On A Bookish Word or Two, we have a guest post from Jennifer Oneal Price, author of EmpowerEd. Jennifer gives us some very interesting facts about her new book!
EmpowerEd: Using Real Case Examples to Look Deeper into IEP
Management is a resource book for parents who are tired of fighting with the
school district to get an appropriate education for their child. As an attorney
in private practice, I spend part of each day answering telephone calls and
questions from parents who are frustrated over what their school is or is not
doing for their child’s education. I have a disability rights practice, which
includes a niche in special education law. My journey into this area of law,
and ultimately the book, began as a prosecutor in the juvenile division.
A typical day in the family courthouse consisted of hallways
filled with parents and children, allmwaiting anxiously to have their cases
heard. Family dynamics can play a significant role in why a juvenile is
actually in the juvenile court system. Another factor that some people don’t
realize can be whether a person has a disability. Disabilities can play a
factor in the juvenile court process because if a child has a behavioral
disability, like ADHD, or a neurological/development disability like autism,
certain things throughout the day may trigger conduct from them the teachers
feel they can’t handle. Since many schools have juvenile probation officers and/or
police officers within the school, it can become that much easier for a teacher
to involve law enforcement in the situation, as opposed to trying to diffuse
it, alone.
I left a District Attorney’s Office after seeing worst-case
scenarios in juvenile court: when learning accommodations were not made, or
plans were not implemented for children with disabilities. I realized that
while these were similar stories told from different situations, the common
thread in all of them was either IEP or 504 Service Agreement management. After
I decided to go into private practice to focus on representing children with
disabilities, I quickly learned there was a lack of information by many parents
and educational advocates. At the same time, there was a constant desire for
information and specifically, legal updates. That is why I decided to write
this book. It is meant to be a guide and a starting point to understanding how
to be a more effective advocate for your child’s educational rights. When I
would speak at parent groups, providing legal updates, the parents were
grateful but still weren’t sure exactly how to
use the information for their situation. This book was
designed to require parents to think more critically and analytically about
their situation, as well as understand how the school district is thinking. In
understanding things from the school district’s perspective, parents can better
strategize how to best advocate to get better results.
The book uses real court case examples to show the practical
side of how courts have ruled on familiar issues. In the end, the goal is to
set parents up for their child’s educational success. Some of the points the
book addresses are: Child Find; Setting up the IEP for success; and Bullying.
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About Jennifer
WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:
Website → www.jenniferpricelaw.com
Twitter → twitter.com/jennoprice
About EmpowerEd
