Video: A to Z of a Special Education Legal Case

If your child doesn’t receive the special education services required by law, you may be able to file a due process complaint—which is a claim that the public school system has failed to uphold your child’s legal rights.

In this video, Cuddy Law Firm special education attorney Mark Gutman explains the process of pursuing a special education legal case. The video includes Spanish translation.

He explains that school districts must provide all students a “free appropriate public education” (FAPE) under federal law, and how a district’s failure to do so can lead you to call for a due process hearing.

Signs that a school may be failing to provide a free appropriate public education include slipping grades, notices from the school that your child may be held back a grade, regression in your child’s development as you see it at home, or ignoring recommendations from your child’s doctor.

A formal complaint could start by showing the school has failed to properly evaluate your child’s needs, failed to make the appropriate placement in an educational setting, or failed to hold an Individualized Education Program (IEP) meeting to create a plan for your child.

Gutman covers what the complaint includes, such medical diagnoses, documents of the student’s educational history, and requests for how you want the district to address the problems you’re raising.

Once you file a special education due process complaint, these are the steps you’ll follow:

• Negotiating with the school district to see if you can resolve your situation before you go to a hearing with an impartial hearing officer (IHO)
• Attending a pre-hearing conference
• Attending the due process hearing, typically in a conference room with both sides presenting their cases
• Getting the decision from the IHO
• Following an IHO’s order to provide services for your child
• Appealing an IHO’s decision to reject your claim to a higher judge

For more details on the process of making a special education due process complaint and going to a due process hearing, watch the full video from Cuddy Law Firm.