Catherine Michael, JD - Attorney and Child Advocate

05/07/2026

05/07/2026

Passing grades have never been a shield against IDEA eligibility.

The law expressly states that a child can need special education and related services even while advancing from grade to grade. Schools do not get to hide behind report cards, lowered expectations, modified work, endless accommodations, limitless RTI or the infamous “he’s passing his classes” to avoid providing an IEP.

05/03/2026

Kindergarten wasn’t always about worksheets, sight words, and academic pressure.

In the 1950s, expectations focused on play, social skills, creativity, and independence.

❓Today❓ Many classrooms look more like first grade.

But here’s what the research tells us:

Early academic instruction may boost short-term skills…but play-based learning builds the foundation that actually lasts—including problem-solving, self-regulation, and emotional resilience

Play isn’t a break from learning.
It is how young children learn best.

Through play, children develop:
✔ Language and literacy skills
✔ Social and emotional competence
✔ Cognitive flexibility and creativity
✔ Long-term motivation to learn

When we push academics too early, we may gain quick wins… but risk missing the deeper developmental needs of the child.

What children need most in kindergarten isn’t more pressure—
it’s more time to play, explore, and connect. 💛

Let’s stop asking,
“How early can they learn?”

And start asking,
“What does their developing brain actually need?”

Orginal post:

05/03/2026

Discover ten simple STEM activities teachers can use in the classroom without special equipment. Practical ideas that support problem solving, creativity, and hands on learning for curious students.

05/03/2026

Teacher's MUST READ - If you're building your end of year or summer reading list, this one's for you!

Oliver builds a computer from scratch. Cate maps a living ecosystem most people never knew existed. Both stories put the STEM at the center of the plot.

STEM Team Oliver is a middle grade series built around real science, real engineering problems, and characters who think the way curious kids actually think. The kind of book that fits naturally into a STEM unit, a read aloud, or an independent reading list without feeling like a textbook.

Both books are on Amazon now — link in the comments.

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week! 🌼🤖

05/03/2026

Laws without accountability are just words on paper. Standards without enforcement create inequity. And when families cannot rely on schools or the state to uphold the law, confidence in the entire system begins to erode.

If we truly believe in equity and opportunity for all students, then IDEA must be more than an ideal, it must be consistently enforced.

04/30/2026

Today’s developments in the Brownsburg daycare case are a painful reminder that, for the families Tammy Meyer and I represent, this story is far from over. Today is the sentencing for Nancy Minton, the daycare owner.

As I said in our interview below, the allegations in this case are deeply disturbing. Law enforcement uncovered evidence of abuse involving multiple children, some as young as three years old, and identified numerous victims. These are not just case numbers, they are children whose safety was compromised in a place their families trusted. Many parents, myself included, trust our children to the institutions that serve them an expect their safety to be paramount.

No parent should have to question whether their child is safe in a licensed daycare, a school, a camp, or a place that holds itself out as a licensed facility that will keep their child safe. And no child should endure what these families now face!

We will continue to pursue justice for these victims and their families through the courts and by advocating for stronger safeguards to be put in place in our state for the protection of our children.

Nancy Minton is facing three counts each of obstruction of justice and failure to make a report and one count of neglect of a dependent in the investigation.

04/25/2026

Most parents do not file for due process because they want a fight. They file because every other path failed.

They know they are walking in outmatched. They do it anyway because their child needs someone willing to keep going.

That is not gamesmanship. That is desperation meeting courage.