When should you hire a special education attorney versus going with an advocate? While many advocates can provide useful assistance to parents, when a complaint is filed against a school district, the process becomes complicated. It becomes necessary and important to reach out to an attorney. In this episode, we explore the situations when an advocate is not appropriate because of limitations in their advocacy.

What You’ll Learn in this Episode:

When should you go with a special education attorney and when should you go with an advocate?

What is legitimate legal work and what is it that parent advocates can assist families with?

What is the scope of legal representation?

What does the law authorize advocates to do?

How the law can be interpreted and applied to different scenarios differently, and why that's important to understanding the work lawyers do

Why an advocate cannot assist with preparation of legal instruments and contracts like settlement agreements?

What holds parents back from reaching out to attorneys?

How the recent General Attorney opinion affects what advocates can and can’t

Resources:

California General Attorney opinion

Thank you for listening! Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to the show to receive every new episode delivered straight to your podcast player of choice.

If you enjoyed this episode and believe in our message, then please help us get the word out about this podcast. Rate and Review this show in Apple Podcasts, Stitcher Radio, or Google Play. It helps other listeners find this show.

Be sure to connect with us and reach out with any questions/concerns:

https://www.facebook.com/IEPcalifornia/ (Facebook)

https://www.instagram.com/iepcalifornia/ (Instagram)

http://www.iepcalifornia.org (IEP website)

What are the differences between special education attorneys and parent advocates? When should a parent choose to hire a lawyer over working with an advocate? We share our thoughts on why it’s important to work with an attorney when any type of legal process is required.

Mental health issues are serious concerns that face many students in our school systems, and the correlation between mental health issues and school shootings might surprise you. What are our schools doing to better equip themselves to deal with students who may show signs of mental health problems, especially if those problems eventually lead to school shootings? That is what we’re discussing in this episode. We’re taking a closer look at the Sandy Hook shooter, Adam Lanza, and sharing our thoughts on what happened.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

If a child proves to be academically capable, should that affect their IEP?

What are some signs parents and teachers can and should look

What are the school’s obligations and how can we bridge that gap between the school and parents?

What resources are out there to help parents who are dealing with a child with mental health problems?

Resources Mentioned:

COPAA - Sandy Hook Report

California Department of Health Care Services

Thank you for listening!

Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to the show to receive every new episode delivered straight to your podcast player of choice.

If you enjoyed this episode and believe in our message, then please help us get the word out about this podcast. Rate and Review this show in Apple Podcasts, Stitcher Radio, or Google Play. It helps other listeners find this show.

Be sure to connect with us and reach out with any questions/concerns:

https://www.facebook.com/IEPcalifornia/ (Facebook)

https://www.instagram.com/iepcalifornia/ (Instagram)

http://www.iepcalifornia.org (IEP website)

What are some signs of mental health issues in students that parents and teachers should look for and how are they preparing themselves to properly deal with them? What is a school's responsibility and how can parents help? What are some of the stigmas associated with mental health problems? We tackle these and more in this week’s episode.

We’re exploring the Secretary of Education position and what it entails. This position has come into the limelight more so this year so we wanted to discuss who the new Secretary of Education is (Betsy DeVos), what her credentials are, and what her plans are for public education.

What You’ll Learn in this Episode:

Who is Betsy DeVos and what are her credentials?

What is a Secretary of Education supposed to do anyways?

What is the voucher system that DeVos wants to implement and how does it work?

Requirements that Federal laws demand of public school teachers that don’t necessarily apply to private school teachers

Is privatization of education the answer?

What has DeVos accomplished so far?

Title IX protections

The progress we’ve experienced over the last 8 years

Resources Mentioned:

Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA)

Thank you for listening!

Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to the show to receive every new episode delivered straight to your podcast player of choice.

If you enjoyed this episode and believe in our message, then please help us get the word out about this podcast. Rate and Review this show in Apple Podcasts, Stitcher Radio, or Google Play. It helps other listeners find this show.

Be sure to connect with us and reach out with any questions/concerns:

https://www.facebook.com/IEPcalifornia/ (Facebook)

https://www.instagram.com/iepcalifornia/ (Instagram)

http://www.iepcalifornia.org (IEP website)

We’re going way back in today’s episode. We’re chatting about one of the most influential cases in American history that helped lay the foundation for our special education laws today. We also discuss the importance of the language we use to describe children living with disabilities.

What You’ll Learn in this Episode:

How Brown v. Board of Education (1954), where the court decided that separate is not equal, set up the foundation for the special education conversation

In 1975, the Senate established the IDEA – Individuals with Disabilities Education Act which indicated that children needed to be in school whether or not they had a disability

Why it’s important to use person-first language like “children living with a disability” instead of a “disabled person”

How and why we’re trying to change the perception of “disability”

Where do we learn our perceptions anyways?

What is Free and Appropriate Public Education and why is it important?

What does the Constitution guarantee anyways when it comes to education?

Find out more about our non-profit organization, the Inclusive Education Project

Contact Information:

Our non-profit: www.iepcalifornia.org

Thank you for listening! Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to the show to receive every new episode delivered straight to your podcast player of choice.

If you enjoyed this episode and believe in our message, then please help us get the word out about this podcast. Rate and Review this show in Apple Podcasts, Stitcher Radio, or Google Play. It helps other listeners find this show.

Be sure to connect with us and reach out with any questions/concerns:

https://www.facebook.com/IEPcalifornia/ (Facebook)

https://www.instagram.com/iepcalifornia/ (Instagram)

http://www.iepcalifornia.org (IEP website)

We’ve got some thoughts on the new Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, and we certainly share them in this episode. We delve into who the new Secretary is, what her credentials are, what her plans are for the position, and how her proposals will affect public education.

In our inaugural episode, we share a little bit about who we are, what we do as special education and civil rights attorneys, and why we’re so passionate about getting the conversation going about making our education systems and communities more inclusive.

Be sure to connect with us at on Facebook, Instagram, and visit our website at http://iepcalifornia.org/

Please SUBSCRIBE to this show so that you receive every new episode when its released

 In our inaugural episode, we share a little bit about who we are, what we do as special education and civil rights attorneys, and why we’re so passionate about getting the conversation going about making our education systems and communities more inclusive.

Be sure to connect with us at on Facebook, Instagram, and visit our website at http://iepcalifornia.org/

Please SUBSCRIBE to this show so that you receive every new episode when its released