Ballew Law Office

If your child has a disability, he or she may be eligible to receive special education and related services including an Individualized Education Plan, developed by a qualified team. This team is to include the parents, and the goal is to provide an education designed to meet his or her "unique needs and prepare them for further education, employment, and independent living."

Have you found that you are not an equal member of the IEP team? Have you been presented with completed IEPs and a "take it or leave it" approach from the school?

It doesn't have to be this way. I can help you use Federal and State laws to force the school to provide the appropriate education your child deserves.

There are a variety of ways the schools fail in their obligation to educate children with disabilities. Do any of the following examples sound like your situation?

1. The IEP goals are vague or unmeasurable. A common trick is to just copy requirements from the curriculum standards without regard to the actual level of the student.

2. Refusing to consider the evaluations from the parent's doctors. The schools often prefer to follow the recommendations of their own evaluators.

3. Failure to implement the IEP. A well-written IEP is useless if the school can't be bothered to provide the services required.

4. Failure to have the required members at IEP meetings. You should never be meeting with just a "case manager".

5. The IEP team doesn't consider the unique educational needs of the student. Some schools will try to use the same "program" for all disabled students.

6. Predeterminations. If you show up to the IEP meeting and the IEP has already been written and is just waiting for your signature, your child's rights have been violated.

7. The school won't give copies of all evaluations to the parents. The parents are part of the team and are entitled to review any and all reports regarding the education and capabilities of their children.

8. Failure to be creative. Unique children need unique placements and programs. The school cannot refuse to provide what your child needs because it's inconvenient for the teacher or expensive for the school.

9. The school fails to notice that the child needs special education services, even though the child is obviously struggling in class.

10. Refusing to allow the child into the school. The IDEA applies to all children, no matter how disabled. The schools do not have the option of refusing to educate you child.

11. Failure to write a transition plan. In Tennessee, when the student reaches the age of 14 the IEP team must plan for the student's education, employment and independent living after high school.

12. Failure to train the teachers and aides in the child's disability. Do the staff have any idea how to work with your child?

This is just a partial list of possible violations. If your child's situation sounds like any of these, or if you suspect your child's rights have been violated in some other way, call me at the number above. I want to help you.