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SPECIAL EDUCATION LAW

Vanessa Jarvis is a trial attorney with 20 years experience.   She has defended large companies like Boeing, Halliburton and Moen.  However, she prefers to represent parents of special education students who are being denied an appropriate education in California's public schools.   She states that the most rewarding work she does is securing services for handicapped students so that they can further their education.

What is special education law?

Special Education Law is an area of law that related to rights of handicapped and learning disabled children to receive an education program customized to their unique needs by public schools in the United States.     Special Education lawyers who represent parents and their children advocate for the children's entitlement to the educational benefits granted to them by virtue of state and federal law.

 

For example, in some school districts it is common for children who lack the ability to make progress academically in a general education classroom to be ignored, and allowed to fall further and further behind.  Often, children who just cannot succeed in a typical classroom are just ignored, and school staff fails to advise the parents of the child's rights under the law to be assessed for eligibility for special education services.   All too often school staff will say nothing, and even advise parents that parents must seek and pay for outside services, such as tutoring to help their child.   This is despite the fact that the laws mandate that school districts inform the parents of all students about the rights of handicapped children to special education.

 

For more information about your child's rights, please visit our Special Education Blog, by clicking the link in the menu at the top of the page.

Services offered: 

  • Filing of claims against school districts for failing to comply with the Special Education Laws* with the Office of Administrative Hearings Special Education Division (known as Request for Due process hearings)

  • Filing of federal lawsuits on behalf of students for violations of federal laws prohibiting discrimination and retaliation on the basis of handicap

  • Appealing due process hearing decisions to the Federal Court

 

Results obtained for clients.

For examples of some of the results Ms. Jarvis has obtained for her clients, please see our Results page.

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*Special Education Laws includes both California Law (CA Education Code and related regulations) as well as applicable Federal law (IDEA, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and related regulations).

 

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