Category Archives: Current Events

Extended School Year and COVID-19/Compensatory Education

The Extended School Year (ESY) is fast approaching and in the current environment there are few certainties. In Illinois, students who are eligible for extended school year will receive services remotely. There will be no in person instruction. The standards … Continue reading

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School Refusal

Over the years, I have worked with many families struggling to cope when their child or adolescent refuses to go to school. Typically, by the time parents call my office, the issue of school refusal is already a crisis. There … Continue reading

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Support For a Non-Minor Child with a Disability

1 in 59 children are diagnosed with autism according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. 750 ILCS 5/513.5 is the statute that governs the support of an adult child with a disability. This is an increasingly common issue … Continue reading

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Autism and Police Interaction

Over the past several months I have had several cases of young people with autism who have been involved with the police for a variety of reasons. In my practice this is not an uncommon situation. However, I wanted to … Continue reading

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October is National Bullying Prevention Month – October 23, 2019 is Unity Day

Bullying is an issue that our office deals with routinely. Students with disabilities can become the target of bullying as well as neurotypical students. This is a tough issue and one that doesn’t lend itself to simple solutions.  Witnessed Bullying? … Continue reading

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Every Student Succeeds Act

In early December of 2015, Congress, in a bi-partisan vote, replaced the No Child Left Behind Act with the new law, Every Child Succeeds Act (“ESSA”) which is the latest reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. The … Continue reading

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Illinois School Discipline Reform Law: Effective September, 2016

Discipline Reform:   Governor Rauner signed into law dramatic reforms in school discipline. The intent of the law is to use suspensions and expulsions as a last resort. Illinois has one of the widest disparities between black and white students … Continue reading

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School Administrators Propose Change to Due Process System: Interesting IDEA?

Recently the American Association of School Administrators proposed a drastic change in the system known as “Due Process Hearings”. The change suggested would follow a model already underway on a voluntary basis in Massachusetts and would involve a “consultant IEP” … Continue reading

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The Cost of Getting What You Need: Many Children Left Behind

This is my 17th year in this area of practice-notably special education law and other disability related areas of law practice. While I have always done a considerable amount of pro bono work, the need in recent years has been … Continue reading

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Reflections of a Special Education Lawyer

Yesterday, I traveled to Rockford, Illinois, to give a presentation on Special Education Law to a group of parents of children with autism. The parents had arrived early on a Saturday morning, anxious to hear how to navigate the labyrinth … Continue reading

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