Q&A
Process of obtaining services and reasons for lawsuits in special education cases
0:33:38
ยท
44 sec
Public Advocate Williams seeks clarification on the process parents go through to obtain special education services and the reasons behind lawsuits. DOE officials explain the various scenarios that lead to due process cases.
- Parents may try to get services but are unable to obtain them, or they may find that the services provided don't meet their needs.
- In some cases, lawsuits are filed before the DOE has had a chance to interact with the family.
- There has been an increase in cases filed as due process matters before the DOE has been in touch with families.
- Williams expresses concern about the possibility of families bypassing the regular process and going straight to litigation.
Jumaane Williams
0:33:38
And just so I I had a question about some of the, the letters that were sent, so I hope you know, that'll probably be covered, and I appreciate the chair giving me some time, so I won't ask about everything.
0:33:49
But with these cases, I do wanna understand more.
0:33:51
Is it that parents come and try to get the services, are unable to get the services, or they've tried it and the services didn't meet their needs, or are those steps skipped and we automatically go to the lawsuits?
Liz Vladeck
0:34:05
We've seen both.
0:34:06
And in the last several years, before this school year, we had seen an increase in the number of cases that were filed as a due process matter before we had really been in touch with the family.
Jumaane Williams
0:34:18
So and and why is that allowed?
0:34:20
And is there something we can do to prevent that?