Education Law

States require that all children be educated.  However, there is no requirement that all children must attend public school.  Some children attend private schools and some children are homeschooled.

If you are interested in teaching your child at home then you may do so.  However, you need to be aware that different states have different legal requirements for parents who homeschool.  Some states such as Connecticut and Texas do not require parents to initiate any contact with the school district.  Other states have more stringent requirements.  For example, Massachusetts and New York require not only  notification but also require the parent to explain the curriculum and provide test results.

If you are interested in homeschooling then it is a good idea to keep good records regarding your child’s education.  That way if child services or a school district were ever to question whether or not your child was being educated, you could provide proof.

For more information regarding homeschooling laws please visit: http://www.hslda.org/laws/default.asp.

Spring is a popular time for field trips.  Classes seem to go everywhere these days: musuems, farms, amusement parks, and historical sites are just a few of the class trips planned this season. 

Prior to most, if not all, field trips, parents are asked to sign a permission slip that allows the school to take the child off of school grounds .  The permission slip usually includes a clause that the school is not responsible if the child gets hurt.

So, are these trips safe?  Should you sign the permission slip?

The answer depends on your individual child and the particular trip in question but here are some things to consider when you are deciding whether to sign the permission slip and to allow your child to participate in the class trip:

• How will the children be transported?  Does the transportation meet legal and safety requirements for the child’s age?  If other parents are driving, how will the school ensure that the children are properly restrained in each car?
• What will be the adult to student ratio?  How will things like bathroom trips be handled?
• Will safety precautions for the particular trip be reviewed with the students prior to the trip?
• Has the school gone on this trip before?  Have there been any accidents?
• How will the school make sure that all of the children are accounted for at all times and in particular at the end of the trip so no child is left behind?

If you are comfortable with the school’s answers and your child’s own sense of responsiblity then by all means allow your child to participate in these fun school trips.   Also, you should know that if the school does something intentional or grossly negligent you may still attempt to sue the district for harm to your child, even if you sign the consent form. 

Yet, in the vast majority of trips that run in the United States every year each child comes back unharmed and better for the experience of the class trip.

As the school year comes to a close, many students and their families begin to worry about end of the year grades. 

 What can you, as a parent, do to help your child get the best grades possible?  It is important to remember that it is up to the teacher, not the parent, to grade the student.  The best that you can do is to help the child develop good homework and study habits at home and, if your child has a disability, advocate for your child to receive the accommodations necessary to receive a free appropriate public education.

There is no legal requirement that I am aware of that allows a parent to dispute a grade unless of course the parent alleges that the student was discriminated against or that the student’s IEP was not followed (pursuant to IDEA).  If you believe that the grade is the result of discrimination, an inadequate IEP or a IEP that was not followed then you should immediately bring your contention to the attention of the principal and if necessary the superintendent, board of education or state department of education.

Also, during the course of the year you should keep copies of graded tests, homework and report cards.  If the final grade is way out of line with the documented and graded work for the year then you should request a meeting with the school principal and the teacher to see if a mistake was made and to request an explanation for the grade.

You can also consult your school handbook and see if there is a grading appeal process.  If there is and you believe your child was not graded fairly then you can follow those procedures.

In the end, however, it is the school district that will determine your child’s grade unless you have grounds for a legal appeal based on discrimination or through the IDEA.  If you are unhappy with the grade then you should take some time to consider how things could turn out differently next year.  Perhaps your child needs some accommodations in school or better study habits at home.  A meeting with your child’s new teacher(s) may be in order in September.  In the meantime, enjoy the summer and take the time to work on any remedial skills that your child may need.

As with every other decision regarding a student with a disability, the decision about whether a student is ready to graduate rests, in part, with the student’s IEP Team.

If your child is a high school senior and has an IEP then you want to consider the following factors prior to the end of the school year:

1. Whether your child has met the graduation requirements, including the state graduation exam;
2. Whether your child has met the goals and objectives set forth in his or her current IEP; and
3. Whether your child has been provided with the required transition services in order to promote movement from school to post-high school activities.

Transition services are often where IEPs fall short.  Starting no later than age 16, the IEP Team should be adding transitional services to the IEP.  Transition services may include self advocacy skills, community service experiences, job experiences, job seeking help, basic living skills and more depending on the needs of the student.

If any one of the above requirements are not met, then you should speak first with your child’s IEP Team and then with the school principal about whether or not your child should graduate.  Under the IDEA, your child is eligible for services through the public school district until he or she is 21 years old or until he or she graduates. 

So, think carefully about the decision and if your child is not ready to graduate then work with the IEP Team to develop a good program for the next school year.  If, on the other hand, your child is ready to graduate then celebrate and enjoy this special milestone that your child worked so hard to achieve.

As the school year winds down, many students and parents become anxious about the next school year.  Many worry about who their teachers will be and who will be in their classes.  However, some that are ending a rough academic year or a year with a lot of absences may be wondering if they will be promoted to the next grade level with the rest of their class.

If the school recommends that your child be held back and you are opposed to that recommendation then you should consider:

• The school’s appeal process.  Outline your case for why your child should be promoted and follow the school district’s appeal procedures;
• Offer to enroll your child in summer school. Ask the school if they will reevaluate the retention decision before the start of the next school year.
• If your child is on an IEP then immediately convene an IEP Team meeting.  Likely, your child should be promoted and the IEP should be amended to ensure that your child has access to the general curriculum.
• If your child is an English Language Learner and is new to the English speaking school then he or she should likely be promoted with additional langauge support.

The decision whether to promote or retain a child should be done on an individual basis.  A child’s grades, attitude, attendance, medical conditions and other important life events should be taken into account.

As with any educational decision, it is important that you listen and understand the school district’s professional opinion regarding your child and that you advocate effectively for what you feel is in your child’s best interest.

This blog, like many blogs and websites that talk about legal issues in education, often addresses the legal rights of students with disabilities.  Students with disabilities are protected by federal law.  But, what about gifted students?  What legal rights do they have in our educational system?

The legal rights of gifted students vary from to state to state.  Not every state has a mandatory law concerning educating gifted students and even those states that do have laws often do not fund them.

This can be very frustrating for parents of students who are clearly working above grade level.  It is up to the parents to advocate for their child and make sure that the child is receiving a challenging education.  If there is no formal gifted program at your child’s school, consider working directly with the child’s teacher.  See if you can substitute more difficult assignments for the regular classroom assignment.  Perhaps, the teacher can recommend additional resources and supplementary texts or classes.  If your child is truly bored in his or her current grade then you should speak with the principal about allowing the child to skip a grade.

Many states do have special schools or programs for gifted students.  So, if you are not getting what you need from your school district then contact your state Department of Education and talk to them about your choices.

It’s the time of year for high school seniors to celebrate graduations and look forward to future plans.  Many students are looking forward to college or trade schools and many schools and private organizations offer scholarships and awards to graduating seniors. 

At first glance some of those scholarships may seem discriminatory.  For example, the Polish American club may offer a scholarship to a student of Polish descent or a church may provide money to a Christian student who is going to study religion. 

The school must ensure that any award, scholarship or other distinction that it is given by the school is free of restrictions based on race, gender, color, religion, sexual orientation, national origin or disability.  For example, it may offer a scholarship for the student who excelled in community service during high school but it may not restrict that award to the African-American student who excelled in community service or the female student who excelled in community service.

However, the school district may print or post private scholarships that do have restrictions based on the above categories.   But, the district may not advise a student on whether or not to apply for the award or scholarship, nor may it give preferential treatment to any one scholarship.  In essence, the school district may provide a list of the scholarships but it may not get involved in their administration.

Graduation awards and scholarships are important.  They honor students for work well done and help them, even just a little, with the skyrocketing costs of higher education.  Therefore, it is important that the school district administer the awards fairly, equitably and legally so that the students and their families can enjoy the honor.

Space is at a premium in many public schools across the country.  Students are being educated in spaces that were not meant to be classrooms.  Some are in temporary trailers, others are in rooms originally meant for storage and some are in the basement.  There’s not much that can be done short of building new schools to accommodate more students.

However, it is important that school districts pay attention to what classes or activities they place in these alternate spaces.  Federal civil rights laws such as Title VI require that students in specific groups  have comparable facilities to other students in the district.  So, it would not be acceptable for a district to place of its elementary special education in the basement.  However, it could place an elementary self contained special education classroom in the basement along side other regular education elementary classrooms.

So, if your child is placed in one of these alternative spaces pay attention to who else is using similar spaces.  If regular education students are also using similar space then the district has likely met its legal burden.  However, if all special education classrooms or English language learners or other protected class are segregated into these alternate spaces then you should speak to your building principal and make sure that the students are fully integrated into the life of the school as soon as possible.

The challenges facing a pregnant teenager are many.  It can be a scary and overwhelming time.  There are so many things to think about, not the least of which is education.  Although it might be very difficult, it is important for a teenage mother to complete her high school education so that she has a realistic chance at gainful employment in the future.

In the past many school districts have offered home tutoring or special classes for pregnant students.  However, it is important for every expectant teenage mother and her parents to know that she has the right to stay in the same classes that she was in before the pregnancy.

According to Title IX, a pregnant student in a public school must be permitted to remain in her regular classes and extra curricular activities.  She must also be allowed to return to her classes and activities after the birth of the baby.   The school district can not set up obstacles that prevent the mother from attending her usual classes and activities.   For example, the district may not require a doctor’s note prior to allowing the pregnant student to participate unless such a note is required for all students who have a physical or emotional condition requiring the attention of a physician.

So, while there are many challenges facing a pregnant student, school should not be one of them.  The student can remain in her regular classes and activities and continue on a course toward her high school diploma.

Disagreeing with your child’s school district is not only discouraging and time consuming but it is also expensive.  It can be very difficult for parents of a child with a disability to pursue their case.  Each stage of appeal is expensive.  The school district has the funds with which to fight in administrative hearing and federal court cases.  However, parents, even those that prevail are often left with staggering bills.Accordingly, H.R. 4188, the IDEA Fairness Restoration Act is pending in Congress.  It would allow parents who win in due process or litigation pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to be reimbursed for their expert witness fees if they prevail.  Expert witness fees can be prohibitively expensive and this bill may allow parents the fair access to the appeals process and to the courts that was envisioned by the IDEA.Tomorrow is the time to take action.  So, on May 6, 2008 please consider taking a few minutes out of your day to contact your congressional representatives and ask them to help parents by supporting H.R. 4188, the IDEA Fairness Restoration Act.  You may contact your Representative’s office directly and ask to speak to his or education aide or you may call (202-224-3121) (TTY 202-225-1904) and ask to be directed to your Representative’s office.It is important.  So, please participate in the May 6, 2008 Call to Action!  There are many parents and students who will thank you.