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Susan Luger Associates Newsletter |
Happenings in the World of Special Education April 2010 |
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Susan Luger Associates is now on Facebook.
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Federal Appellate Court Rules on Services at Private School
Answers question of providing services within a private school
Also answers question of whether an individual aide falls within the definition of "services"
A child in the Bay Shore School District attends the St. Patrick School, a private school. He is diagnosed with ADHD and classified as "other health impaired". The IEP provided for 40 minutes a day in a resource room and an individual aide for three hours daily. The role of the aide was to help the pupil focus and to keep him on task during the class.
Although the school district agreed with the recommended services, they strongly believed that they were not obligated to provide the individual aide in a private school. They believed that the aide must only be provided if the student left the private school and attended their public school placement. Additionally, the district felt that an individual aide was not a "service" as defined by the IDEA and its NYS counterparts.
The Court focused on statutes that allow private school students equal access to specialized public school programs (BofE Monroe-Woodbury CSD v Wieder). Further the Court recognized that where services are provided depends on the child's "least restrictive environment". In this case, since the aide was required to refocus the child in the middle of a lesson, the aide must be in the private school environment in order to do so.
The Court also dealt with the issue raised by the school district, wherein the district claimed that the one-on-one aide was not a "service". The Court ruled that the definition of educational resources as services to children with disabilities was sufficiently broad to encompass the aide's contribution as an integral part of the child's regular classroom experience.
This case is important because it shows that the school district has responsibility for services even at the private school. SLA's experience includes some cases where the district has tried to prove the private school inappropriate because the school did not have a particular service required by the student. This case says that the district is still responsible for providing those services. Additionally, aides must be provided to our kids who require them even if the student attends a private school of the parent's choice. Muy importante! |
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Federal Court: School District Cannot Recoup Pendency Funding |
Pendency is one of those legal special education concepts that takes some getting used to.
For example, you go to Impartial Hearing for this (2009-10) School Year. The Hearing Officer rules in your favor (hooray!). The local school district does not appeal (double hooray!). Your services and possible tuition reimbursement/ payments are taken care of for the 2009-10 School Year.
With the upcoming School Year (2010-11), you start to go through the special education process again. You again bring an Impartial Hearing for the new school year. The first hearing event will be a "pendency hearing," requesting the hearing officer to order pendency while the new hearing is going on. It is usually granted without too much trouble. Now, while the case is being adjudicated (scheduled out, being heard, while briefs are being written, while appeals are generated and judged, etc.), your child is entitled to "stay put", receiving the identical services as was last awarded by the 2009-10 Officer's ruling. If those services included a para, your child continues to have the para; if speech-and-language services, your child continues ...; IF tuition was reimbursed or prospectively paid, then the tuition continues to be paid by the school district to the private school! This "continuing" continues up to a new final decision for the 2010-11 school year.
Our own 2nd Circuit District Court has dismissed an appeal by the NYC DOE seeking to recover pendency-paid costs. The Court quotes the IDEA:
"During the pendency of any proceedings ..., the child shall remain in the then-current educational placement of the child ... until all such proceedings have been completed."
Judge Colleen McMahon wrote that the "responsibility for pendency tuition ... is absolute, and not subject to recovery".
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| Workshop News |
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Workshops Scheduled |
We are planning a workshop on "Understanding the Neuro-Psychological Report", directed at parents and educators, in the near future. Please keep an eye on our website for details and registration.
Prior Workshops in the 2009-2010 Year
Andrea Silvia, our own double-threat advocate & attorney, provided the workshop: The Essentials of a Multisensory Orton-Gillingham program, March 10, 2010.
David Cooperman, MD presented "Is It ADD or Is It Asperger's?", January 25, 2010.
Dr. Nancy Eng spoke on 'Identifying Speech and Language Issues in Mono- and Bi-lingual Children' -- October 28, 2009.
Financial Consultant Stuart Flaum to discuss 'Special Need Trusts' -- November 18, 2009. Presentation available on request. | |
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Community Corner |
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Susan Luger will be on a panel "Best Practices in the Education of Children with Autism" at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine.
May 3-5, 2010
The SLA organization will be well-represented by a contingent of advocates and affiliated attorneys at the annual LRP Conference (nationwide special education attorneys, school district representatives, scalawags and gamblers) in Orlando. |
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Our Larger Community |
Dr. Ellenmorris Tiegerman, Executive Director of SLCD, tells us ...
SLCD has settled its lawsuit against the State Education Department. SLCD is
approved K through 12. There are openings at SLCD for immediate placement as well as for September 2010. |
Contact us to highlight your organization's activities. |
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Early Signs of Autism in Some Kids |
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Some infants headed for a diagnosis of autism can be identified at 14 months old based on the presence of five key behavior problems.
The presence of all five behaviors at 14 months predicted an eventual diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder in 15 of 16 children.
The five predictors of autism spectrum disorders among 14-month-olds at high risk for developing this condition include a lack of response to others' attempts to engage them in play, infrequent attempts to initiate joint activities, few types of consonants produced when trying to communicate vocally, problems in responding to vocal requests and a keen interest in repetitive acts, such as staring at a toy while twirling it.
Accurate identification of infants likely to develop autism spectrum disorder by age 3 is particularly important because intensive interventions with youngsters who display early warning signs and their parents often yield marked behavioral improvements. Interventions focus on teaching kids basic interaction and communication skills.
Comprehensive measures of social, communication and motor abilities were obtained at each child's home and repeated at 18, 24, 30 and 36 months of age.
Preliminary evidence suggests that high-risk 14-month-olds who later develop autism display signs of delayed motor development as early as 6 to 7 months of age. In particular, these youngsters had difficulty keeping their heads stable when slowly raised from a prone position.
A fundamental derailment of postural development may accompany social difficulties typical of children with autism spectrum disorders.
Much remains unknown about the early identification and treatment of autism. Infant siblings of older children with autism represent a special group that's especially likely to show early signs of the same disorder.
This article is gleaned from Science News. |
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If you learn of any newsworthy item related to Special Education, contact us with the information. |
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End Notes
With the arrival of April and the warm weather, it really feels like Spring. The trees on the West Side Highway are in spectacular bloom. The flowers are blooming all around. Our kids are also blooming -- growing academically, emotionally and socially. We have been receiving progress reports and our students are doing well in the school environments chosen by their parents. That's great news for everybody.
Everyday we feel more encouraged to continue with our work so these kids can make progress toward a better life. The betterment of their lives is a sacred trust that we are proud to share with our families. Some of you may have heard the phrase 'Welcome to our family' when joining with our organization. It is truly the way we feel. Hopefully it shows.
We encourage you, as the immediate families and parents and grandparents and siblings, to continue to fight to ensure that sacred trust is fulfilled. For as much as we try (and Heaven knows, we do try), it is still you, the immediate family, who are the best advocates your child will ever have.
Sincerely,
Susan Luger Associates, Inc. | |
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