MoCo special ed advocates pushing bill to make it easier for parents to dispute IEPs - The Washington Post

Jeff Grisamore Not: MoCo special ed advocates pushing bill to make it easier for parents to dispute IEPs - The Washington Post


MoCo special ed advocates pushing bill to make it easier for parents to dispute IEPs

Parents in Montgomery County are leading efforts to make it easier for Maryland families to dispute a child’s special education plan in legal hearings.
The parents have been lobbying in favor of a bill that would require school systems to defend Individual Education Programs in due process legal disputes, regardless of who initiates the proceedings.

If approved, the legislation would change the current system in Maryland, which states that the person bringing a complaint in special education disputes has the “burden of proof,” or responsibility of convincing a hearing officer whether the IEP developed for a particular child is appropriate.
Advocates say the special education process is overwhelming, expensive, intimidating and legally burdensome.
Maryland state Sen. Karen Montgomery (D-Montgomery) has sponsored Senate Bill 691, which advocates say would give parents a competitive edge in special education disputes.
Montgomery said parents who believe school systems aren’t providing the right education for their special needs children often are at a disadvantage when they seek more services from school districts. School systems have attorneys, special education experts and staff to fight or defend special education disputes. But parents often don’t have the legal expertise or money to go toe-to-toe against the school systems, she said.
“The school system always prevails because when the parents come in they’re kind of blindsided by all the paperwork they should have done and they don’t know,” Montgomery said.
Federal law says students with disabilities are entitled to a “free and appropriate education” funded by the public schools. Parents work with school administrators to develop IEPs for students, which detail the services children are supposed to receive. But when the two sides can’t agree and mediation fails parents can bring the dispute before a judge or legal officer in a due process hearing.
Advocates of the bill were at a subcommittee hearing in Annapolis last week and were scheduled to speak before the Montgomery County Council’s education subcommittee on Monday. . The Montgomery County Board of Education is expected to consider whether to support the proposed legislation at its meeting Tuesday. Parents also have also launched a petition advocating the bill, which nearly 800 have signed.
The Maryland State Department of Education has opposed the bill, with officials saying it would create an adversarial relationship between parents and school officials. William Fields, with the Maryland Office of the Attorney General, testified against the bill at a hearing last week.
He said changing the law wouldn’t make it any easier for parents to hire attorneys to contest special education plans for their kids.
“We think it would cut down on the collaborative process,” Fields said
.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Missouri Schools - The Washington Post

Missouri Schools - The Washington Post Some schools brag about their high passing rates on AP or IB, meaning the percentage of test-takers who scored 3, 4 or 5 on the 5-point AP exam or 4, 5, 6 or 7 on the 7-point IB exam. Passing scores make students eligible for credit at many colleges and universities. I decided not to count passing rates in this way because I found that many high schools kept those rates artificially high by allowing only top students to take the courses. AP, IB and AICE are important because they give average students a chance to experience the trauma of heavy college reading lists and long, analytical college examinations. Research has found that even low-performing students who got a 2 on an AP test did significantly better in college than similar students who did not take AP. On the list, we also give readers a sense of how well each school’s students are doing on the tests by posting the Equity and Excellence rate, which is the percentage of all graduating s...
Read more

My Letter Requesting To Become A Board Member

Sherri R. Tucker 1200 SE London Way Lee’s Summit, MO   64081 816-554-3017 autism@kc.rr.com Lee’s Summit R-7 School District C/o Linda Ismert, Board Secretary Stansberry Leadership Center 301 NE Tudor Road Lee’s Summit, MO   64086 Ms Ismert I would like to submit my name for the position on the Lee’s Summit R-7 School Board.   As you know, I have expressed an interest in being on the school board in the past.   On my first attempt I only lost by 2% which would indicate that the voters have an interest in me being on the board as well.   I would think that the voters’ wishes would be taken into consideration. I have a strong relationship with many of the districts’ families and I can help to bridge the gap between them and the district.   I understand the commitment to the time and energy required each week for meetings, phone calls, conversations, visits to schools, and professional development seminars and workshops.   I already do that with the f...
Read more

School Board Candidates

I am attempting to find information on the school board candidates.  It has been much easier in the past.  This year it has been more difficult.  Susan D. Coffman Susan Coffman has served as the Outreach Program Coordinator and Finance Officer for Lee’s Summit CARES since 2008. She has been a mayor-appointed representative to the Human Services Advisory Board, facilitated alcohol retailer trainings, organized the annual Holly Festival with the DARE program, managed bookkeeping and accounting, and served as the community liaison between LS CARES and local business, universities and the cities.  Coffman’s financial background includes work as a customer support specialist at Jack Henry & Associates Inc. for 11 years and assistant vice president and customer support specialist at Merchants Bank for 17 years.  Her community activities include serving on the Human Services Advisory Board, Paradise Park Advisory Board, Lee’s Summit Social Services Board, form...
Read more