Category: Education Law

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, or FERPA, is a Federal law that protects the privacy of students’ education records and access to those records, and applies to schools that receive federal financial assistance under the U.S. Department of Education, including elementary and secondary schools as well as postsecondary schools.  FERPA prohibits...

The Special Education process can be frustrating, time-consuming, and upsetting to many parents. When parents feel that they can no longer face the school district on their own, many choose to hire a Special Education attorney to help them. This is an extremely important decision because it involves one of the most...

The Bureau of Special Education Appeals (BSEA) released its Special Education statistics for fiscal year 2011 (July 1, 2010 through June 30, 2011). A summary of the statistics is as follows: The BSEA received 8,348 rejected IEPs, an increase of 473 over the past fiscal year.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recently released new guidelines for diagnosing and treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Instead of diagnosing the condition in children aged 6 – 12, as previously required, the new guidelines require pediatricians to diagnose children starting at age 4 up to age 18. If...

In the 1980’s, doctors could only save 1 in 10 babies born weighing 2 pounds or less. Today, doctors can save 9 in 10 babies. 25% of babies born at 25 weeks or fewer may be severely disabled. 50% will have problems with...

When a student is suspended or expelled from school, there are certain procedures that the school must follow in order to protect the student’s due process rights. The student will be allowed to have a suspension/expulsion hearing (in most circumstances) where he/she has a right to be represented by counsel, can present...

The Massachusetts Anti-Bullying law offers additional protections for students with disabilities because they are more susceptible to being “targets” of bullying. The law has two requirements for students with disabilities, both of which must occur simultaneously: (1) there must be school-wide response to prevent the bullying of students with disabilities; and (2) the student’s...

Cyber-bullying not only happens on the internet through social media websites or chat rooms, but it also happens through cell phones, either in the form of text messages or phone calls. There is now an App meant to protect children from cyber-bullying through text messages. Word Bully filters out...

Coren Lichtenstein, LLP’s partner Andra Hutchins will speak on student privacy issues at an upcoming seminar put on by the National Business Institute. Attorney Hutchins will join two other local education law attorneys to discuss hot topic issues regarding student privacy in schools. The seminar will be held on...

If any student violates the school handbook, the school can suspend that student accordingly. However, when a Special Education student on an IEP gets into trouble and is suspended from school, there are procedures in place that the school must follow when suspending the student. For the first ten...

Many parents wonder who can access their child’s school records. This is regulated by both federal law and state law. Under federal law, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) regulates all issues regarding student records. Under state law, the Code of Massachusetts Regulations (CMR) controls this area.

As the 2011-2012 school year approaches, it is time to start thinking about your child’s educational needs. If you are just starting the special education process and have been contemplating an uation or you are further along in the process, you will soon be meeting with others to discuss your child’s Individualized Education Program (IEP).