504 vs IEP    A 504 Plan provides accommodations, services and/or aids to students with a disability (as that term is defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act) to afford the student equal opportunities to participate in school activities and receive the same instruction as nondisabled peers, but they do not require special education. Accommodations may include extra time for the same assignments as their peers, a separate quiet room to take the same test as their peers, large type for reading the same instructional material, or ramps to physically access ..read more

Excerpted from an interview of attorney Hope Kirsch to LRP: Parent attorney isn't coming to IEP meeting, but school attorney is? Watch your step The case manager has all the documents ready and is just a couple of hours away from beginning the IEP meeting. Then the parent attorney calls to say she can't make it to the meeting. Can the IEP team and school attorney continue with the meeting, despite the parent attorney's absence? The Office of Special Education Program's position is to "strongly discourage" attorney attendance at IEP meetings in general. Notwithstanding any strict reading of th ..read more

A.R.S. § 15-761(2)(a) (i)    Autism (A) (ii)   Developmental delay (DD) (until age 9 years) (iii)  Emotional disability (ED) (iv)  Hearing impairment (HI) (v)   Other health impairments (OHI) (vi)   Specific learning disability (SLD) (vii)  Mild, moderate or severe intellectual disability (MID, MOID, SID) (viii) Multiple disabilities (MD) (ix)    Multiple disabilities w/ severe sensory   impairment (MDSSI) (x)     Orthopedic impairment (OI) (xi)    Preschool severe delay (PS ..read more

 The key federal laws that affect students with disabilities are the Individuals w/ Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Sec 504 of the Rehab Act of 1973 as amended (Section 504) and the Americans w/ Disabilities Act (ADA). Three federal laws address the obligation of public district schools and charter schools to meet the needs of students with disabilities.  These three key laws that affect students with disabilities are the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Sec 504 of the Rehab Act of 1973 as amended (Section 504) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA ..read more

The IDEA protects students with disabilities in disciplinary proceedings that may result in long term suspension or expulsion. Suspension over 10 days in a school year requires a Manifestation Determination Review (MDR) (see below). A student with a disability (with an IEP) may be suspended for up to 10 school days in a school year without FAPE being provided. Suspension for more than 10 school days is considered a long term suspension. A disciplinary change of placement occurs for a student with a disability if: (1) The removal is for more than 10 consecutive school days; or (2) he student h ..read more

Fron a recent presentation. https://care4thecaregivers.org/courses/idea-a-legal-look ..read more

By Hope Kirsch, Kirsch-Goodwin & Kirsch, PLLC https://www.yourvalley .net/paradise-valley-independent/stories/kirsch-heres-what-to-do-when-your-child-needs-help-in-school,288281 If your child is struggling at all — in school work (academics), making friends, teachers complaining about behavior, almost anything that concerns you or the teachers — the school should be notifying you and suggesting to meet to evaluate the child for a 504 plan (accommodations) or an IEP (special education). But if the school has not contacted you, then you should contact the school. Do not hesitate because ea ..read more

When the school calls: Understanding IEPs  ..read more

  https://www.dropbox.com/s/5fqprj3ztkycz3a/Navigating%20Special%20Education%20for%20Your%20Child.mp4?dl=0 ..read more

Thee United States Department of Education will be issuing guidance to schools notifying them that regardless of the COVID pandemic or how instructino is provided, students with disabilities must still receive a free appropriate public education (FAPE) in accordance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and that infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families receive early intervention services. Here is the first guidance document, a Questions and Answers (Q/A) document, that outlines the key requirements and reminds schools of their requirement to appropri ..read more