Read All About It! - December 2024
December 3, 2024
We are pleased to present our next installment to the Attorney's Corner:, “The Month in Review: December 2024”. In this installment, Jack Feldman, Daniel Levin and Liza Blaszcyk start with reviewing a decision from the First Circuit Court of Appeals analyzing whether parents have the right to video tape CSE meetings and discuss its application to CSE meetings in New York. Next, they review a letter from the State Education Department (SED), reiterating its position that districts are required to provide a free appropriate public education to students until age 22 or receipt of a high school diploma, whichever comes. Thirdly, they examine a fact sheet from the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights regarding the rights of English Language Learners with disabilities. Finally, Jack, Dan, and Liza review a recent decision from SED's Office of State Review (SRO), which found that the district provided FAPE in a special education dispute, and that certain claims raised by the parents were time barred by IDEA's two-year statute of limitations.
This and all previous Attorney's Corner contributions are posted in the “Attorney's Corner” tab under “Resources” at NYSEDirectors.com or by clicking on the following link which will bring you directly to the “Attorney's Corner” upon login at NYSEDirectors: http://www.nysedirectors.com/attorney-corner.
Read All About It! November 2024
We are pleased to present our next installment to the Attorney's Corner: “The Months in Review: November 2024”. In this installment, Jack Feldman, Daniel Levin, and Liza Blaszcyk review proposed regulations from the State Education Department (“SED”) related to BOCES' superintendents and discuss SED's memorandum and median scale scores on Academic Intervention Services (“AIS”). They also analyze a court case from the Southern District of New York about a requested Independent Educational Evaluation (“IEE”), and lack of nursing services recommended on a student's IEP. Finally, Jack, Daniel and Liza review a decision from the Office of State Review finding that the district provided a free appropriate public education.
This and all previous Attorney's Corner contributions are posted in the “Attorney's Corner” tab under “Resources” at NYSEDirectors.com or by clicking on the following link which will bring you directly to the “Attorney's Corner” upon login at NYSEDirectors: http://www.nysedirectors.com/attorney-corner
Read All About It! September-October 2024
October 16, 2024
We are pleased to present our next installment to the Attorney's Corner:, “The Months in Review: September-October 2024”. In this installment, Jack Feldman, Daniel Levin and Liza Blaszcyk review the annual report issued by the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”), and discuss how school districts can avoid OCR complaints and violations. Next, they review a July, 2024 letter from the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs (“OSEP”) which discusses the circumstances in which the CSE should recommend adapted physical education on a student's IEP. Third, the team reviews new regulations adopted by the State Education Department (“SED”) related to virtual instruction and its implications for school districts. Finally, Jack, Dan and Liza consider the implications of a recent court case analyzing whether a parents' unilateral placement was appropriate to meet the student's needs. This and all previous Attorney's Corner contributions are posted in the “Attorney's Corner” tab under “Resources” at NYSEDirectors.com or by clicking on the following link which will bring you directly to the “Attorney's Corner” upon login at NYSEDirectors: http://www.nysedirectors.com/attorney-corner
Read All About It! August - September 2024
We are pleased to present our next installment to the Attorney's Corner:, “The Months in Review: August-September 2024”. In this installment, Jack Feldman, Daniel Levin and Liza Blaszcyk review several recent decisions issued in the past few months from the State Education Department's (“SED”) Office of State Review (“SRO”). In the first case, the SRO found that the Integrated Co-Teaching (“ICT”) classroom recommendation by the Committee on Special Education (“CSE”) was appropriate to meet the student's needs, in contrast with the opinion of the parents' private evaluator.
In the second case, the SRO found that the district failed to provide a free appropriate public education (“FAPE”) because the CSE should have recommended speech language therapy to address the student's articulation deficits. However, the SRO also found that the parents failed to prove that their private school was appropriate to meet the students' needs, resulting in a denial of tuition reimbursement. The third SRO decision discusses under what circumstances a CSE is required to recommend ABA or discrete trial instruction, and the importance of a comprehensive reevaluation of the student.
Finally, Jack, Daniel and Liza discuss an SRO case from July, which found the district did not provide FAPE when it failed to recommend specialized transportation to meet a student's needs.
This and all previous Attorney's Corner contributions are posted in the “Attorney's Corner” tab under “Resources” at NYSEDirectors.com or by clicking on the following link which will bring you directly to the “Attorney's Corner” upon login at NYSEDirectors: http://www.nysedirectors.com/attorney-corner
Read All About It! Summer 7-2-24
We are pleased to present our next installment to the Attorney's Corner:, “The Months in Review: Summer 2024”. In this installment, Jack Feldman, Daniel Levin and Liza Blaszcyk review a New York Court of Appeals case from June, 2024, which confirmed that school districts are not required to provide busing to private school students on days that district schools are closed. Next, we review a recent decision from the Office of State Review (“SRO”), which found that the district provided a free appropriate public education (“FAPE”) and denied the par
ents' request for tuition reimbursement at their chosen private school. Finally, Jack, Dan and Liza report on an SRO decision from earlier this year, which analyzed whether a parent was entitled to reimbursement for an Independent Educational Evaluation “(IEE)”.
This and all previous Attorney's Corner contributions are posted in the “Attorney's Corner” tab under “Resources” at NYSEDirectors.com or by clicking on the following link which will bring you directly to the “Attorney's Corner” upon login at NYSEDirectors: http://www.nysedirectors.com/attorney-corner
Read All About It! Spring 2024
Frazer & Feldman are pleased to present our next installment of the Attorney's Corner: “The Months in Review: Spring 2024”. In this installment, Jack Feldman, Daniel Levin and Liza Blaszcyk review two recent decisions issued in the past few months from the State Education Department's (“SED”) Office of State Review (“SRO”), related to reimbursement of tuition under the IDEA at private schools that offer religious instruction to students. Collectively, the SRO held that when a school district denies a free appropriate public education (“FAPE”), the student's parents are entitled to be made whole financially with reimbursement of the full cost of tuition at their private school, regardless of whether the private school incudes religious instruction. This is the first such ruling by the SRO or any New York court. Next, they review a federal court decision from the Eastern District of New York. After a long, drawn-out legal battle between the district and parents over several years, the court dismissed the parents' claim for failure to exhaust administrative remedies. This and all previous Attorney's Corner contributions are posted in the “Attorney's Corner” tab under “Resources” at NYSEDirectors.com or by clicking on the following link which will bring you directly to the “Attorney's Corner” upon login at NYSEDirectors: http://www.nysedirectors.com/attorney-corner.
Adults are being held criminally responsible for shootings by students. Is this the new trend?
Frazer & Feldman are pleased to announce that an article written by Daniel Levin has been featured in the New York State School Boards Association, On Board newspaper. The article is entitled “Adults are being held criminally responsible for shootings by students. Is this a new trend?”
Risky Business: When are districts negligent for injuries suffered by student athletes?
Frazer & Feldman are pleased to announce that an article written by Daniel Levin has been featured in the New York State School Boards Association, On Board newspaper. The article is entitled “Risky Business: When are districts negligent for injuries suffered by student athletes?”
Bullying and Mask Wearing
But is it bullying? What to do when students pick on each other over masks
Bullying is characterized by the U.S. Education Department as aggression used within a relationship where the aggressor has more real or perceived power than the target, and the aggression is repeated or has the potential to be repeated. Bullying is physical, verbal, or psychological actions inflicting or attempting to inflict discomfort upon another through a real or perceived imbalance of power. See Dear Colleague Letter, 61 IDELR 263 (OSERS/OSEP 2013)
Split among circuit courts raises questions on regulating disruptive off-campus speech.
Archived Articles
For further information on earlier updates, or if you have questions about any of the above items, please email [email protected].