Good parenting often requires zealous advocacy on behalf of children, particularly when a child’s disability requires expensive special education services and placements that school districts are reluctant to provide. Over the past decade as a special education attorney, I have reviewed hundreds of cases and spoken with countless parents seeking legal assistance to obtain services for their children. As part of my representation, I have frequently been compelled to explain to many devoted parents that, despite their best intentions, they have made innocent mistakes which jeopardized their child’s cases. Most of these mistakes were well intentioned and resulted from a parent’s passionate advocacy for his or her child. The good news is that these mistakes are easily avoidable. I have written the following series of articles describing the most common pitfalls with the hope that knowledge will help prevent these obstacles from interfering with your child’s case.
1. Failure to Keep Accurate, Complete and Organized Special Education Records
2. Withholding Information from the School
3. Signing an IEP that You Don’t Understand
4. Not Hiring Qualified Experts for Special Education Cases
5. Sending Inaccurate or Disrespectful Communications to the School
6. Waiting too long to Challenge the School District's Proposed Plan or Placement
7. Providing Remedial Services Yourself to Remedy the School District's Failures
8. Failing to Notify School District Prior to Making a Unilateral Placement
9. Refusing the School's Request to Evaluate your Child
10. Not Documenting your Communications with the School
