All children with a disability that affects their ability access to public education have a constitutional right to accommodations.  Determining whether a student receives accommodations and services depends on the child's individual needs.

For a time, the state of Texas had set a maximum percentage for students participating in special educational services.  Even once the state eliminated the cap, the school system continued to exclude students from necessary services simply because they had trained teachers and administrators to deny services.  It created a culture where services were automatically denied.  The state has been ordered to remedy the situation, and have already started securing the resources to do so.  New York Times, January 11, 2018.

​“Every child with a disability must have appropriate access to special education and related services that meet his or her unique needs,” Ms. DeVos said in a statement announcing the regulatory action. “Far too many students in Texas had been precluded from receiving supports and services.”

Our children need parents to establish an appropriate 504 Plan or IEP when appropriate.  Any time you have school policies, classroom and homework rules, testing environments, physical layout, or other aspects of "doing school" that get in the way of your child being their best student, it is appropriate to stop and consider whether "doing school" requires some ability with which your child struggles.  Disability does not refer to your child's ability to be an amazing student; rather, it just means that the school did not anticipate the flexibility required to unleash your child's ability.  Please contact me if I can be of assistance in that process.

Sometimes, good schools have bad rules.  The rules were developed with good intentions, but because they govern children, these rules have almost no way of generating a good outcome.

Have you ever heard of receiving a grade of W for a class?  W stands for "withdrawal", and it can be a good option to consider when you find yourself unable to complete a class with an acceptable grade.  At most colleges and universities, you can take a W instead of a grade; the rules for when the W must be declared vary by school.  Most allow a W any time before the final exam; for classes without a final exam, students can declare their W by the end of the following semester.  

You might take a W when you realize (too late) that you really don't know what is going on, and your plans allow you to drop the class.  If you just need more time, you might prefer to get an Incomplete, and complete the work according to a schedule that is agreeable with your professor.  In any case, the W allows the student to decide not to complete a class in a manner that does not punish for attempting the class.  While the W is not as good as getting credit for a class and earning a grade that you are proud of, there are times where it might be your best option.

It has come to my attention that several area high schools have withdrawal policies that are unfair and, I believe, cruel.  There are three possibilities when you decide you are not going to finish a class:

1. You drop the class before the end of the penalty-free add/drop period (usually 5-10 days into the semester).  The class never appears on your transcript and no one will ever know.
2. You drop the class after the end of the add/drop period, but before the deadline to withdraw from the class (usually 8-25 days into the semester).  The class appears with the grade of WP on your transcript.  The WP does not affect your GPA.
3. You drop the class after the end of the withdrawal period.  The class appears on your transcript as a WF, and that grade is calculated as an F in to your GPA.

It is my hope that Principals in the area will review their policies regarding the use of the WF.  I believe that there is no good justification for penalizing a student who took an academic risk, and who persisted in trying to complete the class.  The persistence should not be punished with a 0 calculated into the GPA.  That the student will not earn credit for the class should be penalty enough for taking the W.  Being forced to average a 0 into the student's overall GPA, and potentially affecting college offers, is a penalty too large.

If you are a parent with a student in high school, take a look at the school's curriculum guide.  The grading policies, including the policies concerning withdrawals should be in that guide.  If your school has a policy that penalizes a student for persisting in a challenging class with the WF, you should talk to your Principal about what the community can do to change it.  

If you have a student who seems to be running up against all kinds of weird, unfair rules, please consider contacting me to help you sort it out.  Because when our kids are being unfairly buffeted by rules that always seem stacked against them, the first thing we need to do is to figure out why that is the case.  Once we understand that, we can work with the school administration, teachers, and other professionals to neutralize the situations that put our child at a disadvantage.  And because our child is not unnecessarily disadvantaged, the teachers can challenge them to learn and grow throughout their school experiences.  Because we want your child to be happy and successful in school, in college, and throughout life.

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Potential accommodations may include:
1. Pass to see nurse, social worker, or case manager throughout the day as needed.
2. Pass to keep and consume water and snacks during classes.
3. Pass to use elevators.
4. Pass to leave class early or arrive late, in order to avoid the crowds in the hallways (note, many teachers give assignments at the end of the class; if that is the case, the student would be wise to choose to arrive late to the next class).
5. Exemption from tardy/absence policies.  Specifically, students should not be penalized or disciplined for these events.  Records should reflect that medical condition is cause of attendance record, so as not to trigger truancy or other escalation policies that are not intended to penalize for medical conditions.
6. Assignment modifications.  Exemption from formatives, provided that student is prepared to take summatives successfully.  Exemption from late penalties.  
7. Test modifications, such as modified test environment, extended time to complete tests, breaks as needed.
8. PE and other non-academic exemptions as needed.
9. Modified schedule to improve attendance rates as needed.  Note that students should be placed in courses that are appropriately challenging and with their academic peers.  If a student is not able to tolerate a full day schedule, allow student to extend HS tenure up until age 21, until all credits are earned for graduation and/or college requirements.

​Services that may be appropriate
1. Intermittent homebound instruction.  At the start of the year, tutors for each subject will be identified and pre-approved by the school.  Student shall be able to access  tutoring once absences occur.  Times shall be scheduled by student, parent, and tutor with no further pre-approval required for each session, provided that they fit within the metrics defined in the plan.
2. Modified PE; modifications in other classes as needed.
3. In- school PT and OT.
4. Assistive technologies, such as screen readers, dictation software, equipment to transport stuff.
5. Assistive devices, such as canes, walkers, wheelchair, or service animal
6. Services from Aides, such as assistance scribing, reading, and safe navigation through the school building.

It is an honor to work with students, their families, their schools, and their medical teams.  While the branch of law I practice is commonly known as "disabilities law" or "accommodations law," I see more as a practice of discerning the amazing person that is each student.

The students are I work with are incredibly talented, creative, strong people.  They also might be crabby, exhausted, and frustrated by life.  But they are not inherently disabled.  Nor are they people who are asking for any special favors by being accommodated.  These kids are just asking to get a fair chance to secure their education and pursue a satisfying and productive adult life.

You have selected a Catholic education for your child.  When your child needs a few accommodations, you are told that the school does not have the staff or other resources to deliver accommodations, and they are not legally required to provide accommodations and services, so you will have to go without or find another school.  Can this be true?

The answer is, "yes and no."

If we are talking about services that are provided under the federal IDEA laws that ensure "free appropriate public education" to all students, then yes, because the Catholic School is not a public school, they are not required to provide services.  This law, and the IEP plans that are written to define a student's services, are only required of schools that are publicly funded.

Furthermore, if we are talking about accommodations required by the Americans with Disabilities Act, there is a religious institution exemption.  This means that the legal system cannot be used to require the Catholic school to provide accommodations.

When his disciples tried to keep children away from Jesus, " Jesus said, 'Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.'" (Matthew 19:14.)  The Pastoral Statement of U.S. Catholic Bishops on People with Disabilities is clear that “to be loyal to its calling, to be truly pastoral, the parish must make sure that it does not exclude any Catholic who wishes to take part in its activities.”  Specifically regarding education, the U.S. Catholic Bishops states that there is ”the right to equal opportunity in [Catholic] education.”  Jesus instructs us "when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just”  Matthew 14:12-14.  The feast of a Catholic education must fully include people with disabilities.

Students with disabilities do have God-given talents.  Service to people with disabilities is "paid back" by service by the people with disabilities.  In other words, people with disabilities also have talents, and "they have the same duty as all members of the community to do the Lord's work in the world, according to their God-given talents and capacity"  (The Pastoral Statement). These talents should not be hidden in the ground, but should be worked and developed so that Jesus will say (to the students and the teachers), "'Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your master.’" (Matthew 14-30). 

"No family is ever really prepared for the birth of a child with a disability. When such a child does come into the world, families often need strong support from their faith community. That support must remain firm with the passage of years. The path to independence can be difficult. Family members need to know that others stand with them, at least in spirit, as they help their children along this path” (The Pastoral Statement #15).   Supporting these families demands our Catholic schools faithfully teach their children.

Jesus tells us to love one another.  "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35).  The apostle Paul teaches us " Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." (1 Corinithians 13).  Love demands that we serve all our children who seek a Catholic education.  

I always assume that everyone is doing the best they can.  The student is trying to be a student.  Parents are trying to be parents, and are feeling stretched into being unlicensed doctors and educators.  Educators are trying to be educators, and they are pulled into a healthcare space to try to figure out what operational and physical changes might be needed to successfully educate your child.

Many misunderstandings arise when student-patients and parents expect others to know more than they do.  As parents, we are pulled into the world of figuring out what the doctors are telling us, trying to understand what that means medically, and using our tenuous understanding to teach the school so that they can make the appropriate accommodations.  

With my background in biochemical sciences, cultural and linguistic analysis, economic research, and the law, I work to bridge the gaps in understanding between professionals with very different training from one another.  Medical recommendations made without the context of the school's operational and legal framework can make reasonable accommodations appear to be unreasonable.  School decisions that appear to be reasonable can sometimes cause harm to the patient.  The student-patient and parents can feel frustrated and poorly served when the medical and educational professionals have trouble sorting out the confusion.  And the professionals may feel frustrated when their best efforts are met with distress and anger from the patient and parents.

Parents are the key to helping everyone work together.  Of understanding which professional is capable of providing what solution, and scheduling and coordinating that help.  The student-patient is the key to progress and success, working productively with each member of the medical and school team.  Conflicts are opportunities for the student-patient to to talk to people with whom he or she disagrees.  It's a valuable life skill that Pete Seeger advocates, and that will help the student-patient successfully manage school, and life beyond. 

In the meantime, Rosie looks great.  She is up and about, back to her old self, and wanting this to just go away.   She is still a High School Junior about to have a very important academic year.  Rosie's mom is, understandably, overwhelmed by the fright of a mysterious serious illness and the newness of the situation.  How do we respect Rosie's need to live life as usual, while at the same time protecting her from some of the risks related to her diagnosis and her treatment?

For Rosie, proposed accommodations included:

• sharing the seriousness of the medical condition, and the need for several more months of potentially disruptive medical tests and monitoring;
• educating teachers and staff about the social confusion that comes with Rosie looking great, but still having a serious medical condition that continues to baffle the experts;
• securing a "plan B" for receiving her medications at school if she should somehow forget or be unable to get her medication at home before arriving at school;
• securing additional passing time and elevator privileges to protect against overexertion and against jostling that could cause unusual (and dangerous) bruising and bleeding;
• securing support and services that celebrate what has not changed (her identity as a great student) and to help her through what has changed (her inability to take her health for granted).

As parents, we worry.  Maybe the school won't believe that we need the help.  Maybe the school won't be fair about how they help.  Maybe our children will be punished for not being perfect.  These are worries that the school accommodations laws address.  Securing a lawyer to help dissolve these worries by applying your facts to the laws lets you focus on parenting.

And there is a lot of parenting to do when your children are facing medical crises.  Our children worry about whether they will be all right, whether they will have to give up dreams, whether you are going to be able to deal with this medically, emotionally, and financially.  This is on top of the normal teenage worries about friends, grades, acne, college plans, etc.  Especially when your children are "medical puzzles" or "medical mysteries," there is tremendous uncertainty about what will come next. 

Rosie's mom tells me that I am "an angel who does not need wings."  With Rosie's medical crisis, her mom was suddenly a "newbie" in the world of parents who deal with these things.  The fears we experience when our children are critically ill, and when we don't have good medical answers that lead to a cure, can be paralyzing.  But our children need us to show them that life does go on.  Who they are has not changed.  How we do things might have changed, but they are still the beloved child who will do great things in this world.

Who would've thunk a lawyer could help with that?  

To contact me to provide assistance with your situation, or to contact Rosie's mom, please fill in the form below.