A federal appeals court has upheld a longtime U.S. Department of Education regulation requiring school districts, under certain circumstances, to reimburse parents for independent educational evaluations of their children with disabilities.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, in Atlanta, ruled unanimously to uphold the regulation promulgated under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the main federal special education law. The rule requires districts or other public agencies to pay for independent evaluations when parents disagree with the public agency's initial assessment of their child.
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Andree LaRose, Special Education Attorney - Butte - Apr. 13, 2013 - 0 views
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Click here to submit questions online via the survey tool What: Andree Larose, Special Education Attorney will be presenting to the Butte PAK. If you are interested in getting information about special education procedures and the legal requirements surrounding student educational rights, we encourage you to attend. This is a great opportunity for parents, students, district staff, attorneys and providers to learn more about special education laws. Andree has extensive experience in the practice of civil rights law, in particular special education law. She has a long track record of successfully obtaining appropriate educational services for students with disabilities, both through settlement and litigation at administrative, district court and appellate court levels. Interested parties should submit their questions to Andree via an on-line survey tool. The purpose is to submit questions in advance of the meeting to help facilitate some of the discussions and to identify the most pressing concerns. If you plan on attending this meeting, please submit your questions via this survey tool. When: Saturday, April 13, 2013 10:00 am - 12:00 pm Mountain Where: Business Development Center 305 West Mercury Street Butte, MT 59701 Contact: Stephanie Clement at Disability Rights Montana (406-449-2344) Diana Tavary at Parents, Let's Unite for Kids at (406-439-5570)
2012 Court of Appeals Year in Review - Webinar - July 10, 2013 - 0 views
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Register for this webinar and view all webinars in this series COPAA is offering five webinars as part of this summer series. You are welcome to register for individual sessions or for the entire series of sessions. More information: Summer series - Fall series What: This session is presented by one of the nations foremost legal experts on issues involving persons with disabilities. Judith reviews her annual look at case trends and discusses the implications for practice. Participants will recieve the document: 2012: THE YEAR IN REVIEW CASES DECIDED BY THE UNITED STATES COURTS OF APPEAL UNDER THE INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT AND RELATED STATUTES. Case summaries and an analysis of the impact and trends by topic and circuit are presented. This is a must-know for special education legal advocates. When: Wednesday, July 10, 2013 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm Mountain Cost: $79.00 per session or $275.00 for the summer series (all 5 sessions) $599.00 Annual Webinar Subscription: Includes ALL Live and Archived Sessions (Member discounts available)
Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Support Group - Billings - May 16, 2013 - 0 views
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What:
This month's Grandparents (or relative) Raising Grandchildren Support Group meeting features a guest speaker from the Yellowstone Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children (CASA). CASA is a group of community volunteers who speak up for abused and neglected children in Yellowstone County. The CASA concept is based on the commitment that every child deserves a safe, permanent home. CASA volunteers are appointed by the courts to gather accurate and complete information about a child's circumstances, serve as an advocate, and make objective recommendations in the best interest of the child. This is the last spring meeting for 2013, there will be a picnic potluck, and grandchildren are welcome. If you are able to bring dish contact the Extension office to confirm.
When:
Thursday, May 16, 2013
6:30 pm Mountain
Where:
North Park
6th Ave. North
Billings MT, 59102
Contact:
(406) 256-2828
Appeals Court Says Family Can Seek Damages For 'Lost Opportunity' - Disability Scoop - 0 views
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A federal appeals court decision this week may open the door for families to seek damages in cases where a child’s need for special services is ignored. The decision came in a lawsuit alleging that Hawaii schools deliberately neglected the needs of two girls with autism during their formative years.
Montana Warm Line Blog: Mental Health Courts Appear to Shorten Jail Time, Reduce Re-Arr... - 0 views
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Special mental health courts appear to be associated with lower post-treatment arrest rates and reduced number of days of incarceration for individuals with serious psychiatric illnesses, according to a report posted online October 4 that will appear in the February 2011 print issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.
Celebrate Community: Billings woman honored as child-advocate volunteer - 0 views
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Jan Butorovich has always had a soft spot for children, especially those who end up in the court system through neglect or abuse. As a volunteer for the Yellowstone Court Appointed Special Advocates program, Butorovich has devoted hundreds of hours a year working for children and speaking for them in court. In the nine years she has volunteered, Butorovich has been an advocate for 33 children and usually serves two families at a time. She also is the volunteer representative on CASA’s board of directors.
What is Methodology? What is FAPE? - Webinar - June 26, 2013 - 0 views
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Register for this webinar and view all webinars in this series COPAA is offering five webinars as part of this summer series. You are welcome to register for individual sessions or for the entire series of sessions. More information: Summer series - Fall series What: The Rowley court told us "questions of methodology are for resolution by the States," which has been interpreted to mean that schools decide how kids are taught. Where does the school's unbridled discretion end and issues of FAPE begin? When: Wednesday, June 26, 2013 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm Mountain Cost: $79.00 per session or $275.00 for the summer series (all 5 sessions) $599.00 Annual Webinar Subscription: Includes ALL Live and Archived Sessions (Member discounts available)
Bullying is Never Okay: How to use a Gebser Letter | Special Education & IEP Advisor - 0 views
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What can we do as parents if our children with disabilities are getting bullied in school? If you feel the School did not take action to correct the situation in an acceptable manner and the bullying continues, then talk to an attorney about writing a “Gebser letter” to your school. In a 1998 Supreme Court decision for Gebser v. Lago Vista School District the court concluded that in order to receive damages under a Title IX discrimination suit you must prove that the school district actually knew about the offense and refused to take action to correct it. Thus, the term “Gebser Letter” was coined to mean a letter notifying a school district employee with authority about the discrimination or bullying.
Long-term Planning for People with Disabilities: Public Benefits, Trusts, and Guardians... - 0 views
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Click here to register!What:Please Join the Southwest ADA Center and the Texas Governor's Committee for People with Disabilities for another ADA Virtual Round Tables webinar. Attorney Deborah A. Green with the Law Offices of Deborah Green, and Attorney Tom Ruffner, Court Investigator with Travis County Probate Court in Austin, Texas will discuss a range of financial and legal tools for planning for a lifetime of support. When:Monday, December 5, 2011 12:00 PM Mountain Contact:Phone: (713) 520-0232Email: ilru@ilru.org
Systemic Overhaul of Medicaid For Youth With Mental Illness: Settlement For Statewide C... - 0 views
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“Treating children at home whenever possible,” said Patrick Gardner, an attorney with Young Minds Advocacy Project, “is more humane, less costly, and more effective than institutionalization.” Under the agreement the state will establish a new program and approach for delivering mental health services called Wraparound with Intensive Services or “WISe.” The program will help prevent adverse outcomes for youth with serious mental illness such as hospitalization, long-term institutionalization in psychiatric facilities, and placements in the foster care and juvenile justice systems. These are all experiences Smith has known personally and doesn’t want repeated for other kids. “This case,” says Smith, “was about doing something to make a difference so kids with illnesses like mine won’t have to go through the things I did.” Leecia Welch, Senior Attorney at the National Center for Youth Law, agrees. “Approval of this settlement has set the stage for increasing access to appropriate mental health services for Washington’s most vulnerable youth. Better access to care means better outcomes for kids like Phillip.”
Q2 KTVQ | Billings | Huntley Project senior an inspiration on the court - 0 views
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Ask most basketball players if they'd mind subbing in to a game with less than a minute to play - they'd *scoff* at the notion. But not Huntley Project senior Sam Shaules. Q2's Casey Conlon has the heart-warming story of the 30 seconds of game-time that not only make his night - but his entire season.
Learning disability ruling holds schools liable - 0 views
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Parents of a child with learning disabilities can sue a school district for ignoring the problems and failing to arrange tutoring or other educational help, a federal appeals court ruled Monday.
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The decision by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco in a case from Compton (Los Angeles County) is one of the first in the nation on a parent's ability to enforce a federal law that requires schools to identify all children with disabilities and provide them with an appropriate education.
Court Rules that Hawaii's "Furlough Fridays" Don't Violate IDEA (CEC Policy Insider) - 0 views
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Hawaii, like all but four states, is experiencing an extreme fiscal crisis. As a partial response, Hawaii and its teacher’s union agreed to a contract for the 2009-2010 school year with 17 fewer days, dubbed “Furlough Fridays.” This cut stood to save the state thousands of dollars, but also meant that all students in Hawaii would lose approximately 10% of instructional time. Parents of students with disabilities sued to prevent the state from implementing this plan, arguing the lost time was a change of placement and violated IDEA’s stay put provision. The State went forward with the cost cutting measure, which began regardless of the suit in October of 2009. Late last week, the Ninth Circuit disagreed with parents and ruled that “system wide changes are not meant to be covered by IDEA’s stay put provision.”
Former Montana high court justice names 7 to mental health trust committee - 0 views
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HELENA - Former Montana Supreme Court Justice John Warner, now overseeing a $9.5 million mental health trust fund, announced Monday he has assembled the seven-member committee to help decide how the state spends the money.
Troubles At School Increasingly Land Kids With Disabilities In Court - Disability Scoop - 0 views
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In the report from the public interest law center Texas Appleseed, data from 26 Texas school districts shows that educators are relying more and more on law enforcement to address school discipline issues. Notably, the report indicates that police regularly issue misdemeanor tickets to students as young as 6 for everything from using profanity to fighting.
Autism treatments: Risky alternative therapies have little basis in science -- chicagot... - 0 views
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Besides taking many pills, the boy was injected with vitamin B12 and received intravenous infusions of a drug used to leach mercury and other metals from the body. He took megadoses of vitamin C, a hormone and a drug that suppresses testosterone. This complex treatment regimen -- documented in court records as part of a bitter custody battle between Coman, who opposes the therapies, and his wife -- may sound unusual, but it isn't. Thousands of U.S. children undergo these therapies and many more at the urging of physicians who say they can successfully treat, or "recover," children with autism, a disorder most physicians and scientists say they cannot yet explain or cure. But after reviewing thousands of pages of court documents and scientific studies and interviewing top researchers in the field, the Tribune found that many of these treatments amount to uncontrolled experiments on vulnerable children.
Feds: Sheltered Workshops May Violate Disabilities Act - Disability Scoop - 0 views
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The Obama administration is coming out in support of a group of adults with developmental disabilities who say they’re being relegated to sheltered workshops even though they’re capable of working in the community. Attorneys for the U.S. Department of Justice filed a statement of interest in late April in a class action lawsuit pitting some 2,300 people with developmental disabilities against the state of Oregon. In the suit filed in federal court in January, residents with disabilities alleged that the state is violating the Americans with Disabilities Act by failing to provide supported employment services, which allow people with disabilities to work in the community. Now, the Justice Department is weighing in saying that limiting people with disabilities to sheltered workshops is no different than segregating them in institutions.
What:
Insurance Commissioner Monica J. Lindeen announced plans for a second public hearing on the proposed acquisition of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Montana (BCBS) by Chicago-based Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC). A previous hearing on February 12 gave the public an opportunity to weigh in on the proposal, which converts Montana's largest non-profit health insurer to a for-profit subsidiary of the nation's fourth largest health insurance company. Former Montana Supreme Court Justice W. William Leaphart will serve as the hearing examiner.
At the March 12 hearing, representatives from BCBS and HCSC will make their case that the proposed acquisition is in the public's interest and in compliance with state law. Both the Commissioner and the Attorney General will have an opportunity to call expert witnesses to evaluate the proposal.
When:
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
9:00 am Mountain Where:
Montana Supreme Court
215 N. Sanders, 4th Floor
Helena, MT 59601 Contact:
The public is encouraged to submit comments in person at the March 12 hearing or in writing. Written comment should be sent to:
Jesse Laslovich
Chief Legal Counsel
Office of the Commissioner of Insurance
840 Helena Avenue
Helena, MT 59601