Supreme Court Grants New Rights to Parents of Children with Special Needs
A Supreme Court decision on Monday gave parents of children with disabilities the right to go to court without a lawyer to challenge their public school district’s individualized plan for their child’s education.This ruling will almost certainly open the possibility of truly apprpriate education to many children on the autism spectrum. By the same token, it is likely to add a new financial burden to already overstretched school districts. What's your take on this ruling? Will you take advantage of the new laws to argue for a better educational program for your child with autism?The 7-to-2 decision involved an interpretation of the federal law that gives all children the right to a “free appropriate public education,” regardless of disability. Millions of children receive benefits under the law, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Most federal appeals courts have ruled that when a dispute brings families and school districts into court, the parents cannot proceed without a lawyer.
Many parents, including the couple from Parma, Ohio, who brought this case, either cannot afford a lawyer or cannot find one. Increasingly, school districts have been bringing parents who seek to handle their own cases into court on charges of violating state statutes against the “unauthorized practice of law.”
The Supreme Court’s ruling will therefore change the status quo in many parts of the country, opening federal courthouse doors that were previously closed to parents.
Comments
I am using this court ruling as my motivator to push my rural community school for a more specialized education for my child with autistic characteristics. They need to catch up with the rest of the country. I don’t believe I am asking too much, just what my child is entitled to under the law.
I probably would take advantage of this however I see some issues with it both ways. example: I took my sons father back to court, and couldn’t afford an attorney at the time so I did it myself with a not so wanted outcome. the outcome could have been better if I had an attorney. it can be very hard to loose the emotonal aspect a prent has to present a case.
representing yourself also left me doing all the work, which takes time away frommy child. doing this for educational reasons I can see where it would be much more work to present a case to a Judge. overall, it is a big win for parents but if those parents have no experience in educational law, going to court and representing themselves may have a far less desired outcome than if they did have an attorney.
I believe this ruling is great. I wish I personally knew the people in Ohio so I could ask for advice. My kid means everything to me. The school systems try to cut corners and dominate the IEP meetings.
My children both attend the Parma school system. My typical learning child, as well as my autistic child. This school system is one of the best in this area in educating special needs children. My children even attended the same schools as her children. Mrs. Winkleman does not want to face the fact that her children are autistic! She wants to “fix” them. She will never be happy with “just” giving them appropriate education.
I have battled my school district to just provide basic needs to my autistic child. After 6 long years of no improvement I took him out and now cyber school him. One thing everyone should keep in mind is that these so called overstretched budgets are making alot of money off of our special children and are not providing all or even half of the services our kids need. It’s time to stand up for these kids and make the schools walk the line.
I will be taking full advantage of this. It’s about time that we are able to stand up for all autistic disabilities in the public school systems. We have enough on our plate with everything else. Thank You! Thank You! Ohio