IEP Advocate for Albany student
I am seeking advice and/or recommendation for an advocate or lawyer to help me communicate with my daughter's school regarding her IEP.
Her AUSD school (Cornell) has been without a resource teacher this academic year and as a result the district has not provided her with 1200 minutes of resource class education (and counting). I would like to hire a tutor for her so that she can get the educational support that the district has failed to give her and I need help getting the district to pay for this. The district is "working on a plan" to make up missed minutes, but the only vague information they have provided me so far is that they might be able to make up the missed minutes during winter break.
I have contacted DREDF and await their reply. I would greatly appreciate any experiences, leads, or information that parents who have been in this situation or gone through this process would be comfortable sharing with me. Thanks very much in advance.
Parent Replies
Our family lives in Oakland. Our situation is slightly different but parallel. I'm working with Tollner Law in San Jose. Special education is their focus. It's been a good experience. Get in touch and I can give you more details. Good luck.
Hi
Our daughter had an IEP and we had so many challenges with our local school district. I found many helpful resources, including free access to care managers at Children’s Health Center(CHC). There website is www.chconline.com and their care managers can be reached at 650-688-3625 or caremanagers [at] chconline.org. They are noted to be the top rated education and mental health services for children, teens and young adults, with reputable resources steeped in solid research and science. I hope you find this resources as helpful as I did.
Good Luck to you
Jackie
Jennifer Callahan 415-238-2338 .
This is her specialty!
DREDF is great. Talk to Cheryl/Sheryl if you can because she's familiar with Albany IEPs.
If you have the means, I highly recommend education attorney Deborah Jacobson. She has a wonderful demeanor, was very responsive, and was straightforward about the likely outcomes. Her firm will do a free initial phone conversation, which can help you determine if it's worth spending the money to have her take your case.