Special Education

Special Education Advocacy

The special education process can be overwhelming.
The assistance of experienced counsel can make a world of difference.

If you are a caregiver for a child or loved one with special needs (such as mental or physical disabilities), you probably have worried about what may happen when you can no longer provide and care for them. At Allen ESQ, we understand that each child has unique needs. We serve clients throughout California and have offices in Alameda and San Diego. Our attorneys and special education advocates have been highly successful in obtaining the services that our young clients require and deserve.

Education Advocacy

Do you have the feeling that the school is not doing enough for your child but you’re not sure what is lacking? We can help you ensure that your child gets the services she needs to learn and reach her full potential. We advocate for education in a wide range of ways – from guidance for parents to representation and negotiations with administrators and state entities.

IEP Parent Support

If your child has an IEP you may not be getting all the support and services he/she needs. Many districs limit the amount of services they provide to special education students. We can help to maximize the services your child receives, whether speech therapy, occupational therapy, counseling, social skills training, 1:1 paraprofessional assistance, and even private school placements.

If your child is struggling in school and the teacher is telling you your child is not eligible for special education supports and services, we can help you to establish eligibility and obtain the supports your child needs. If your child is so anxious about school that she refuses to go, or your school has evaluated your child and found learning deficits but still refuses to find eligibility, we will help you.

Our attorneys can help

Prior to every IEP meeting, the school district will provide you with their standard Notice of Procedural Safeguards. These booklets are usually prepared by lawyers and can be very long. Review them carefully and make sure that you ask questions if you do not fully understand every provision. The following Basic Rights are generally from the 2008 DREDF Special Education Guide for Parents. To download the entire manual and obtain any updates, please visit: www.dredf.org.

What is the process?

How do we start?

Families who are not satisfied with the district’s offer of educational placement, services, or assessments contact ALLEN ESQ. Following a free consultation, the following steps occur:

Step 1.

Clients sign the retainer agreement and intake documents allowing ALLEN ESQ to request the school file from the district.

Step 2.

ALLEN ESQ orders the file from the school district.

Step 3.

ALLEN ESQ reviews the file and prepares a draft of the request for due process hearing and forwards the draft to clients to review.

Step 4.

Clients review the draft and correspond with ALLEN ESQ to make any edits.

Step 5.

ALLEN ESQ files the request for due process with the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) and serves it on the school district.

Step 6.

Within 10 days, OAH provides a scheduling order setting the hearing date and mediation date.

Step 7.

District is required to offer a resolution session within 15 days. Many attorneys will not attend this resolution session (the law does not allow attorneys to be paid for attendance at the resolution session) but ALLEN ESQ often will do so.

Step 8.

If the case does not resolve at the resolution session, ALLEN ESQ attends mediation with the clients.

Step 9.

If the case settles at mediation, a settlement agreement will be signed and the case will be dismissed if Board approval is not required. If Board approval is required, the case will be continued until the Board approves the settlement.

Step 10.

ALLEN ESQ settles more than 95 percent of its cases.

Step 11.

If the case does not settle at mediation, ALLEN ESQ works closely with its client to prepare and attend hearing.