Attorneys at IEP Meetings

Parents sometimes ask whether it would be helpful if they brought an attorney to their IEP meeting. The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) addressed this question last year in an advisory letter to the Illinois State Board of Education, which had sought guidance on the respective rights of school districts and families.

The DOE noted that parents have the right to bring anyone who has knowledge or special expertise regarding their child to the IEP meeting and that it is the judgment of the parents whether any particular individual falls within that definition. The DOE further noted that while the school district must give parents advance notice as to who will be attending the IEP meeting, parents do not have to advise the district in advance if they are bringing someone with them, including an attorney.

If a parent does bring an attorney to the IEP meeting, the district may seek to adjourn the meeting, but only if the parent agrees and the delay would not delay or deny the child from receiving an appropriate education.

The DOE notes, that "... in the spirit of cooperation and working together as partners in the child’s education, a parent should provide advance notice to the [district] if he or she intends to bring an attorney to the IEP meeting. However, there is nothing in the IDEA or its implementing regulations that would permit the [district] to conduct the IEP meeting on the condition that the parent’s attorney not participate, and to do so would interfere with the parent’s rights..."

They go on to state: "Finally, we would like to note that, even if an attorney possessed knowledge or special expertise regarding the child, an attorney’s presence could have the potential for creating an adversarial atmosphere that would not necessarily be in the best interest of the child. Therefore, [it is our] longstanding position is that the attendance of attorneys at IEP meetings should be strongly discouraged."

While there may be substantive reasons not to bring an attorney to the IEP meeting, we always suggest that parents try not to attend meetings on their own and that they should bring someone with them for support and to take notes. That can be the child's other parent, a friend, or an advocate. For other tips, take a look at our posts on this topic.

Learning to Advocate for Your Child - And Others

Parents sometimes mention to us that they are thinking of becoming an advocate for other parents and students who are seeking special educational services from schools. Most of these parents have dealt with the special education process with their own child and want to apply what they have experienced and learned to help others. Some of these individuals are attorneys who practice in a variety of areas but want to now learn how to extend their practice to the field of education law. Two upcoming programs offer an opportunity for newcomers to get started in the fields of special education advocacy and law.

As we have noted previously, COPAA (The Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates) is holding its annual conference March 6-9 in Baltimore. This event offers programs for both experienced attorneys and just-starting-out advocates, and is attended by hundreds of individuals from all over the country. It is an amazing way to learn about special education and how to advocate effectively, and affords attendees the opportunity to meet and learn from the leading experts in various aspects of this field. If you are even thinking about getting involved in special education law, this is the place to start. One note: COPAA membership and attendance at the Conference are not open to those who work for or represent school districts or similar agencies.

Another excellent opportunity for parents and others to learn about special education is at a Wrightslaw Special Education Law & Advocacy Training. There is one coming up in Plainview, New York, on March 21, 2014, but a check of the Wrightslaw website will allow you to sign up to receive the Wrightslaw newsletter, which announces programs in all parts of the country. Peter Wright is an attorney who overcame his own learning disability to become a leader in the field of special education and a respected resource for special education practitioners at all levels.

A New Way to Talk About Special Education

The terrific Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA) recently held its annual meeting, and one important initiative to emerge from this gathering of education attorneys, parents, and advocates was a focus on the importance of language when we talk about children with special learning and other needs and the work we do to help them. Think about it: we know that special education laws grew out of civil rights legislation and court decisions. The very principles that were determined to apply to discrimination on the basis of race eventually grew to apply to discrimination on the basis of disability. Children who were excluded from schools because they had disabilities were no less the victims of discrimination than those who were excluded or segregated because of race.

We've also seen how effective language can be in shaping opinion and practice in areas from politics to marketing consumer goods. As described in a blog on the public area of the COPAA members website, attorneys Mark Martin and Jennifer Laviano propose a new way of talking about what we have always called "special education" and its related areas.

Among the changes they propose are using "civil rights" to refer to this this area of law and advocacy. So, an attorney would not be a "special education lawyer" but, instead, would be a "civil rights lawyer."  Students who are suspended or expelled can be better described as being "excluded from class and from learning." When children are removed from class they are being "segregated." And children don't need special services, they need a "meaningful education."

As the blog authors note, it is time that students and families and the attorneys and advocates who work on their behalf  "have the rights, respect, and equality to which they are entitled." Using language that more accurately conveys the rights of students and the roles of their supporters is one step in that direction. We agree.