California Education Law Blog

       Is your child having difficulty getting along with peers and teachers at school? Does your child seem to be consistently depressed? Is your child exhibiting signs of severe anxiety regarding school and peers? Are any of these factors beginning to have an impact on your child's grades? If so, your child may be eligible for Special Education Services under the category of Emotional Disturbance. The eligibility requirements for qualification under the category of Emotional Disturbance are as follows:

"Because of a serious emotional disturbance, a pupil exhibits one or more of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree, which adversely affect educational performance:

(1) An inability to learn which cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors.

(2) An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers.

(3) Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances exhibited in several situations.

(4) A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression.

(5) A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems." [1]

       If your child qualifies for Special Education services under the category of Emotional Disturbance there are numerous services which school districts may be required to provide in order to afford your child with a Free and Appropriate Public Education. These services can include: behavior intervention services, intensive academic instruction, counseling services as well as educationally related mental health services. All of these services can greatly benefit a child with an Emotional Disturbance to improve not only their grades, but also their overall quality of life. If you have any questions regarding the appropriateness of your child's educational plan please contact Augustin Egelsee.

We welcome your participation in the discussions on this blog. Feel free to comment on posts that interest you.

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Contact us by E-mail or call us at 714-602-1498 or 866-781-7723 (toll free) for more information.

[1] (5 C.C.R. § 3030(i))

       School districts are required to provide all students with a Free and Appropriate Public Education, often times referred to as "FAPE". What constitutes "appropriate" is a point of much contention between parents, school districts and attorneys alike. Therefore, it has been left up to the courts to shed more light on what actually constitutes an appropriate public education. Located below is a brief glimpse into how different courts have weighed in on this discussion. In determining whether the Local Education Agency has offered Student a FAPE, the proper focus is on the adequacy of the offer of placement.[1] If a student fails to make progress within a reasonable period of time, the LEA must convene an IEP meeting to address the student's lack of progress.[2] A LEA's continuation of inadequate services will almost certainly be regarded as a denial of FAPE. [3]

       Based upon the analysis above, school districts must provide each Student with a individual education program designed to meet their unique needs, and this specialized program must provide each student with the opportunity to make substantive educational progress. Determining which type of educational program will meet a student's unique educational needs and subsequently allow them to make educational progress again has proven to a point of contention between both parents and school districts. A specific area of disagreement usually centers on which related services which may be necessary to meet a child's unique needs. Examples of these related services include: Language and Speech therapy to assist with any language concerns, Occupational Therapy which may assist with fine motor, gross motor, or sensory concerns, or services such as behavioral intervention services which can help students with a number of behavioral concerns.

       As you can probably tell, the law leaves many issues up for interpretation as to what a student may or may not be entitled to. This leaves parents in the difficult situation of trying to determine whether or not their school district is abiding by their legal duty to provide each student with an adequate opportunity to make educational progress. If you have any questions regarding the appropriateness of your child's educational plan please contact Augustin Egelsee.

       We welcome your participation in the discussions on this blog. Feel free to comment on posts that interest you.

Contact Our Office

Contact us by email or call us at 714-602-1498 or 866-781-7723 (toll free) for more information.

[1] (Gregory K. v. Longview School District, 811 F.2d 1310, 1314 (9th Cir. 1987)).

[2] (34 C.F.R. § 300.324(b)(2)(A))

[3] (See e.g. District of Columbia Pub. Schs., 49 IDELR 267 (D.D.C. 2008)).

Every year, thousands of special needs children are provided an opportunity to play flag football through Pop Warner's Challenger Division. The mission of this national program is to bring the Pop Warner football experience to all children, including those with special needs. The program aims to inspire these amazing kids regardless of their disabilities, to learn about physical fitness, good sportsmanship and friendship.

There are several communities here in Southern California who have embraced this amazing program and have created the opportunity for these children to play football. Each year, more and more children sign up and participate in this fun game. For many of these children, it is the first experience playing any type of organized sport. These kids go from being quite shy and even resistant to the experience at first, to thriving and loving the program and eagerly anticipating each game.

Here at Augustin Egelsee L.L.P., we actively support these programs that highlight the opportunity for all children to play sports, make friends and experience opportunities that all children do.

If you feel that your child may be in need of special education supports and services, or have questions regarding eligibility for special education or their educational program Contact us by email or call us at 714-602-1498 or 866-781-7723 (toll free) for more information.

We welcome your participation in the discussions on this blog. Feel free to comment on posts that interest you.

Contact Our Office

Contact us by email or call us at 714-602-1498 or 866-781-7723 (toll free) for more information.

Many parents face a similar dilemma with disciplinary action against their special needs child: We went to an IEP labeled a "manifestation determination," and the team said the child's behavior was not manifestation and my child is now being subjected to disciplinary action. Most have a million questions, but most prevalent is "why was the behavior not a manifestation?"

While disciplinary actions can be initiated against children who receive special education services, such children are entitled to an extra level of protection: Manifestation Determination. This is an IEP meeting to determine whether the behavior in question was a manifestation of that child's disability. If it is determined to be a manifestation, the disciplinary action must be halted, and a functional behavior assessment of that child accomplished. If it is not determined to be a manifestation, then disciplinary action may continue at the discretion of the school district.

The exploration of the manifestation determination is limited to two questions: (1) Was the student's conduct caused by, or did it have a direct and substantial relationship to the child's disability; or (2) was the student's conduct a direct result of the district's failure to implement the student's IEP? This exploration can become extremely difficult with disabilities such as Other Health Impairment due to ADHD-like symptoms, where a parent believes behaviors are related to the disability and the school district has asserted they are not.

There are many legal questions and issues that arise when a child is subjected to disciplinary action while qualified for special education services, both with the manifestation determination and the child's stated disability. It is important, as parents, to receive advice regarding these issues prior to the manifestation determination meeting in order to be sufficiently prepared for possible disciplinary ramifications.

Contact Our Office

If you have any questions about your child's rights and special education services, Contact us by email or call us at 714-602-1498 or 866-781-7723 (toll free) for more information.

We welcome your participation in the discussions on this blog. Feel free to comment on posts that interest you.