child special education services requires quite a few steps: a referral meeting, an eligibility meeting, conducting appropriate evaluations, an IEP meeting, and a reevaluation meeting. These are all discussed in more detail below.

Referral Meeting

The referral meeting is the first step in the process of getting your child the special education services they may be entitled to. A referral meeting can come about a couple of ways: the parent can request the meeting, or someone who interacts with your child in an education setting may request the meeting (the meeting cannot occur without your consent as the parent). Regardless of who proposes the referral meeting, it has come about because someone suspects your child may have a disability.

The people at this meeting are your child's IEP (Individualized Education Program) team. In North Carolina, the IEP team includes you, the parent, one regular education teacher, at least one special education teacher, and a representative of the local education agency (this may be a special education director or a principal). Depending on your child's age and other factors, they may also be in attendance at the meeting. During this meeting, the IEP team will discuss your child's areas of academic, mental, and physical strengths and weaknesses.

There are a few different outcomes that can occur from this meeting:

Based on the information provided, your child is not eligible for special education
Sufficient data has been presented that makes your child eligible for special education
Insufficient data was presented at the meeting, and additional screenings and evaluations are needed to determine eligibility.

Conducting Appropriate Evaluations

To know if your child has a disability or the extent of that disability, the school district will conduct a series of evaluations. The appropriate evaluations are those tailored to the suspected disability or disabilities your child may have. There are numerous types of evaluations, but common ones include:

Psychological evaluations
Educational evaluations
Speech-language processing evaluations
Behavioral evaluations
Parent interviews
Teach interviews
Fine motor skills evaluations

There are many different people who can conduct your child's evaluations, including teachers, social workers, psychologists, school counselors, speech pathologists, occupational therapists, or any relevant and qualified professional.

Eligibility Meeting

After your child has been fully evaluated, the IEP team will have a meeting to discuss the results of the evaluations and determine if your child has a qualifying disability. If your child is found not to have a qualifying disability, the special education process will end. If your child is found to have a disability that requires special education, the IEP will develop an IEP for your child. You must consent to any special education before your child begins receiving those services.

IEP Meeting

The IEP will include all members of your child's IEP team. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss the unique educational needs of your child based on their disability and make a plan to deliver the necessary special education services to your child. The type of things you will talk about at this meeting include:

Your child's strengths and your (the parent's) concerns and vision for the future
Your child's present level(s) of academic strength and/or functional areas
Your child's relevant medical information
The impact of your child's disability on their performance
Related services, goals, and supplementary aids and services that may be needed Accommodations and/or modifications
If and when your child might be removed from nondisabled peers

Once this plan is developed and you consent to the plan, it will be implemented and monitored. Your child's progress will be detailed concurrently with their report cards. IEPs are reviewed annually but can be modified before that date if needed.

Reevaluation Meeting

Reevaluation meetings must occur at least once every three years but not more than once a year. At the reevaluation meeting, the IEP team will examine existing data and determine if any additional data is required to determine your child's continuing eligibility for special education.

Resources for Children with Disabilities

There are many resources for families with children with disabilities throughout the state of North Carolina. A few of these resources include:

The Right to Special Education

Your child may be different, but it doesn't make them any less deserving or entitled to a public education. As a parent of a child with a disability, making sure your child's needs are met can be particularly challenging, but when it comes to helping ensure they access special education, we are here to help. At the Lento Law Firm, our Education Law Team has extensive experience advocating for North Carolina children with disabilities by ensuring their school district provides them with all the appropriate special education services they need. You don't need to work through this process alone. Contact us today online or at (888) 535-3686.

Special Education Lawyers for North Carolina Students