Disability Rights and Benefits

What Is The Interplay Between Section 504 and IDEA

Both the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (“Section 504”) provide protections to students with disabilities. If a student qualifies for supports under either of these statutes, the responsible school district is required to provide a free appropriate public education (“FAPE”) to the child.

Child Find Under IDEA

School districts have an affirmative duty to identify, locate and evaluate children with disabilities. This duty, known as “Child Find” applies to children residing within the district who have or are suspected of having disabilities and, therefore, may need special education.

Under the IDEA, districts have an obligation to evaluate all resident children between the ages 3 to 21 who are suspected of having a disability.

Teachers and Kids and Families, and Everyday Heroes

By Heather Zakson
Recently, the federal courts recognized the critical role of special education teachers as advocates for disabled children, and reassured us all that the laws that protect these children also protect teachers who stand up for them.

In Barker v. Riverside County Office of Education, a special education teacher brought a lawsuit against the [...]

What’s Left of Lanterman After the Cuts?

This summer was a tough as I have ever seen it in special education. Districts and Regional Centers were reeling from the fall out of the budget. The question seemed to be “Where to cut when we have already cut so much and we never had enough to start with.”

Among a hierarchy of concerns, one at the top of the list was how to deal with changes in the Lanterman Act that govern the provision of behavioral services, the most troubling of which were provisions requiring regional centers to use the least costly of comparable vendors to provide a ABA services (§ 4648, new subd. (a)(6)(D)); and disallowing Regional Center to pay for educational services. §4648.5(a)(3)

Violations of Children’s’ Civil Rights

We assist families when their child’s civil rights have been violated at a school or in a public facility.

Injuries to Children at School and the Community

We can assist you if your child is injured at school or in a public facility.

Illegal Private School Exclusion

We can assist you if your child has been wrongfully denied admission to or continued attendance at a private school due to his or her disability.

Disability Discrimination

If you suspect your child is subjected to discrimination in a public or private program, please complete our Family Intake Form and we will contact you to schedule an initial consultation with an attorney.

Disability Rights and Benefits

EXCERPT: Disability Rights and Benefits