Special Education Law and Disability Law
Advocating throughout the State of Maryland
Many families face tremendous challenges navigating the complex laws and procedures governing educational rights for children and adults with special needs. The attorneys at The Steedman Law Group are dedicated to providing experienced, compassionate legal representation and advocacy to assist in securing equal access to appropriate educational services and supports for all differently-abled individuals.
We serve individuals with a wide range of special needs, including:
- Autism Spectrum Disorders
- Developmental Delays and Disabilities
- Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
- Learning Disorders
- Communication Disorders/Speech-Language Impairments
- Intellectual/Cognitive Impairments
- Social/Emotional Disabilities
- Behavioral Challenges
- Physical Disabilities (Orthopedic/ Visual/ Hearing)
- Medical/Health Impairments
- Traumatic Brain Injury
- Executive Functioning and Processing Speed Disorders
We serve clients in all 23 Maryland counties and Baltimore City, and have provided advocacy and pro hac vice representation for individuals in numerous jurisdictions outside the state of Maryland, including Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and Florida.
All students have a right to an appropriate education, and every learner deserves an opportunity to achieve meaningful progress and success. At The Steedman Law Group, our mission is helping children and adults open doors to those opportunities.
MDSEL (Maryland Special Education Lawyers)
MDSEL is a collaborative group of Maryland attorneys who currently represent students with disabilities in special education matters and promote legislative advances in protecting individuals with special needs. If you would like information regarding joining MDSEL, please email Wayne Steedman at wayne@steedmanlaw.net.
Parent Consent Bill Passes MD State Senate – May 25, 2017
View the complete bill here: Senate Bill 710 – Parent Consent Bill
Quality Education for America’s Children with Disabilities: The Need to Protect Due Process Rights
Thank you and congratulations to COPAA and to our respected colleagues and fellow advocates in the field of special education law, Selene Almazan, Andy Feinstein, and Denise Stile Marshall, for their examination of efforts to erode an important procedural right for parents of children with special needs. As families who have navigated the IEP process well know, this is not a level playing field, and numerous obstacles confront parents who wish to challenge school system decisions regarding the education of their children. To rob parents of their due process protections would only create further imbalances in parental involvement, and would undermine the intent of the IDEA. The “partnership” envisioned by the IDEA doesn’t operate in a vacuum–the power of parents’ right to due process is often the very impetus for a school system’s reasonable consideration of services and accommodations they have previously denied. As proposed by the article below, greater efforts are needed to ensure the fairness and accessibility of due process rights for all families who are seeking a free, appropriate public education for their children.
Full publication available here: Child & Family Law Journal, Volume 5, Issue 1
Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates
Statement Calling for a Halt to the Practice of Separating Children from their Parents
Posted by: Denise Marshall
The Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA) exists to protect the rights of children with disabilities. The Administration’s inhumane and intolerable practice of separating undocumented children from their parents, who know the children best and who speak their familial language, ensures that the rights of children with disabilities are not protected. All children impacted and being interred have rights under federal law. Children with disabilities are covered under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, yet the system in place that forces separation does not allow for full disclosure and understanding of what needs such children may have nor does the current structure allow for the identification of suspected disabilities as required by IDEA and Section 504. Equally as disturbing is the fact that separation is occurring when the research is clear that such forced separation causes complex stress in these young victims. Such toxic stress results in physiological changes in the brain which can disable a child’s ability to learn, alter the physiology of a child’s developing brain, and inhibit the performance of daily activities such as thinking, reading, and learning. COPAA calls upon the Administration to halt the practice of separating families now and work immediately to find humane and legal means to address the immigration challenges we have at our nation’s border.
Review information provided by the U.S. Department of Education here: https://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/focus/immigration-resources.html?exp=3
Read about immigrant children rights here: https://www.americanbar.org/publications/child_law_practice/special/mar-apr-2017/protecting-immigrant-childrens-right-to-education-.html
Adequate But Unequal? SCOTUS Considers Special Ed Case
Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District: Analysis of Oral Arguments
On Wednesday, January 11, 2017, Wayne, Cheryl, and Leslie traveled to the Supreme Court to hear oral arguments in the case of Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District. The Court’s decision in Endrew F. will affect every child with an IEP and every school district in the nation, making it the most important special education case before the Court in 35 years.
WrightsLaw ALERT! Endrew F. v. Douglas: U.S. Supreme Court Oral Argument Analysis
On Wednesday, January 11, 2017, the U. S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in Endrew F. v. Douglas Co. Sch. Dist., a case about educational benefit and FAPE. Pete and Pam attended and share their thoughts here.
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