Jacobson & John LLP was contacted by the parents of three children with disabilities, all of whom had been receiving their education in a cyber-charter school. Upon review of the case, it was revealed that all of the children had endured years of astonishingly inadequate education. Jacobson & John LLP was able to successfully negotiate a resolution, which resulted in substantial compensatory education funds for each of the children, as well as the payment of attorney fees.
Through the efforts of Jacobson & John, Chester County parents recently settled a due process case against their son’s school district for thousands of dollars of compensatory education. Further, because the student was about to graduate, and given the particularly egregious nature of the academic and functional failures by the school district, we were able to successfully convince the district to allow the student to use the funds towards a college education – a usage rarely permitted.
The parents of a child receiving Early Intervention services came to Jacobson & John when the Intermediate Unit recommended a highly restrictive placement for their daughter. For the student, social skills were her strength and social interaction was an activity that could motivate her to participate and learn. The placement recommended by the Intermediate Unit had little to no peer interaction. Jacobson & John was able to obtain tuition to fund a private placement of the parents’ choice, as well as related services at the location.
The parents of a student in a Bucks County School District came to Jacobson & John because they suspected that their school district had not provided an appropriate education to their son. Upon review, Jacobson & John identified that the district had not properly addressed the student’s behaviors, had not timely and appropriately evaluated the student, and had not been provided with an appropriate program. Jacobson & John was able to successfully negotiate a resolution, which included additional assessments by a neutral evaluator, a revised IEP, a compensatory education fund, and payment of attorney fees.
A Berks County single parent recently came to us completely overwhelmed with problems concerning her severely disabled kindergartner’s school program. In short order, Jacobson & John were able to have her child moved to a much better educational placement that the parent was very happy with, and which included the addition of many necessary therapies that the district tried to pass off as the parent’s responsibility.
When the parent of a child with Asperger’s Syndrome came to Jacobson & John, she reported that while her son had received counseling and social skills instruction, as well as some kind of behavioral support at varying levels of frequency and duration, none was sufficient to assist her son in meeting his goals. As a result, despite years of working on the same goals, her son was not able to effectively manage himself in his current school setting. Jacobson & John was able to get her son a specialized private school that was able to meet all of his needs during the school year and summer, as well as provide compensatory education.
When a Bucks County school district failed to properly address a student’s social and emotional needs, the family turned to Jacobson & John LLP for help. Jacobson & John LLP successfully negotiated a settlement for the student that included funding for a parentally chosen private school for a period of two years, as well as payment of attorney fees.
Despite a previous settlement agreement coming to an end that had placed a high school student at a private school preferred by the parents, and a prominent Bucks County school district strongly seeking the student’s return, Jacobson & John LLP was successful in negotiating an extension of the agreement for two additional years of funding from the district, allowing the student to graduate from the private school she has been attending.
Following a Chester County school district’s abrupt efforts to bring a severely disabled student back to district classrooms – after numerous successful years already spent in a PA-approved private school – Jacobson & John LLP successfully negotiated the student remaining at the APS for multiple years going forward, for as long as the parents remain satisfied with the program.
A Bucks County school district attempted to prematurely graduate a disabled 12th grader after several years of subpar educational programming. Working with Jacobson & John LLP, the parents ultimately received funding for two years at a private post-secondary vocational school for the student – which would enable him to gain trade certification – as well as the payment of all attorney fees.
Following intervention by Jacobson & John LLP, and at no cost to the parent, a Philadelphia-area school district agreed to provide a student with a history of unmet learning needs a very large compensatory fund usable for a multitude of educational services, supports and materials.
Jacobson & John LLP successfully challenged the appropriateness of the use of verbal behavior for an elementary school student with autism in a Berks County school district, securing an order for a different methodology and an award of compensatory education. In ordering the school district to change the programming provided to the student, the Hearing Officer recognized that there is no singular methodology that is appropriate for teaching children on the spectrum, and a district risks a finding that it provided inappropriate programming where it has only one instructional methodology or approach available to it.
When a Bucks County School District failed for several years to meet a student’s needs in reading and math and failed to address ADHD symptoms, Jacobson & John LLP attorneys were able to obtain a settlement that provided a significant compensatory education fund for the student, private reading tutoring, and reimbursement of attorney fees.
Jacobson & John LLP attorneys secured a large compensatory education award for a student with significant emotional needs against a Chester County School District. The Hearing Officer found that it was improper and a violation of child find obligations to initiate IST supports to the student in lieu of evaluating the student to determine special education eligibility where the district was aware of significant behavioral problems at the time.
Following many years of shockingly inadequate emotional and behavioral supports for a teenage student – which resulted in both a major academic decline, as well as significant disciplinary action – Jacobson & John LLP convinced a Philadelphia-area school district to NOREP the student to a private school chosen by the parents, provide a large compensatory fund, and reimburse the family for all attorney fees.
Jacobson & John LLP met with a family that have two children with Autism who attend school within Montgomery County to review issues regarding the appropriateness of the services provided by a third party provider hired by the school district. Jacobson & John LLP determined that those services were inappropriate and did not enable the students to make meaningful educational progress, and were able to negotiate a resolution that included substantial compensatory education funds for each of the students, as well as payment of attorney fees.
Despite a Northeastern school district’s ongoing insistence that it could develop an appropriate IEP and placement for a student with pronounced autism spectrum related needs, Jacobson & John LLP was able to obtain three years of private school tuition for the family, a compensatory education fund, an independent educational evaluation and the reimbursement of all attorney fees paid by the parents.
Jacobson & John Negotiate Compensatory Education Fund & Assistive Technology for High School Student
After several years of IEP implementation breakdowns and a failure to appropriately consider the impact of a high school student’s medical condition on her educational program, Jacobson & John LLP convinced a Chester County school district to not only provide a substantial compensatory education fund for the student, but also much needed assistive technology, programmatic changes, and the payment of attorney’s fees – all at no cost to the parents.
Notwithstanding attempts made by a Berks County school district to bring a student back from private placement to in-district programming, Jacobson & John LLP successfully negotiated a settlement that provided three additional years of funding for the student’s private school and reimbursed attorney fees paid by the parents.
Contrary to a Berks County school district’s claims that it had provided a student with significant learning, speech, and social skills needs with appropriate programming, Jacobson & John LLP was able to secure substantial programmatic changes, substantial compensatory education, and the reimbursement of attorney fees for the student and his parents.
After several years of declining student behavior that was met only with increased disciplinary action by a Central PA school district, Jacobson & John LLP successfully obtained an independent educational evaluation, a new IEP/placement, and payment of attorney fees for a high school student with emotional support needs.
A Bucks County school district was convinced to settle a case after one day of hearing after a teacher admitted in testimony that the district’s procedures for evaluating the progress of an elementary student with autism was seriously flawed. Subsequently, Jacobson & John LLP was able to recover a substantial compensatory fund, an independent behavior assessment/training, a restriction on staff permitted to work with the student, and reimbursement of the parents’ attorney fees.