The Law Office of Vanessa Jachzel, LLC

08/03/2023

SEPTEMBER 1, 2023 DEADLINE ALERT!

Did your child struggle to learn or regress from remote instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic? New Jersey law requires your child's IEP team to have held a meeting by December 1, 2022 to determine if there are "gaps in learning or regression that may be best addressed through the provision of compensatory services."

If they have not yet done so, or if they have, and you disagree with their findings, your only recourse may be to file for due process by September 1, 2023! I can help with this process. If you have any concerns, please reach out to me for a free consultation.

06/15/2023

A big shout out to all the kids that don't win awards, make honor roll, play sports, and barely make it through the school year. A big hug to the moms, dads, grandparents, caregivers, mentors, and foster parents that stick by them as they maneuver the school year.
Shout out to the kids that don't get invited to the prom, didn’t get a scholarship to college, and have to go straight to work out of high school....You are also worthy of a pat on the back and a Facebook post with people talking about how amazing you are.
Everyone isn't an Honors student or Academic Scholar or even have leadership qualities. Some kids have to work twice as hard, just to be C average. There's many who battle through behavior and learning challenges. Their achievements deserve recognition too.
Don’t forget those kids, encourage them as well. They are worthy, too!
Kindness, Creativity, Uniqueness, and Generosity....those attributes sadly don’t get the accolades they deserve. ❤❤❤

04/03/2022

03/29/2022

Did you know that per federal law students with disabilities are entitled to remain in high school until the school year in which they turn 21 or receive a regular high school diploma, whichever comes first? A regular high school diploma is one which is awarded to the preponderance of students and which is fully-aligned with state standards. This family should sue for due process, which will automatically force her district to keep her in school under stay put rules, which mandates that students remain in their current setting until the matter is concluded or otherwise resolved.

794 signatures are needed! Vote for Emily’s Senior Year

03/25/2022

Did you know that you are entitled to your child's educational records? Here's how to request them.

FERPA Request to Access Educational Records of: Salley Jones
Dear Ms. Principal who needs to understand FERPA,

Pursuant to 20 U.S.C. 1232g and 1232h (FERPA), 34 C.F.R. 99.1 et seq. (FERPA Regulations), 20 U.S.C. 1415(b)(1) (IDEA), and 34 C.F.R. 300.613 (IDEA Regulations), and any and all applicable state law and regulations, this is a formal demand on behalf for access to the above-referenced student’s permanent, cumulative educational records.

IDEA 1415(b)(1) provides that parents or an appropriately designated representative of parent(s) must be given opportunity to examine all records relevant to a free appropriate public education (“FAPE”) prior to any IEP meeting or meeting help under IDEA regulation with regards to the student’s placement.

Thus, I hereby request review of all such records, including without limitation the following:

Cumulative education records;

All audio and video recordings, videotapes and/or digital recordings of the student, including without limitation video recordings of any disciplinary incidents;

All data collected in your Education Management Information System (EMIS) on how funds are spent on the student and for what services the district is billing the State and/or Federal Government;

Letters from and to district staff regarding this student, including any and all emails;

Progress reports, report cards, grades and comments about this student;

Teacher files and records, curriculum based assessments, for all classes and all subjects;

Related service files including any data from any contracted related service professionals;

Medical and other school health records;

Group and individual achievement and ability tests;

Assessment plans and permission forms;

Evaluations and assessments;

Test answer sheets, booklets, protocols and other records of any type related to testing;

Attendance records and class schedules;

A complete printout of the entire school career, inclusive of any disciplinary records or incidents reports;

Class work, including samples, work, journals or other items for this student;

Functional behavioral assessments, intervention plans, and related materials;

Data collected, charts produced, pacing guides, lesson plans and other teacher materials developed as part of implementing this student’s IEP’s;

Any and all meeting minutes and action plans;

IEP documents of any type, including those labeled DRAFT;

Goals and objectives, copies with data or progress marked, data, which forms basis of progress rating or proposals for changes to any IEP;

Correspondence, memos, and notes relating to this student, including notices of placement and statements of rights;
Records of any calls relating to the student;

Notes, emails and logs maintained by teachers, school psychologist, therapists, counselors, administrators, classroom aides, and;/or any other school system staff - paper, electronic, or other forms relating to this specific student, including and not limited to any metadata of these records;

Records regarding provision of services to the student, including records of dates and times when said student was or could have been provided applicable related services or special instruction logs, required by FERPA, showing who accessed the student’s records and when audio or video recordings of the student were made, or meetings were held regarding this student;

Prior Written Notices, Invitations, Meeting sign-in sheets and Permission to Access School-Based Program and Medical Assistance (SBAP/MA) funding;

Records kept by the district of any type regarding the student or the student’s family, including records kept by third parties, including SCAP reimbursed providers any and all other school records pertaining to the referenced student; and

Record of any destruction of this student’s records, including the date, content, and person authorized to destroy said records.
IEP management system audit log

OSEP’s “Letter to Rooker” clarifies access to all test protocols, and states “completed test instruments or questions booklets containing information that identify a particular student, whether or not the actual name of the student appears on the booklet, constitute ‘education records’ subject to FERPA requirements.”

FERPA also requires a school district comply with a request to access a student’s cumulative file within 45 days of the receipt of such request or expedited and prior to any IEP meeting, due process hearing or other meeting related to the special education placement of said child under IDEA regulations.

Contact me at your earliest convenience to arrange for the records review, but no less than seven calendar days from the date of this letter.

Sincerely,
Mr. & Mrs. SHOW ME ALL OF THE RECORDS

02/23/2022

Speech language therapists are pushing back on the newly revised/lowered standards that were just published by the CDC, and that’s a good thing.

Dear ASHA Members:

ASHA is in the process of analyzing the recent revisions to the developmental milestones used in the CDC’s Learn the Signs. Act Early. initiative. This process includes a comprehensive comparison of the previous vs. new guidelines, as well as a comparison to ASHA-specified milestones. ASHA is also conducting an extensive review of published scientific literature.

ASHA has reached out to CDC, expressing its concern about inconsistencies and urging the agency to utilize the expertise of SLPs when making changes to developmental milestones in speech, language, feeding, and social communication. In general, ASHA is supportive of efforts to help identify children earlier, but the milestones presented to parents must be evidence-based in order for families to make well-informed decisions about their children's care.

ASHA will provide members with an update once its review process is completed and correlating action steps are determined.

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
https://on.asha.org/342WAaL

02/14/2022

Finally, people are starting to talk about the incredible damage this has caused our precious children.

Parents of children with IEPs say their children's learning may have been set back by mask-wearing, causing speech delays.

01/10/2022

Many students with disabilities simply cannot access or benefit from remote learning. They have been the hardest hit population from the pandemic.

New Jersey schools are violating the rights of hundreds of thousands of students that depend on special education programs, the suit says.