Special Education Spotlight

Child With Cerebral Palsy Must Receive Assistance Getting Down Stairs to Get to School

SBLS attorney Robin Heszkel, a deferred associate from Dewey LeBoeuf, won a case on behalf of a 10-year-old wheelchair-bound boy with cerebral palsy against the Department of Education. The Department of Education was refusing to assist transporting the boy from his second floor apartment to his school bus on the grounds that the boy lived in a private home and not in public housing. The boy’s mother had to carry him and his wheelchair downstairs every day in order for him to attend school. After a hearing, the DOE was ordered to provide porter services.

(Special Education)

SBLS Opens New Special Education Hotline

Robin Heszkel, an extern from Dewey & LeBoeuf, will be working at SBLS advocating on behalf of special education students. She will be accepting cases for advice and representation through the Hotline. The Hotline will be open Monday through Friday from 9 – 5 pm for all Brooklyn residents. The number is (718) 237-5561.

We welcome Robin and are excited about expanding our practice in this area and increasing the number of children we will now be able to serve.

(Special Education)

SBLS Wins Private and Appropriate Education For Special-Needs Student In Public School

M.R. is a sixteen-year-old learning disabled boy who was attending a failing technical high school in Brooklyn. M.R. was first identified by the NYC Dept. of Education (DOE) as a child in need of special education when he was required to repeat the first grade. Despite the fact that he received special education services throughout his schooling, M.R. was years behind in both math and reading on all standardized tests and all evaluations performed by DOE. Even so, every year after the first grade he was promoted. M.R has always been a very well behaved child with a great attendance record.

His mother approached staff attorney Nancy Bedard seeking advice as her son was now in high school, and she was very discouraged with his progress and the inadequate special educational services he was receiving. SBLS advised the parent to seek an independent educational evaluation. Maimodies Developmental Center agreed to accept M.R.‘s Medicaid insurance and his mother was able to get the necessary evaluation. SBLS presented DOE and the school with the evaluation and a request was made to incorporate the results into an appropriate educational plan for M.R.

During this time, M.R, then 15, was rounded up at school with other children and accused of verbally threatening another student. Without notice to his parent, the school had M.R. leave the school with a police detective and he was held for hours in a Precinct House. This incident highlighted the inappropriate nature of M.R.‘s educational setting. Months passed, and DOE never scheduled a meeting.

SBLS then requested an Impartial Hearing seeking a private special education program to be paid for by DOE based on their failure to provide M.R with a free and appropriate education. The Impartial Hearing spanned four days of testimony, with witnesses in support of M.R.‘s right to a free and appropriate education, including the Supervising Psychologist at Maimodies on behalf of M.R.

SBLS received a favorable decision after the hearing allowing M.R. to attend a special education program with small classes in a private school, with tuition of $28,000 to be paid by DOE. The Impartial Hearing Officer found that the DOE failed to provide M.R with an appropriate education and that the private school identified by SBLS would give M.R. the education he was entitled to.

(Special Education)

Where Social Work And Legal Services Meet

JG, a wheelchair-bound seven year old boy with severe cerebral palsy, had been trapped in his apartment for months. After moving to Brooklyn from Florida, his mother, a dental hygienist, had been unable to find a handicap-accessible apartment and had settled for a third-floor walk-up and hoped for the best, but JG was unable to navigate the stairs on his own. His mother has been unable to return to work due to the needs of caring for JG and her two-year-old second son.

She and social work intern Larry Gile of the Center for Family Life (CFL) worked for three months to get JG an appropriate special education placement from the Department of Education, but were “bounced from office to office,” as Gile recalls. The Board of Education agreed that JG was severely disabled and initially prepared an assessment recommending that JG would best be served at a special needs private school. But months went by with no placement.

That was when Gile’s colleagues at CFL referred him to Nancy Bedard, SBLS’ special education attorney, through the Robin Hood-funded Single Stop program. “When we met Nancy, she quickly figured out our situation and referred me to a manual she had prepared for a training she did about the whole issue of special ed placements, fair hearings and resolution meetings and more at CFL several years ago,” says Gile. “The manual provided a great context for the process we were involved in, and under Nancy’s guidance, steps we should take.”

Bedard also immediately filed for an “Impartial Hearing,” knowing that if they presented their case at a hearing, the DOE would have to defend its position and the Impartial Hearing Officer would have to issue a ruling. And the law was on the side of the child, who has the right to appropriate education. The DOE scheduled a Mediation Session prior to a Hearing. Nancy coached Gile and JG’s mother on what would be expected of them, advising them to be non-confrontational but forthright in presenting what they thought would be in the best interest of the child.

When the Board of Education offered placement at a public school instead, she walked JG’s mother and Gile through what to look for at the school to see whether it met JG’s needs. As it turned out, the public school did not offer occupational or speech therapy, both of which were critical for JG, who is developmentally disabled and nonverbal. Importantly, they refused to offer porter service to help JG down the stairs and onto the bus.

Bedard also lent her reputation with DOE as a skilled advocate for children with special education needs.

“There is no doubt in my mind that her name on SBLS letterhead greatly facilitated prompt response to and resolution of our case,” says Gile now.

On February 7, JG won a placement at United Cerebral Palsy Brooklyn Children’s Program and much needed porter service during the mediation session with the DOE.

Nancy Bedard will conduct an Education Advocacy training this spring at CFL in an effort to provide Social Workers with an understanding of the legal issues of Special Education and practical information on how to successful advocate on behalf of disabled children and their parents. SBLS will provide on going technical assistance to social workers and represent these children at impartial hearings as necessary.

(Special Education)