Timothy A. Adams & Associates, APLC, is a special education law firm in Orange County serving specia to 5:30 p.m. Please call us at 714-698-0239. Se habla español.
If you would like to discuss how we can help with your child’s unique needs, please contact us to set up an appointment for a free consultation with one of our special education attorneys. Our office staff are available to assist you Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. Our office is located in Orange County and our special education lawyers serve families throughout Northern, Central and Southern California.
Operating as usual
With the two-year anniversary of the COVID-19 school closures quickly approaching, we are writing to inform you of the impending statute of limitations deadline for many COVID-19 special education…
Adams & Associates attorneys, Tim Adams and Lauren Caron are excited to join as speakers for the Second Annual California Association of Lawyers for Education’s (CALE) virtual conference. Open to Parents and Professionals.
Register here to learn about a variety of topics including Mental Health and Special Education, Virtual Due Process Hearings, 9th Circuit case updates and Compensatory Education during the pandemic: https://cale.law/events/2nd-annual-conference/
October 2nd, 2021 @ 9:00 am - 4:00 pm - Back To School: Post Pandemic Conference Fees *Early registration by Sept 20th* Attorneys – $95 (early reg)/$149 (full fee) Parents & Law Students – $20 Advocates/Professionals/Professors - $49 Judges/CALE Members - $0 2021 CALE VIRTUAL CONFERENCE SCHEDULE...
I’m honored to join as a founding board member of the California Association of Lawyers for Education (CALE). CALE is dedicated to educating and empowering students, parents, advocates and a new generation of education attorneys to more effectively advocate, protect student’s rights and build a brighter future for our youth.
We’ll be holding our first annual conference (virtual) on Saturday, November 7, 2020. Learn about the current state of education rights during this unprecedented time, including special education rights, re-opening campuses, and Title IX revisions. Speakers include experienced education attorneys for students and school districts.
This conference is open to parents and professionals. For registration information, please visit our website: https://cale.law/events/1st-annual-conference/
November 7th, 2020 @ 9:00 am - 5:30 pm - Education During a Pandemic Hindsight is 2020 Learn about the current state of education rights during this unprecedented time, including special education rights, re-opening campuses, and Title IX revisions. Speakers include experienced education attorneys f...
Great news for parents! Yesterday, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) announced that students can return to in-person instruction on campus in small groups of 14 or fewer students under certain conditions:https://files.covid19.ca.gov/pdf/guidance-schools-cohort-FAQ.pdf
https://www.californiaspecialedlaw.com/wiki/articles/ca-senate-bill-98-public-health-orders-and-impact-on-special-education/
Important information for families on what to expect from public schools in 2020/2021.
The 2020/2021 school year is about to begin and we’re writing to make you aware of several changes to California law that will impact your child’s educational program in the coming school year.
https://www.californiaspecialedlaw.com/about/upcoming-events/
Distance Learning and COVID-19: Know Your Rights
Join me tomorrow (Tuesday June 2) at 10 am for the Stowell Learning Center’s Live broadcast to learn more about How to Advocate For Your Child during the COVID-19 closures.
Stowell Learning Center Streaming Live on Facebook Tuesday, June 2, 2020 10 a.m.
Read our guidance letter about Distance Learning and download our Distance Learning Tracker (Excel) to monitor your student’s progress. We've included info about your child's rights during school closure and how this relates to federal law, latest guidance from Dept. of Ed and California Senate Bill 117.
LINKS Distance Learning Tracker Secretary DeVos Report 34 C.F.R. § 300.503 California Senate Bill 117 In this guidance letter, we aim to keep our families informed of what to expect and how their…
We hope that this message finds you safe and healthy.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve, we want to assure you that Adams & Associates is committed to providing our clients with seamless, uninterrupted service while maintaining a safe working environment for our staff and our community.
We will remain open for business but continue to adjust our firm operations in accordance with federal, state and local guidelines and directives. In that regard, our attorneys and staff are able to, and routinely do, work remotely when appropriate.
We recognize that this unprecedented challenge is impacting all of us in different ways, importantly that children all over the country, including in California, are missing out on valuable education. It is our continued mission to advocate on behalf of our clients and families to ensure that children impacted by disabilities have ready and equal access to the most appropriate educational programs and services, despite the current COVID-19 crisis.
We are here to serve you and do not anticipate that you will experience any difference in our responsiveness or support, even though our in-person interactions are now limited. At your option we are available by phone, email, and video conferencing.
We are strongly committed as individuals and as a firm to working together to respond to the current crisis.
If you have any questions, or need assistance, please reach out to us.
Sincerely,
Tim Adams
What is an Appropriately Ambitious IEP?
Join Tim Adams to find out more about advocating for your child on Saturday, October 19, 2019 at The Autism Community In Action’s (TACA) West Coast Conference: https://tacanow.org/conference/west-coast/schedule/
Mission: TACA provides education, support, and hope to families living with autism.
Vision: For every individual diagnosed with autism to lead an independent life.
Thrilled to be at the LA Times Festival of Books speaking about special education advocacy! Sisters Of Strength
Join us at the LA Times Festival of Books on Saturday, April 13 at 12 pm for a panel discussion and learn from Tim Adams and other special education experts on best practices to advocate for your child.
View more about this event at LA Times Festival of Books 2019
In a scathing opinion from the 9th Circuit, it rules that the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) AND the U.S. District Court got it wrong for a student in Antelope Valley. See below for details:
http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2017/03/27/14-56344.pdf
http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2017/03/27/14-56344.pdf
The U.S. Supreme Court rules 8-0 that public schools must provide special education eligible students an opportunity to make "appropriately ambitious" progress in Endrew F. v Douglas County School District: https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/16pdf/15-827_0pm1.pdf.
This is an incredible victory for students across the country as public school districts can no longer use the "some benefit" standard as a reason to offer poor quality, mediocre educational programs for special needs students!
http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2017/03/22/521094752/the-supreme-court-rules-in-favor-of-a-special-education-student
In a case involving a Colorado school district, the high court finds that schools must ensure students make more than minimal progress.
A student victory at the Supreme Court!
When a school district denied a student's service dog access to the school, SCOTUS ruled 8-0 yesterday that exhausting administrative remedies is NOT required to pursue damages for Emotional Distress under Section 504 and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/fry-v-napoleon-community-schools/
The Supreme Court of the United States blog
These are troubling times but we will not forget the rights of students affected by disabilities. Know your rights. Stand up for your rights and the rights of your children!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/devos-disabilities-web-site_us_58a0fd7ae4b094a129ec35b8?
The new education chief sounded unfamiliar with the federal civil rights law during her confirmation hearings.
Members of Congress introduced a bill today that would close the U.S. Department of Education (DoED), a federal department which plays a vital role in protecting the rights of students with disabilities. The Office For Civil Rights which operates under the umbrella of the DoED enforces laws such as Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act in entities including school districts that receive federal funds. Eliminating this federal department altogether would be a disaster and would have serious, and adverse impact on students with special needs. Even if the DoED remains, Trump administration budget cuts will severely limit this Department's ability to adequately investigate and enforce civil rights laws around the Country. http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2017/02/09/514148945/about-that-bill-abolishing-the-department-of-education?mc_cid=2fbdd1ebd4&mc_eid=255102b130
A congressman has introduced a one-line bill that would kill the department. Legal scholars call it "symbolic legislation." Meanwhile, the House has voted to curtail some key education regulations.
The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on this case today: https://bol.bna.com/supreme-court-considers-education-for-children-with-disabilities/
A ruling in favor of the student, and SCOTUS adopting a significant or substantial educational benefit standard would require public schools across the country to upgrade many of their programs for special needs students. Our children deserve much more than the bargain, basement education that they are receiving from our failing public school systems.
The Supreme Court Case Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District concerns the amount of assistance school districts owe to children with disabilities. Robert Garda, a law professor at Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, discusses the case on Bloomberg Radio’s “Bloomberg Law.” https://ass...
This week the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments regarding a case on appeal from the 6th Circuit:
Fry v. Napoleon Community Schools: https://www.supremecourt.gov/Search.aspx?FileName=/docketfiles/15-497.htm.
The case involves a special education student whose public school district refused to allow her to bring her service dog to school.
The issue before the Supreme Court is not whether the service dog can come to school, but whether the student must first "exhaust administrative remedies" under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) before suing for damages under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Here, the student is pursuing money damages for emotional distress which are not allowed under the IDEA. Because these are not available remedies under the IDEA, we're hopeful that the justices side with the student.
http://www.npr.org/2016/10/31/499876610/a-girl-and-her-service-dog-head-to-the-supreme-court.
https://www.supremecourt.gov/Search.aspx?FileName=/docketfiles/15-497.htm
Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District: http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/endrew-f-v-douglas-county-school-district/
The United States Supreme Court has agreed to hear one of the most important IDEA cases in decades involving the level of educational benefit school districts are required to provide to students eligible for special education.
A decision in favor of the student could result in better quality special education programs and services for students across the country.
Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District
Happy to support Talk About Curing Autism at its 13th annual family picnic!
After being inundated with objection forms, Federal Judge Mueller, who had ordered the release of records on California students to a Plaintiff, has modified her order. The order originally allowed the Plaintiff to receive data on past and present California students, including information that could contain names, addresses, disciplinary records, etc. Judge Mueller has modified her order so that the database remains in the possession of the CDE and only specific information will be queried from the database.
http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_29590794/judge-pulls-back-from-calif-student-records-release
Responding to overwhelming public protest, a federal judge has decided records of 10 million California student won't be released to attorneys in a special-education lawsuit.
You must act quickly to protect your child’s private information.
As part of a lawsuit against the California Department of Education, the Plaintiffs have requested information contained in CDE databases and network drives which contain personal information of children who have attended a California school at any time since January 1, 2008.
If you object to the disclosure of your or your child’s personal information to the Plaintiff you must notify the Court by April 1, 2016. Please follow the link below to obtain more information and print out the necessary forms that must be filled out and mailed to the Court.
http://www.idtheftcenter.org/alertcaparents.html
The Identity Theft Resource Center and Privacy Rights Clearing House want to alert all parents of school-aged children throughout California about a pending deadline to Opt-Out on the potential release of their child’s sensitive personal identifying information. The deadline for parents and adult st…
A recent case decided in the 9th circuit concluded that a school district must initiate a due process hearing within a reasonable time after a child’s parents fail to consent to the provision of services necessary to provide a Free Appropriate Public Education (“FAPE”). What this means to parents is that if parents of a child with an individualized education plan (“IEP”) do not consent to a portion of an IEP, and the school district believes that portion is necessary to provide the child with a FAPE, a school district must initiate a due process hearing to defend its offer of FAPE. The 9th circuit found that over year was too long for the school district to wait to initiate the hearing. http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2015/11/17/13-56211.pdf.
In terms of how this will impact special education law going forward, some school districts in the past have, at times, chosen to sue to defend their offer of FAPE. Now, there may be more school districts that sue to defend their offer of FAPE in order to ensure that they are not found to have waited longer than a “reasonable amount of time.”
Many special education students rely on one-to-one aides for either academic or behavioral support. If your child’s IEP calls for one-to-one aide support, make certain your child is getting the level of assistance they need. A report recently published in Teacher Education and Special Education, as reported by the Disability Scoop website, identifies that of the one-to-one aides observed, they only engaged in instruction 57% of the time. This is an inefficient use of an important resource, and may be denying your child the level of support they require. http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2015/09/25/study-questions-one-to-ones/20829/
Many students receiving special education services are supported by one-to-ones, but new research suggests these assistants may not be pulling their weight.
Did you know that mileage reimbursement rates change almost every year? If you have an agreement with a school district that provides you reimbursement for mileage make sure you your reimbursement is calculated at the current IRS rate. In 2015 the reimbursement rate increased from $0.56/mile to $0.575/mile. With 180 instructional days per year those pennies add up. Not being aware of this change could result in missing out on hundreds of dollars! http://www.irs.gov/Tax-Professionals/Standard-Mileage-Rates/
The following table summarizes the optional standard mileage rates for employees, self-employed individuals, or other taxpayers to use in computing the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical, or moving expense purposes.
The IDEA requires that each State identify, locate, and assess all children suspected of having a disability, commonly called “child find”. Around the country there are conflicting standards as to what triggers this child find duty.
Adams & Associates has submitted a Petition for a Writ of Certiorari asking the U.S. Supreme Court to answer the question “when is child find triggered?” and resolve the splits across the nation. The U.S. Court of Appeals Ninth Circuit has acknowledged that the circuit does not have a test as to when a child find obligation is triggered. We are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to establish a clear and uniform national test of when a public school district’s child find obligation is triggered.
For National Bullying Prevention Awareness Month the Office of Civil Rights issued a letter to schools regarding the fact that children with disabilities are prone to be victims of bullies and the school's responsibilities to prevent bullying.
https://copaa.site-ym.com/news/198861/OCR-Issues-Guidance-Bullying-Must-Be-Addressed-in-Every-Case.htm
Washington, DC – As part of National Bullying Prevention Awareness Month, the U.S. Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) today to schools reminding them that bullying is wrong and must not be tolerated – including against America’s 6.5 million students with disabilities. In response C…
TACA has its "Real Help Now" conference scheduled for October 3rd and 4th in Costa Mesa, CA. Find out more at http://www.realhelpnowconference.org/west/
“Thank you TACA for helping us. Thank you Lisa, all the wonderful volunteers, doctors, (volunteer name)! You guys are fabulous. Awesome conference! ~ parent attendee in Pennsylvania
The Disability Scoop website has posted an article about Iowa U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin's proposal of legislation which would allow parents, who prevail at a due process hearing, to recover expenses for expert witnesses and testing in addition to their attorney's fees. http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2014/09/12/senator-burden-idea-disputes/19667/
A federal lawmaker says he wants to level the playing field for parents involved in special education disputes with their child's school district.
Mary Lou Bensy is part of a growing school of thought in the realm of special education that would argue students with disabilities should not be segregated from other students in schools. This separation, it is argued, gives predators much more intimate access to special education students who might not understand the difference between friendship and sexual abuse.
Experts say that predators in the classroom take advantage of some of the most vulnerable children in a systematic way.
Here's the study that parents need to keep in their back pocket. Kids are segregated into special ed classes, not because it's advantageous for them, but mostly because it's more convenient and cost effective for districts. This study shows that kids need to be with their typically developing peers for language development, not so-called "language-rich" classrooms with nearly all non-verbal children and only the aides/teachers talking.
For young children with disabilities, the key to mastering language may be surrounding them with their typically-developing peers, researchers say.
EdSource recently published an article regarding the U.S. Dept. of Education's new special education "Results-Driven Accountability System." California is identified as one of three states in need of federal intervention to improve academic progress of special education students.
http://edsource.org/2014/california-special-ed-to-get-federal-intervention/64684#.U-EeD6OTLgL
We’re always on the lookout for new voices to share their views and experiences about education today. Contact us if you have an idea for an opinion piece. Parents are particularly encouraged to share their opinions!
The district has been slapped down by both administrative and federal judges, spent more than $400,000 and still they can't decide whether to press on for another appeal. If only they initially assessed this student as required by IDEA and state law, they wouldn't be in this mess and wasted so much of taxpayer funds. It's simply a matter of arrogance and incompetence.
A federal judge has dismissed a case brought by Fresno Unified against the family of a special education student who has been entangled in a costly legal battle with the district for years.
This story is about Washington DC, but includes an important national issues: the burden of proof on parents as well as the inability of parents to be reimbursed for expert witness fees.
Legislation would speed up delivery of services and give parents new tools in disputes with schools.
Where will your child live as an adult and who will pay for services and supports to maximize independent living? Attorney Wendy Dumlao will explain options for CA families as well as important strategies. Read the article and follow up with your questions at Empowering Autism. Register now at http://empoweringautism.ebcala.org/
As your child with autism reaches the age of majority (age 18), thinking about how he can become more independent in your community is important. Between ages 18 and 22, your child will begin to age out of special education and will require services from other agencies. If your child is a client of…
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