Extended School Year:
The Law and the Reality
Presented by Micki Moran, J.D. of The Child & Family Law Center
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
6:30-7:00 pm
Call 847-926-0101 for information
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Announcements & Upcoming Events:
National Children's Mental Health Awareness Week (May 6-12)
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April 10, 2014
The National Alliance on Mental Illness of Chicago
NAMI CNNS
SPRING BENEFIT
May 10, 2014
Brandon Marshall Foundation
Northbrook Renaissance Hotel
Summer Webinars
Webinars will be approximately one hour in length and will take place on Wednesday evenings at 7:00 p.m. There will be a period for questions & answers.
The Child and Family Law Center will be offering a series of webinars designed for Parents and Professionals to learn about topics in special education and related fields.
MAY 2014
Part II of the Series:
The Process of Due Process
May 21, 2014 at 7:00 p.m.
Mediation, Resolution Sessions and State Complaints
JUNE 2014
The Most Important Things
You Need to Know about Transition Planning
June 11, 2014 at 7:00 p.m.
Divorce & the Special Needs Child: Resources for Parents and Professionals
(e.g. financial considerations, logistics, school districts and residency considerations)
June 25th at 7:00 p.m.
JULY 2014
Frequently Asked Questions About Divorce and Custody
July 16th at 7:00 p.m.
August 2014
Effective Advocacy for Your Child: Tips from the Experts on Getting the Most out of your IEP: How to make this school year work for your child.
August 21st at 7:00 p.m.
What to do if Your Teen or Young Adult is Arrested: Practical advice regarding how to talk with your teen or young adult regarding this issue and how to respond if this happens.
August 28th at 7p.m.
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Is your group or organization having and event?
Email usor call our office at 847-926-0101 with the information and
The Child & Family Law Center will be happy to publish it in our newsletter.
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Lisle Office
The Child and Family Law Center is pleased to announce the opening of a branch office in Lisle, Illinois. Attorneys Micki Moran and Joe Scally will meet with clients by appointment at 5950-E Lincoln, Lisle, IL.
For more information or to schedule an appointment, please call 847-926-0101.
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Greetings!
Hello and Welcome. Each month The Child and Family Law Center of the North Shore, Ltd. will provide articles of interest and updates on areas that our office deals with on a regular basis. We appreciate and welcome feedback, so please feel free to send us an email at mickim@lawforchild.com with questions or suggestions. |
 Happy Mother's Day!
People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone.
- Audrey Hepburn
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Extended School Year:
Second Circuit Court of Appeals Rules that Least Restrictive Environment Applies to Extended School Year.
T.M. v. Cornwall Central School District No12-4301 ( 2d Cir. April 2, 2014)
T.M. is a student with autism. During the school year he was placed in a mainstream classroom where he made expected progress. The school district continued to recommend placement in a regular education placement for the upcoming school year. However, the district had only two extended school year programs. Neither of them included any non-disabled peers.
The parents objected to the placement as too restrictive.
The Second Circuit ruled as follows:
"The least restrictive (LRE) requirement of the IDEA applies to extended school year (ESY) placements as it does to regular school year placements . We therefore conclude that the district court erred in determining that the school district met the least restrictive environment requirements when it offered T.M. only an ESY placement in a self-contained, special education class."
The Court explained its ruling:
- Once Cornwall ( school district ) determined that T.M. need a 12 month educational program, including an ESY placement, in order to prevent substantial regression, it was required to consider a continuum of alternative ESY placements and to offer T.M. the least restrictive placement from that continuum appropriate for his needs."
- Both of the ESY placements that Cornwall offered ... were self-contained, special education classrooms with no non-disabled students."
- We therefore also reject Cornwall's contention that the LRE requirement is necessarily limited ... by what programs the school district already offers."
- In order to comply with the LRE requirement ... a school district must consider an appropriate continuum of alternative placements. .."
- The LRE requirement applies in the same way to ESY placements as it does to school year placements. "
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Divorce - Shared Parenting bill will change existing visitation rules.
House Bill 5425 recently passed the Illinois House and is expected to pass the Senate.
This bill amends the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act. To the list of purposes of the Act, adds: (i) continuing existing child-parent relationships; and (ii) recognizing that the involvement of each parent for equal time and not less than 35% of residential parenting time per week is presumptively in the children's best interests. Provides that the court shall allocate parenting time according to the child's best interests and that it is presumed that it is in the child's best interests to award equal time to each parent. Provides that unless the parents present a mutually agreed written and notarized parenting plan within 90 days of both parties filing an appearance, the court shall allocate parenting time. Provides that it is presumed that both parents are fit and the court shall not place any restrictions on parenting time unless it finds by clear and convincing evidence that a parent's exercise of parenting time would seriously endanger the child's physical, mental, moral, or emotional health. Provides that in cases where the court finds that it is not in the best interests of the child for the parents to have equal time or that it is not possible for both parents to share time equally, a minimum of 35% residential time per week should be ordered for the non-custodial parent. Provides that the non-custodial parent may waive his or her right to a 35% minimum residential time per week. Provides that parents may agree to an alternate parenting schedule, subject to the court's approval. Provides that the term "visitation" includes parenting time. Provides that the parties shall implement an order allocating parenting time no more than 60 days after the entry of the order. Makes corresponding changes. There are two competing bills in the house. HB 1452 would introduce global changes to the Illinois divorce bills whereas HB 5425 has a more narrow focus that is designed to set new standards for parenting time for non-custodial parents.
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Juvenile Justice: Institute for Juvenile Justice Reform
Automatic Statutory Exclusion Statute Reform: The trial of youth as an adult is prohibited across the world. In Illinois, however, youth as young as 13 could be tried as an adult with or without a juvenile court hearing. This magic transformation from a child to an adult happens swiftly based only on the initial and cursory investigation of the offense, before trial and without any consideration of the child's background or circumstances without counsel or court hearing, and without any review of the potential for rehabilitation in juvenile court system. Juvenile Justice Initiative believes this automatic transformation of youth to an adult violates every fundamental concept of due process and fair treatment, and we work to eliminate the automatic exclusion statute.
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The Child and Family Law Center of the North Shore is a unique legal practice that specializes in providing legal services to families and children in the areas of special education, IEP consultations, divorce and custody, parenting agreements, mediation, guardianship and juvenile law, including criminal law, DCFS and mental health. Where possible, we have initiated flat fee billing for appropriate matters.
The Child and Family Law Center of the North Shore
1950 Sheridan Rd. - Suite 201
Highland Park, IL 60035
We provide representation in the following Northern Illinois counties: Cook, Lake, DuPage, Kane, McHenry, and Will. Consultations by appointment in our Lisle, IL office.
For more information about The Child and Family Law Center of the North Shore, please call 847-926-0101 or visit our website at www.lawforchild.com.
Representation and Consultation
in the following areas:
- Special Education and School Law
- Juvenile and Criminal Law
- Mental Health and Disability Law
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Micki Moran
The Child and Family Law Center of the North Shore |
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