IEP Slay

A special education student may require a more restrictive placement. Districts are legally required to provide those options.

But under IDEA, LRE is the general education classroom with supplementary aids and services. The legal question is whether the student can receive FAPE in the LRE.

If you’ve ever loved someone who struggles to communicate, you know.

Sometimes one word can mean more than a thousand conversations.

Lawyer brain: Let’s discuss IDEA, FAPE, and compensatory education.

Also lawyer brain: Why is this audit trail page still here and why is it winning?

Some days are more humbling than others.

Respectfully,

A special education attorney who was personally victimized by a document. 🤷🏻‍♀️

12 Seniors with disabilities at Chapel Hill High School in North Carolina reportedly opened their yearbook only to discover they had been excluded.

Whether this was intentional or a mistake, the impact is real. Yearbooks are more than pictures on a page. They are part of a student’s history, memories, and sense of belonging.

When students are left out, they deserve answers and a prompt resolution.

If you believe this should be made right, respectfully contact school leadership and district officials. Call. Email. Ask questions.

Advocate for these students until there is accountability and a solution.

Every student deserves to be seen. Every student deserves to be included. Every student deserves to matter.

Let’s keep the focus where it belongs: on making this right for the students.

Chapel Hill HS (919) 929-2106

I don’t just represent special education families. I relate to them.

Special education law is personal. So am I.

I have officially started my second watch of Off Campus.

At this point, I’m not sure if it’s a TV show or an emotional support system.

After spending all week as a special education attorney, autism mom, business owner, professor, and professional problem-solver, there is something deeply therapeutic about turning my brain off and hanging out with Garrett, Cheyenne, and the crew for a few hours.

Could I be doing something productive?

Absolutely.

Will I?

Respectfully, no.

Ryan turns 30 in two months.

Thirty.

I honestly don’t know how that happened.

Some days it feels like a lifetime ago that I was a young mom trying to figure out what autism was. Other days, it feels like I blinked and found myself here after years of fighting for services, explaining his needs, and navigating a world that has never been especially kind or understanding to people like Ryan.

Almost 30 years of profound autism.

Almost 30 years of advocacy.

Almost 30 years of worrying about what happens when I am no longer here to protect him.

As his birthday gets closer, I find myself carrying more anxiety than excitement.

The world can be hard. People can be impatient. Systems can fail. And while Ryan is living a life I never thought would be possible for him, I would be lying if I said I don’t worry about him every single day.

And lately, I’ve been thinking about something else.

In almost 30 years, Ryan and I have never had a conversation.

Not the kind most mothers and sons have.

I’ve never heard him tell me about his day.

I’ve never heard him tell me what he’s worried about.

I’ve never heard him tell me if he’s happy, if he’s lonely, what he dreams about, or what he wishes the world understood about him.

I would give anything for one conversation.

Just one.

To ask him what it’s like to be Ryan.

To know what he thinks about when he lies awake at night.

To hear him call me Mom.

To know if he knows how much he has changed me.

How much I love him.

How proud I am of him.

The older he gets, the more I realize that some parts of this journey never get easier. You just learn to carry them differently.

Thirty years is a gift, and I know that.

But tonight, as his 30th birthday gets closer, my heart feels heavy.

Because while the world sees a man approaching 30, I still see my little boy.

And there are still so many things I wish I could ask him.

At this point the cast of Off Campus should really know me personally. Willing to risk the meltdown for just one more episode…