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Susan Luger Associates Newsletter |
Happenings in the World of Special Education June 2009 |
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Nominee Sotomayor Appears Favorable to Disability Advocates
President Obama's Nominee for Supreme Court Labeled "Fair Minded"
The nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to fill the Souter seat on the Supreme Court is seen as favorable to disability advocates. It is noted that, in her rulings in the disability area, she shows a good understanding of the real life implications of her decisions. She sees the connection between disability rights laws and other civil rights laws.
In the US Court of Appeals, Judge Sotomayor was part of the Second Circuit ruling of Arlington v. Murphy, siding with the parents. This case later went to the Supreme Court, where it was overturned.
Judge Sotomayor, as a member of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, also found for the parents in Taylor v. Vermont Department of Education in a case involving IDEA and FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act).
On the negative side, Judge Sotomayor ruled against the parent in M.S. v. Yonkers.
Overall, the scorecard is still positive for the nominee -- "fair minded".
The Senate Hearings on Judge Sotomayor's nomination will take place on July 13.
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New Bill Introduced by Federal Legislators
IDEA Fairness Restoration Act would allow parents to recover expert witness costs in litigation under IDEA |
HR 4188 would restore rights to parents that have been taken away by the US Supreme Court in their wrong-headed 2006 decision Arlington v. Murphy. In that decision, the Court ruled that parents could not recoup expenses for expert witnesses when they prevail in IDEA litigation.
(See article above)
In the un-level playing field of special education, school districts can use taxpayer funds to bring forth experts to assail parents. Parents, on the other hand, have to foot the bill for expert medical, educational, psychological, etc. fees, with no hope of reimbursement. This bill, HR 4188, is the start of the process to rectify this inequity.
What were the Supremes thinking? Needless to say, its time to remind your Representative that you are an activist and you vote and your family and friends vote!
Write them and ask them to co-sponsor HR 4188.
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| Stop the Presses -- NYS Senate Introduces Bill for Autism Care Coverage |
Just as we were about to hit the 'send' key on this month's Newsletter, this newsworthy item came in:
A bill introduced in the NYS Senate would require insurance companies to cover as much as $36,000 per year of autism treatments, including speech, OT, PT, medication, counseling, psychiatric and psychological care, and ABA. Nine other states have such laws in effect.
Meanwhile, in the US Senate, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand introduced a bill aimed at helping autistic children of military families.
We'll report in detail as the information becomes available to us.
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Gene Points to Why More Boys Than Girls Have Autism |
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Mystery is moved from macroworld to microworld
Autism occurs in boysat a rate that is four times higher than in girls. Researchers believe they have found a genetic clue to explain the disparity.
The Autism Genetic Resource Exchange acts as a focal point of DNA samples of families who have at least one member diagnosed with autism. Researchers examined DNA samples and found that a variant of a gene called CACNA1G is more common in boys with autism than girls similarly diagnosed.
CACNA1G sits on Chromosome 17, amid other genes previously lined to autism, and is responsible for regulating the flow of calcium into and out of cells. Nerve cells in the brain rely on calcium to become activated. Researchers suggest an imbalance in calcium can result of overstimulation of the neural connections.
This synopsis is from an article on Time.com:
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| Bill in Albany to curtail rights of special education children |
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The NYS Assembly has ignored the best interests of parents of children with special education needs. A bill being considered would create an exception in the NYS Education Law for reimbursement claims for unilateral school placements.
The bill creating this exception would limit parents who are seeking tuition reimbursement to 180 days from the placement, rather than the two years for other types of claims.. In the best of interpretations, that reduces the 2 year statute of limitation to 6 months! In a worse interpretation, who knows what the school districts will opine.
If not stopped, this bill will take effect on September 1, 2009. |
| Share this Newsletter with your friends and colleagues by forwarding this email to them. |
If you learn of any newsworthy item related to Special Education, contact us with the information. |
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Forest Grove at the US Supreme Court:
NY Times Gets It Wrong |
Michael Best, General Counsel to the NYC DOE, misunderstands IDEA
In a recent NY Times article discussing the Forest Grove case now before the US Supreme Court (hopefully, long-time readers of this Newsletter are well acquainted with the case), Reporter Tamar Lewin states that there is a fiscal difference between the 2-year-old Tom F case which was settled at the Appellate Court and the current Forest Grove case.
Reminder to Reporter Lewin: there is no means test to the IDEA -- the poor and the rich are viewed the same, although the rich probably have better expert witnesses (see above IDEA Fairness Restoration Act). The IDEA is not class warfare -- it is intended to help children with special education needs.
Michael Best, the DOE's General Counsel, is quoted in the article as saying that "The whole point of IDEA is to encourage cooperation between parents and school districts to ensure the education of disabled children in as mainstream a setting as possible".
Mr. Best seems to have forgotten that the anchor of the IDEA is a "free and appropriate public education" or FAPE. Although cooperation is a worthy goal and Susan is constantly preaching to clients the need for cooperation, the significance of FAPE is that the school district must have appropriate programs to meet the needs of our special education children. The number of appropriate programs and the number of seats in appropriate programs is woefully small - Small to the point of shameful.
Mr. Best, in the article, says that 'reimbursing ... tuition even if they never considered public school would lead to a ridiculous situation' has never had to consider inappropriate programs for his special education needs child, or has never faced a filled classroom for his child.
The statement in the article concerning the cost for private school reimbursement, $89 Million up from $53 Million two years earlier, is never placed in perspective: the NYC DOE budget exceeds $17 BILLION!
Susan wrote a letter to Ms. Lewin explaining the reality of finding placement for our kids. Susan pointed out that if the DOE's program was appropriate, the parent couldn't win the hearing. It was also pointed out that in many cases, no appropriate program was offered for the child. To date, Ms. Lewin has not responded.
Provide the appropriate programs in the appropriate quantities, Mr. Best, and there will be little need for private school reimbursement. |
End Notes
The 2008-2009 School Year is winding down. Activities for the 2009-2010 year are well in motion.
Our parents and most associated professionals will be taking some time off to re-charge their batteries.
SLA will be having its end-of-year colloquium with its advocates and affiliated attorneys to review "what went right and what didn't". We will refine our strategies for the new year to make us more efficient and more pro-active and prepared for whatever the school districts come up with.
We seem to re-charge our batteries with FAPE (see article above: NY Times gets it wrong).
Sincerely,
Susan Luger
Susan Luger Associates, Inc.
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