In addition to the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), children with disabilities have additional rights under ADA and Section 504. We help ensure your child has access to services based on IDEA, ADA and Section 504.

Educational identification happens through a Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) evaluation with many assessments. If these assessments lead to identification of a disability for educational purposes, an individual education plan (IEP) is created for your child. We assist and attend MDT and IEP meetings to advocate for your child’s services.

When a child’s behavior, related to the child’s disability, interferes in the child’s access to education, districts should engage in a functional behavior analysis (FBA) to understand the root cause of the behavior, and based on that cause, create a Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) that identifies replacement behaviors that meet the child’s needs and the school’s needs.

All school districts have a legal duty to identify and serve all children, birth to 21, who have disabilities. We help ensure appropriate educational identification.

An IEP contains several sections, including direct services (like resource rooms), related services (like OT and PT), supplemental aids (for example, technology), and accommodations. We help figure out the most appropriate services, aids and accommodations for your child.

We will undertake limited representation when appointed by a Juvenile Judge to ensure a child is able to access education as part of the child’s rehabilitation.

A child that is at risk of losing skills (regression) and taking significant time to relearn them (recoupment), or a child that is just beginning to master a critical skill or is making steady progress where a break in services will threaten that progress, or needs continual reinforcement to manage transitions may need an extended school year. We work with your IEP Team to help arrive at a decision appropriate to your needs.

When your child has been denied a free appropriate public education (your IEP hasn’t been followed or doesn’t meet your child’s needs), we assist in the administrative due process involving filing of complaints and attending hearings.

When a family disagrees with the results of an MDT, the family generally has a right to request an Independent Education Evaluation by an outside provider. We help families navigate this process.

When a child who has a verified disability violates a Code of Conduct Rule, if the discipline for that violation in total would cause a child to be out of school for more than 10 days, before discipline can be imposed, the district must determine that the violation was not a manifestation of the child’s disability. We assist families in these determination meetings.

Meaningful parental participation in the development and implementation of your child’s IEP is fundamental to obtaining a free appropriate education for your child. We help parents understand and obtain meaningful participation.

The term placement goes beyond the location of schooling and includes the program of services your child receives. We help families develop the goals and objectives that lead to the program of services/placement of your child in the most successful environment.

Nebraska school district policies are different district to district on appropriate use of restraint and seclusion. We help parents address their individual concerns and reduce the need for restraint or seclusion.

Students with disabilities have a right to attend school for the same number of hours and days as their non-disabled peers. Shortening a student’s day raises issues regarding the provision of FAPE (free appropriate public education) as well as potential discrimination under ADA and Section 504. We help families ensure that the school day for their child meets their child’s unique needs.

No later than the year a child turns 16, part of the IEP must include transition goals and services/instruction to meet those goals, with the aim of ensuring that after a child with a disability has graduated, the child has the skills necessary to transition to adult life (such as post-secondary education, employment, or life skills). We help ensure appropriate transition plans for your child.

Regardless of general district transportation rules, a child is eligible for transportation to and from school and school activities if the transportation is necessary in order for the child to receive a free appropriate public education. The decision is made by the IEP Team but is also governed by regulation and a body of case law. We help families and children obtain needed transportation.