How To Get Speech, Occupational Therapy and Other Related Services Delivered To Our Kids During Coronavirus

 By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995

The end of the 2019-2020 school year was a nightmare for kids, and hardest hit were special needs students.  Now that fall 2020 is starting mainly at home, students are not likely to receive adequate special education services, including their "related services."  

Related services are things such as speech and language, occupational therapy, adaptive physical education, and other similar supportive services necessary to help a special needs student to be educated.  These can be very difficult to deliver via online options and schools recently have cut down the provision of these services due to distance learning.

One possible solution for the delivery of these services is to have a school district pay for outside service providers to deliver in person services to the student.  These could be delivered either at the provider's business or in the student's home (if the provider and family are willing).  

Recently I have reached out to a local private speech and language provider and found they are open for business and can deliver right now to students at their office.  This means that while  school employees are not available for students to meet with, other equally qualified professionals are.  The argument is that these outside services must be provided or students will regress.

Parents may want to research what services are available in their area for in person delivery and contact their school to attempt to get their child's services delivered by these outside providers.  If the school argues they are already delivering, that argument can be countered by asking if they are willing to deliver their services in person or not and pointing out the obvious difficulties and deficiencies present with online provision.  

There is a huge difference between in person and video services when it comes to speech and language, occupational therapy, and adaptive physical education.  I have had some clients give up doing video delivery altogether as they cannot get the student to attend and they also don't have the equipment or training to deliver the services to their kids.

Additionally, parents can ask to be reimbursed for their mileage to and from these services.  The mileage reimbursement must be listed in the IEP.

Other supports such as from an aide/paraprofessional, where a student may be accompanied by a trained assistant throughout their schoolday, may have vanished recently as well.

With aide services, if a student is entitled to specialized support, they should be

provided that support to the fullest extent possible.  The aide should attend their classes with them, at the very least, and perhaps assist them online for their whole school day (as they would have been at school had it been in session) and beyond, helping them with whatever they need.  If minutes of service are noted in the IEP, those minutes should be delivered.  There are other arguments that aides should help children directly, but those may be a bit more complex at this point.

We have to do something, and not just wait until this is all over to try to pick up the pieces.  If outside providers are available to deliver, this may be an option for families to receive some of their services during this difficult time.  

Research and an IEP meeting may be the first steps to take to move our kids forward, as the government does not seem they will solve this problem for us.

Best,

 

Michelle Ball

Education Law Attorney 

 

LAW OFFICE OF MICHELLE BALL 

717 K Street, Suite 228 

Sacramento, CA 95814 

Phone: 916-444-9064 

Email:help@edlaw4students.com 

Fax: 916-444-1209

Website, Blog, Twitter, Youtube, Facebook

 

Please see my disclaimer on the bottom of my blog page. This is legal information, not legal advice and no attorney-client relationship is formed by this posting, etc. etc.!  This blog may not be reproduced without permission from the author and proper attribution of authorship. This blog may not reflect the current state of the law.

 

READ MORE - How To Get Speech, Occupational Therapy and Other Related Services Delivered To Our Kids During Coronavirus

Can IEP Teams Say "No" To Special Education Services Based on Money Woes? No, No and No!

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995

Oftentimes parents attend an Individualized Education Program (IEP) meeting, and although their child needs additional services to meet his or her goals, can be denied needed services based on reasons such as: "no funding," or "we just don't have the resources," or "that is not available here as there are no staff."  Are these legitimate reasons to deny a student services that will meet their unique needs?  No!

The whole special education system can be very overwhelming for parents and they often "trust" the IEP team to guide them on what their child should or should not receive as far as services, placement, and education.  Parents may also simply accept an IEP team denial of services based on money woes of the school district.  However, regardless of the funding problems school districts seem to be having right now, they cannot deny special education services based on those issues.  If a student requires a service (e.g. resource class, speech therapy, or a one-on-one aide) to receive an appropriate education to meet their unique needs, the district should provide the service.

If a district wants to deny services, they have to do so legitimately.  In other words, do a thorough assessment to evaluate, and prove the service is not needed.  If they do this, they may be able to "legitimately" defend themselves on a decision to reduce or deny services.  However, the bottom line is that many districts still will flat out say that "we can't afford speech and language therapy," and tell the parent to take a hike.  Sorry to say, but that is not legitimate.

If the district does not have staff to provide a service such as speech and language therapy, and the special needs student requires that service, the district has to provide the service another way.  For example, the district can pay a private therapist to deliver the speech and language therapy off site and can also pay for transportation to and from the therapy.  The district can't just say the child won't receive the service as they don't have the staff.  If the child needs the service to meet their unique needs, it needs to be provided one way or another.

This is one reason why recording IEP meetings is so crucial.  Often parents can document denials based on lack of money simply by recording the meeting.  When a school/district representative says "we don't offer speech and language due to the budget crisis," or words to that effect, the parents have a valid argument which they can later raise in a due process hearing to overcome the denial.

If a school or district is denying services based on money, parents need to stand up and say that is an unacceptable reason for the denial and demand the service be provided.

Best,

Michelle Ball
Education Law Attorney
LAW OFFICE OF MICHELLE BALL
717 K Street, Suite 228
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-444-9064
Fax: 916-444-1209
Email: help@edlaw4students.com

Website: http://www.edlaw4students.com/

Blog: http://edlaw4students.blogspot.com/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/michelleaball

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/EdLaw4Students

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Law-Office-of-Michelle-Ball/191273330901857

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Please see my disclaimer on the bottom of my blog page. This is legal information, not legal advice and no attorney-client relationship is formed by this posting, etc. etc.!  This blog may not be reproduced without permission from the author and proper attribution of authorship.

READ MORE - Can IEP Teams Say "No" To Special Education Services Based on Money Woes? No, No and No!

IDEA Court Case: Berns v. Hamilton Southeastern Schools

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995


The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld the denial of a parents request for reimbursement ($$$) for the cost of a private placement at Lindamood Bell.  This case illustrates how tricky it can be to obtain reimbursement from a school district for the unilateral placement (e.g. by parents alone) of a child in a private school.


In the case of Berns v. Hamilton Southeastern Schools, decided December 22, 2011, Judge Gottschall opined that the student in question had been provided a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE), as the student made adequate progress toward his goals during his public school placement.  According to the case, the student in question suffered from a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) at age 4.  After that time, the school assessed him and placed him in a pre-kindergarten classroom for four weeks.  While in the placement the student met several of his goals and was allegedly making progress toward the others.  He was then recommended to move into kindergarten.


According to Judge Gottschall's opinion, the parents' private assessor had previously recommended that the "optimal" placement (see my blog on using words implying need for the "best" placement here) would be year round with an "all day" kindergarten.  The parents thereafter requested placement in both sessions of kindergarten (morning and afternoon), and were refused based on his progress toward his goals.  The family thereafter became at odds with the district and enrolled their son in Lindamood Bell.  


Although there were several procedural errors by the school alleged, the only question was whether the hearing officer's decision that the student received FAPE was proper.  The Seventh Circuit found that it was and denied the family's request for reimbursement for Lindamood Bell, for attorney fees, and otherwise.


Although this case was not in the California circuit (our court is the Ninth Circuit), it is illustrative of the importance of evidence and support when placing a child in a private school if the parents intend to later seek reimbursement from a school district.  If things are not supported well, or the school can show they DID offer FAPE, parents can be blocked and fail in their reimbursement claim.


Best,

Michelle Ball
Education Law Attorney
LAW OFFICE OF MICHELLE BALL
717 K Street, Suite 228
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-444-9064
Fax: 916-444-1209
Website: http://www.edlaw4students.com/

Blog: http://edlaw4students.blogspot.com/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/michelleaball

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/EdLaw4Students

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Law-Office-of-Michelle-Ball/191273330901857

Please see my disclaimer on the bottom of my blog page. This is legal information, not legal advice and no attorney-client relationship is formed by this posting, etc. etc.!  This blog may not be reproduced without permission from the author and proper attribution of authorship.

READ MORE - IDEA Court Case: Berns v. Hamilton Southeastern Schools

Special Education Summer (or Anytime) Checklist- Get Your Special Education Ducks in a Row

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995

Summer often can be a very different time for parents as school year woes fade away.  However, despite the new schedule, with kids at home, summer vacations, and other activities, parents should use the summer to make the upcoming school year more productive, for themselves and their kids.

Parents should try some of the below items (aka a short special education checklist) to make next year easier:

Organize
1)  Put student special education and other records into date order with the most current on top.
2)  Three-hole punch them and insert into a 3 ring binder.
3)  Separate by year (e.g. put dividers between school years).
4)  Tab key documents (IEPs, assessments, etc.) for easy reference, e.g. at IEP (Individualized Education Program) meetings.

Compare
1)  Now that the records are in order, they should be reviewed and compared to see what is amiss and whether regression has been occurring.  For example, did last school year see a decline in grades or test scores from the year before?  Have special education services decreased at the same time?  What changed?  2)  Check and note down gaps in the records or missing reports.

Review
1)  Review the services the student was supposed to receive during the last school year per the IEP.
2)  Talk to the student to find out what they ACTUALLY received.  Review any notes taken evidencing services delivered and/or not delivered.
3)  List out what was missed.  For example, did the student receive only half of  the speech and language services?  Did they receive all occupational therapy (OT) sessions?

Decide what is needed
1)  Are any assessments due?  Check assessments to see if more than 3 years have gone by since assessment.
2)  Should certain areas be reevaluated?
3)  Any services that were missed should be made up as the student was entitled to these services.
4)  Do new placement options need to be explored?
5)  Do services need to be increased?

Meet with professionals who can help you with your special education needs 
1)  Meet with an education attorney to go over the last IEP, findings, and to get the attorney's take on the situation.  The education attorney may also need to be involved to make things go smoother.
2)  Meet with any outside providers who can evaluate needs and ensure the placement is appropriate.

Request the items needed and/or wanted in writing to the District
1)  Assessments which may be needed
2)  Services which were missed
3)  Records that may be missing from the parent's files
4)  An accounting of all service hours which were actually delivered (e.g. OT, speech and language, etc.)
5)  Evidence (e.g. a sign-in log) showing the services were actually delivered.
6)  An IEP meeting (as needed).

This special education checklist should keep parents of special education students busy during those long summer days and should make the future go better.  When the press of an IEP meting comes, a parent with a great binder and actual knowledge of what was missed, done, and/or what is needed, can better argue the points and is more likely to get what they want.

Best,

Michelle Ball
Education Law Attorney
LAW OFFICE OF MICHELLE BALL
717 K Street, Suite 228
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-444-9064
Fax: 916-444-1209
Website: http://www.edlaw4students.com/

Blog: http://edlaw4students.blogspot.com/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/michelleaball

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/EdLaw4Students

Please see my disclaimer on the bottom of my blog page [http://edlaw4students.blogspot.com/]. This is legal information, not legal advice and no attorney-client relationship is formed by this posting, etc. etc.!  This blog may not be reproduced without permission from the author and proper attribution of authorship.

READ MORE - Special Education Summer (or Anytime) Checklist- Get Your Special Education Ducks in a Row