The Dark Underbelly Of Your American School District Part 6: How The Law Fails Families And Kids

Let’s talk about the laws that exist to, supposedly, protect kids with learning disabilities.

There is IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) a federal law that says children with disabilities must be given a public education. It can involve an IEP (Individual Education Plan) that specifies how a child’s education will be met and with what services. An IEP has more legal teeth when it comes to forcing a school to follow through with a plan of services.

“The IDEA and its implementing regulations include 13 disability categories: autism, deaf‐blindness, deafness, emotional disturbance, hearing impairment, intellectual disability, multiple disabilities, orthopedic impairment, other health impairment, specific learning disability, speech or language impairment, traumatic brain injury, and visual impairment including blindness. However, States can recognize that a child is “a child with a disability” under the IDEA if the child needs special education and related services, regardless of whether the child fits within a specific disability category.”*

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act is a civil rights law that prevents discrimination against students with disabilities. It allows for accommodations and modifications for special needs students, but does not require an IEP. It is harder to enforce with the schools.

“all students with disabilities who are eligible for special education and related services under IDEA are protected by Section 504 and Title II. The inverse, however, is not true. Not all students protected by Section 504 and Title II are IDEA-eligible students.”*

IDEA includes the standard of meeting FAPE which says a district must provide a child with a Free and Appropriate Public Education. What is “appropriate” is legally understood to be different for each child.

There is also Child Find, a federal law that says the school districts must make an effort to “find” kids with learning disabilities. It does not specify the kind of “finding” activities a district must practice.

There are also three primary ways a parent can seek legal intervention. You can ask for Mediation which is not binding unless both sides agree. You can file a Due Process Complaint with your State Department Of Administrative Hearings Special Education Division. For a Due Process Complaint you’ll want legal representation of your own. In addition, a parent can make a complaint to the Office of Civil Rights for violation of 504 rights.

Sounds like a lot of protection, right? Unfortunately, it often all falls apart for families trying to get an education for a neuro-diverse child. If you have a child with a learning difference, it’s very important that you look these laws up and get familiar with the basics.

*Go to Wrights Law Special Education Law Library page and look at each law and their summaries of important points. Next week we’ll look at how they often fail families.

I’m working on a book about special education and seeking families, teachers, and school professionals with stories to tell. If you’ve been through this struggle, I’d love to hear from you. Everything will, of course, be confidential. You can reach me at: 241kcawley@gmail.com

Followers help me build “platform” which is crucial in getting publishers to take notice. If you’d love to see a book on the problems with special education make it onto reading lists and shelves, then follow me and encourage others to do the same.

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Kathleen Cawley is a physician assistant and author. She is a regular guest columnist for the Auburn Journal and Folsom Telegraph where she writes on parenting and childhood. Her books, Navigating the Shock of Parenthood: Warty Truths and Modern Practicalities — from a mom with twins, And Grandma Becky’s Blue Tongue, a children’s picture book, are available where books are sold.