“I had a folder of emails and no idea which ones mattered. Lukasz found the two that did, and the evaluation the school had refused was on the calendar within a month.”
Dana K.Parent of a fourth grader
Education law for parents
The school called again. Let’s work out what happens next.
I help parents with IEPs, 504 plans and school discipline, from the first worrying email to the meeting where it’s settled. Bring what the school sent you, and we’ll read it together.
Four worries I hear in almost every first call
Each one has an answer, and most have a next step you can take this week.
What happens to their services if the school says no?
A refused evaluation or a cut in services isn’t the final word. You can disagree in writing, ask for an independent evaluation, or ask for a hearing, and I’ll tell you which fits.
Special educationWhat happens to the 504 plan when no one follows it?
A plan only helps if teachers use it. We write down what was missed, ask for a meeting, and put the accommodations in words that are hard to skip.
504 plansWhat happens to their record after a suspension?
Long suspensions and expulsions come with a hearing, and what goes in the file can follow a student. I prepare you for the hearing and argue for a fair outcome.
School disciplineWhat happens at the meeting if I can’t keep up?
I sit beside you, or I prepare you to go on your own, with a one-page list of what to ask for and what to get in writing before you leave the room.
How it works
Things parents ask before they call
Short answers to what parents ask first. There’s more on the questions page.
Do I need a lawyer, or can I handle this myself?
Many parents handle a first meeting on their own, and I’m glad to tell you if yours is one of them. A lawyer helps most when the school has said no in writing, when a hearing is set, or when the plan keeps being ignored.
Will the school treat my child differently if I bring a lawyer?
Schools work with parents’ lawyers all the time, and staff are bound by the same rules either way. Most of my work is calm and written, and much of it the school never sees.
How soon should I call?
Sooner is better. Some steps, like asking for a hearing or answering a discipline notice, have short deadlines that vary by state and by the kind of decision. Call when the letter arrives.
What does it cost?
After our first call I tell you what I’d do and what it will cost, in writing, before any work starts. Some pieces of work are a set fee; hearings are billed by the hour.
Why I do this work
Most of the work happens at the kitchen table
Before law school I taught special education, so I know how an IEP meeting looks from the school’s side of the table.
Now I sit on yours. We start with the paperwork you already have: the evaluation, the plan, the emails, the report cards. I read it the way the district will, mark what’s missing, and help you ask for it in writing. Most disputes settle there, long before anyone talks about a hearing.
What parents said once the year settled
“He wrote our son’s 504 accommodations so plainly that every teacher actually used them. The first quiet semester we’d had in two years.”
Sam and Ellie T.Parents of a seventh grader
“Before the expulsion hearing he walked me through every question they might ask. I went in calm, and my daughter finished the year at her own school.”
Renée P.Parent of a high school junior
Every family and every school is different, and these words describe one family’s experience, not a promise about yours.
Send the letter, the plan or the email that worried you
We’ll start with a short call. You tell me what’s happening, and I’ll tell you what I’d do first.