The following comment is quote in an introduction to the EdJurist website at http://www.edjurist.com
"For educators and their attorneys to have the requisite information and knowledge, there is a need to define a new class of educators and a new class of lawyers, each attuned to the contextual reality of the other's discipline. Such a new class will establish law-informed educators and leaders who can act preventively to avoid or minimize legal entanglements and proactively to influence both litigation strategy and government policy. Such a class will also establish education-informed lawyers, apprised of both school practices and important educational research and policies, who can work collaboratively and preventively with their clients. " Sarah Redfield, The Convergence of Education and Law: A New Class of Educators and Lawyers, 36 Ind. L. Rev. 609 (2003) (Emphasis added.)
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
The Blame Game
Review and a Few Comments on:
Parents, Their Lawyer and an IEP: Teachers Can Survive When Parents Aren't Afraid to Take Legal Action Kellie Hayden 2007.
Kellie Hayden, Ohio educator and freelance journalist, advises teachers about how to cope with "aggressive parents" and/or "helicopter parents", who can make life stressful for teachers by keeping a "lawyer on speed dial".
Hayden's guidelines to assist teachers prepare for a "legal-action-free" school year include (1) being sure to read child's the IEP, (2) contacting the child's former teacher(s) who may be able to "offer tips on how to deal [with] the parents", and (3) becoming familiar with the Individuals w/ Disabilities Act. [Emphasis added]
The Hayden article, published on suite101.com, is no longer available at that website, as it was removed about a day after I posted a response on behalf of the Promise Foundation. Nevertheless, a cached version of the entire column can still be found at http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:W5nf2Y7bEkYJ:educationalissues.suite101.com/article.cfm/parents_their_lawyer_and_an_iep+special+education+avoid+litigation&cd=31&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
Promise Foundation's Response
Good advice, but . . . What about the student without a "helicopter parent" and/or the benefit of legal counsel?
Shouldn't the goal be to provide a free, appropriate, public education...as opposed to simply avoiding litigation?
Why is it necessary to feel sufficiently threatened before becoming motivated to do what needs to be done? All of this is very good advice, e.g. to "read" and understand the IEP "before the school year begins", and then to actually "follow the IEP" and "document, document, document". It is unfortunate when school officials justify a defensive posture as a starting point and necessary response to aggressive parents and the threat of being sued.
I suspect the increase in the number of "helicopter parents" may be due to a corresponding increase in the number of "Kevlar" educators and a siege mentality that has become far too common among school administrators.
Parents, Their Lawyer and an IEP: Teachers Can Survive When Parents Aren't Afraid to Take Legal Action Kellie Hayden 2007.
Kellie Hayden, Ohio educator and freelance journalist, advises teachers about how to cope with "aggressive parents" and/or "helicopter parents", who can make life stressful for teachers by keeping a "lawyer on speed dial".
Hayden's guidelines to assist teachers prepare for a "legal-action-free" school year include (1) being sure to read child's the IEP, (2) contacting the child's former teacher(s) who may be able to "offer tips on how to deal [with] the parents", and (3) becoming familiar with the Individuals w/ Disabilities Act. [Emphasis added]
The Hayden article, published on suite101.com, is no longer available at that website, as it was removed about a day after I posted a response on behalf of the Promise Foundation. Nevertheless, a cached version of the entire column can still be found at http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:W5nf2Y7bEkYJ:educationalissues.suite101.com/article.cfm/parents_their_lawyer_and_an_iep+special+education+avoid+litigation&cd=31&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
Promise Foundation's Response
Good advice, but . . . What about the student without a "helicopter parent" and/or the benefit of legal counsel?
Shouldn't the goal be to provide a free, appropriate, public education...as opposed to simply avoiding litigation?
Why is it necessary to feel sufficiently threatened before becoming motivated to do what needs to be done? All of this is very good advice, e.g. to "read" and understand the IEP "before the school year begins", and then to actually "follow the IEP" and "document, document, document". It is unfortunate when school officials justify a defensive posture as a starting point and necessary response to aggressive parents and the threat of being sued.
I suspect the increase in the number of "helicopter parents" may be due to a corresponding increase in the number of "Kevlar" educators and a siege mentality that has become far too common among school administrators.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Patchwork Project
August 2010
As The School Year Approaches
The Patchwork Project plans to follow a number of children with disabilities throughout the 2010 – 2011 school year, with a focus on the experience of special education for the child with a disability from the perspective of families and family systems.
What is the state of special education today in northwest Ohio? How do things stand now, thirty-five years after federal law first afforded disabled children the right to attend public school at all, and twenty years after the 1990 passage of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (I.D.E.A.).
Our focus of attention with each of the families participating in the Patchwork Project is twofold. First, how are special education services being provided in various local school districts, particularly in terms of developing and implementing individual educational plans (IEP’s) for children with disabilities. Equally important, we are interested in assessing the degree to which parents are being afforded meaningful participation in the educational planning and decision making for their children.
Real names and personal identifiers of individuals and school districts will either be redacted or changed in all of the posted Patchwork Project narratives, reports, or exhibits. No actual names of individuals or entities will be identified until an as yet undetermined time following the end of the 2010 – 2011 school year.
August 2010
As The School Year Approaches
The Patchwork Project plans to follow a number of children with disabilities throughout the 2010 – 2011 school year, with a focus on the experience of special education for the child with a disability from the perspective of families and family systems.
What is the state of special education today in northwest Ohio? How do things stand now, thirty-five years after federal law first afforded disabled children the right to attend public school at all, and twenty years after the 1990 passage of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (I.D.E.A.).
Our focus of attention with each of the families participating in the Patchwork Project is twofold. First, how are special education services being provided in various local school districts, particularly in terms of developing and implementing individual educational plans (IEP’s) for children with disabilities. Equally important, we are interested in assessing the degree to which parents are being afforded meaningful participation in the educational planning and decision making for their children.
Real names and personal identifiers of individuals and school districts will either be redacted or changed in all of the posted Patchwork Project narratives, reports, or exhibits. No actual names of individuals or entities will be identified until an as yet undetermined time following the end of the 2010 – 2011 school year.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)