Legal Lessons for Families: Takeaways from This Year’s Special Ed Law Conference

One of my favorite annual conferences just wrapped up, the Pacific Northwest Institute on Special Education and the Law. This meeting brings together school special education teams, administrators, attorneys, parents, and advocates like me for updates on best practices for legally defensible plans and procedures, recent court decisions about special ed issues, and how to best serve students while complying with state and federal mandates. There are always some really juicy legal cases to hear about (the high schooler who graduated without learning to read because he used his accommodations plus AI to “read” and “write” all his schoolwork!) and opportunities to network with folks in this field. Here are my highlights, takeaways, and actions we can take today.

Highlights

• The panel discussion between two attorneys—one representing school districts and one representing parents—offered an eye-opening view into how these two differing perspectives would approach hypothetical student situations. From school refusal to dyslexia to autism, the go-to first steps from a school district's point of view were usually very different from the parent attorney.

• The talk on dyslexia eligibility, goals, and services framed our current evolution on dyslexia-based supports as similar to the conversations we were having about autism 20 years ago (I was in these conversations as a brand new school psychologist). At that time, parents were pushing schools to address their concerns, schools were often unprepared to help students, and families didn’t have access to community supports covered by medical insurance. Sound familiar? Just like with autism, schools will get better at serving dyslexic students as we keep pushing them forward.

• The session on Child Find, the part of special education law that requires schools to identify and evaluate any child suspected of having a disability, reaffirmed that the bar for triggering a school evaluation is very low. There are many possible reasons to suspect a disability: a parent raising concerns about ADHD or dyslexia, a teacher noticing persistent learning challenges, or the presentation of a clinical diagnosis. Any of these can and should prompt the school to act. We don’t need a “mountain of evidence” just to start the evaluation process.
  

My Big Takeaways About Child Find

• Child Find in action: There are many situations that should trigger a suspicion of a disability. Decisions about whether to evaluate should not depend on questions like, “What services would they get if they qualified?” or “Would your high schooler really want to miss an elective for an IEP class?” That’s putting the cart before the horse. The only question that matters at this stage: Do we suspect a disability? If yes, then evaluate.

• RTI and MTSS: Response to Intervention (RTI) and Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) are valuable frameworks for supporting all learners. However, the need for additional interventions or data collection cannot delay an evaluation for a student suspected of having a disability. The right approach: run interventions alongside the evaluation process (within 60 school days in Oregon, 35 in Washington). This approach has the benefit of supplying additional data for the team which can help answer the eligibility question.

• Beyond academics: Academic performance is only one piece of the puzzle. Behavior, adaptive skills, social-emotional functioning, and mental health needs can all warrant evaluation. Grades alone don’t tell the full story—a student earning all A’s can still be eligible for special education services. Excessive absences can also trigger suspicion, often pointing to underlying challenges with mental health or self-regulation.

• Mental health hospitalizations: If your child is hospitalized for mental health reasons, that event itself should prompt school action under Child Find. The school should seek to understand the diagnosis and discharge recommendations—and ideally, begin coordinating with the family before the student returns. Parents, share what you can with the school, and request a team meeting to discuss whether an evaluation is appropriate.
  

Actions You Can Take Now

• Request a team meeting: If you have concerns about your child’s progress and there’s no solid plan in place, submit a written request for a team meeting and explicitly state that you are referring your child for a special education evaluation. This starts the official timeline for a meeting and decision.

• Document your concerns: Prepare a clear list of your observations — academic, behavioral, social, emotional, fine motor, communication, and more — and note that you’re aware of the district’s obligations under Child Find.

• Remember: You’re the expert on your child. It can feel intimidating to sit across from a table of educators, especially when you’re the only parent voice in the room. Bring a notetaker or support person to help keep the conversation focused and productive.

Need guidance? I’m here to help. Reach out anytime if you want support navigating your next steps.

What to expect from special education

Basics on special education and what parents can expect from school. Feel free to grab the pdf here!

Diagnosed. Now What?

Families are doing their best. They are navigating the medical system - pediatricians, developmental pediatricians, neuropsychologists, occupational therapists, speech/language therapists, play therapists, and on and on. After all of this, it’s been figured out. Your child is newly diagnosed. Now what? In addition to working the medical system, parents are also expected to work the school system. 

Whether it’s early intervention, preschool, or K-12 public schools, now that you have a diagnosis in hand, here’s what to do next:

1. If you think it has any impact on how your child does at school - physically, academically, behaviorally, or socially - tell school staff about the diagnosis. You can do this by emailing the classroom teacher, or presenting the evaluation report to the teacher or principal. Be sure to include why you are sharing the information and what you are asking for. Do you want extra help for your child at school? Do you just want them to be aware? Giving the teacher a heads up about what you want will cue what kind of response you will get.

2. Know what to expect. Sometimes kids with a medical/clinical diagnosis will qualify for special education (IEP services), or for a 504 accommodation plan. But, sometimes not. It all depends on whether the diagnosis impacts their education. A diagnosis being present does not mean your child will automatically be evaluated or qualify for school services.

3. Be aware of the difference between IEPs and 504s. An Individualized Education Program (IEP) is the special education plan. IEPs are for cases where the diagnosis has an adverse impact on education, which cannot be fully addressed by general education and requires “specially designed instruction” (aka teaching from special education staff). Section 504 Accommodation Plans contain less than IEPs, and are for cases where the diagnosis substantially limits a life activity - aka has some substantial impact on their education but not to the extent that they require special teaching. Section 504 plans typically include accommodations that are provided in general education, and don’t involve the student getting additional services. For example, students diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder can present in a variety of ways at school - they may have significant challenges that require more than general education can provide, such as speech/language therapy, occupational therapy, and specialized instruction in a small group or 1:1 using materials at their level. This student would qualify for an IEP. Another student diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder may be at or above grade level academically, be able to participate socially, and work cooperatively with others on class assignments to the extent that their autism does not have an adverse impact on their education. But, they may need to take tests in a small group away from distractions, or may need directions repeated and visuals provided when verbal instructions are given. This student would qualify for a 504 plan. Yet another student diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder may have previously accessed special ed when they were younger, but now has made so much progress that specialized instruction is no longer required, and neither are classroom accommodations. This student would not qualify for an IEP or 504.

4. Follow up. Once you’ve shared the diagnosis with school, make a note to follow up. Maybe you want to check in with the teacher in 6-8 weeks to find out if your child has shown a need for anything different compared to other kids in class. Or, you have asked for a special education evaluation and you make a note on your calendar to contact them again in 5 school days if there’s been no response. It is easy for communications to slip off the radar of busy staff members, so be proactive and put tasks on your own calendar to keep lines of communication open.

5. Get help if you need it. It is OK not to know what to do. Take a minute and breathe. Then, ask the doctor for referrals to community resources, look for parent groups to join on social media, and educate yourself on the diagnosis (I love Understood.Org). The kids that have the best outcomes are supported by a team led by parents and including their medical providers and school staff. As team captain you’ve already gotten a great start, keep it up and reach out if you need help. 

Recovery IEP Services After COVID

There are many conversations happening right now about the upcoming school year… including concerns about how special education students have fared during COVID.

The state of Oregon has issued a lot of guidance on what schools are supposed to do to assist students with disabilities as they return to schooling in the 2021-22 school year. Many kids missed service minutes, weren’t able to access online instruction, online/hybrid instruction wasn’t enough or appropriate to meet their needs, and/or were otherwise impacted by stressors during COVID.

School districts are required to consider whether each student in special education requires additional services and supports due to COVID school closures - they are calling these services “recovery services” and they would be in addition to whatever is already provided in the IEP.

Here is my quick attempt to provide some simple answers for parents, and provide links to more detailed information.

Question: Do all IEP students get COVID recovery services?

Answer: No. Not all IEP students will need recovery services - some will have their needs met by general education assistance provided to all students post-COVID, along with their existing IEP services.

Question: Will the school automatically contact me about recovery services?

Answer: Maybe, maybe not. The state says schools need to notify parents about recovery services and attempt to hold meetings with parents to decide whether their student needs recovery services. HOWEVER it does not provide a timeline for when they need to do this. Parents should be PROACTIVE and reach out to the IEP team as soon as possible to request a meeting.

Question: My child missed their speech/language or occupational therapy services during COVID closures. Will these sessions be made up?

Answer: Yes! Recovery services can include related services such as speech, OT, and physical therapy, as well as specially designed instruction, social/emotional learning supports, and more. It may not be a minute-per-minute makeup - each IEP team will decide what recovery services will look like, how often, and for how long.

Question: Do we need to wait until kids are back in school for a few months before deciding about recovery services?

Answer: No. There is nothing in the guidance saying that schools must provide instruction for a time period (6 to 8 weeks for example) before deciding on whether recovery services are needed. It DOES say that emerging data from the 2021-22 school year can be included in decision-making, but there are many examples of other kinds of data AND PARENT INPUT that each team will need to consider.

Question: I heard my district has a policy about what recovery services will look like.

Answer: Not a question but here’s my answer anyway :) … recovery services are INDIVIDUAL decisions, not a district-wide or school-wide policy or plan. Anything otherwise would be illegal.

Question: What do I do now?

Answer: Reach out to your team. Email the case manager/special education teacher and the principal, requesting a meeting of the IEP team. You would like the team to meet and consider whether your student requires COVID recovery services.

Ready to dive deep? Contact me for more details.

Gearing up for fall 2021

Portland Public Schools recently announced a fully online option for K-12 students for the 2021-22 school year. This is notable for several reasons:

1. PPS has not previously offered a virtual school option at the elementary level. Their PPS Virtual Scholars program is limited to high school and offers a narrow range of online courses, not a full comprehensive educational program.

2. The Online Learning Academy (OLA) for 2021-22 will be a lottery. This means that families have to apply and wait to find out if they are accepted into the apparently limited enrollment spots. If there are more applicants than available seats in a grade level, students will be given priority based on a list of factors including whether they were enrolled in comprehensive distance learning (CDL) during the last quarter of 2020-21 and whether the medical condition that prevents them from attending school in person lies within the student or within the household.

3. Special ed students are eligible for the program and their IEP services will be adapted to a virtual environment. Same goes for 504 accommodations.

4. The lottery closes July 30th, which means families must complete the online application by that date. Enrollment will be for a full year or half year, not sure when/where that decision has to be made. As of July 11th it is unclear when kids under 12 will have access to the COVID vaccine in Oregon.