A significant part of the firm's practice involves special education representation of our school district clients. Our approach is to create practical solutions to the many complex legal issues faced by special education administrators. Our services include providing legal counsel and guidance during all stages of the special education process, including brainstorming with special education administrators prior to CSE meetings regarding classification, placement and related services issues; review prior written notice in contested matters before they are sent to parents; attendance at CSE and CPSE meetings when parents are represented; attendance at resolution sessions; defense of districts' positions at impartial hearings, and in appeals to the Office of State Review, and state and federal courts. In addition, we provide extensive staff development to both regular education and special education staff to assist them in developing defensible IEPs. We believe this is a very effective way to help districts avoid situations which frequently lead to costly and time-consuming special education litigation, and at the same time, provide students with the special education services to which they are entitled.
Special Education Counsel Services
We provide special education counsel to districts where we are not general or labor counsel. As special counsel, we can offer our full array of special education legal services including Bulletproof IEP and 504 training for staff, attendance at CSE and 504 meetings, brainstorming with special education directors about potentially difficult or contentious cases, attendance at manifestation determination meetings, and representation at impartial hearings and appeals.