Procedural Violations

Procedural Violations

In yet another source of disillusionment for parents, the federal and state laws enacted to protect special needs children are violated at an alarming rate due in large part to an ineffective enforcement system.  As a result, parents are compelled to spend thousands of dollars on special education attorneys to secure appropriate services for their children. Most of these cases are settled before they go to BSEA hearing and therefore never become public knowledge due to the confidentiality component of the agreement.

A striking feature of the current situation is the asymmetrical power distribution between individual families of ASD children and the large institutions they must confront to advocate for their children.  The logical response would be for parents to increase their influence through unified collective action; however, the cold reality is that emotionally and financially burdened parents are usually unable to invest the time and effort needed for such action.  Special education attorneys are often effective in resolving individual disputes but are reluctant to file class-action suites that would bring wide public attention to the calamity of special education.  One grass-roots organization deserves special mention in its fight for the rights of special needs students.  Take a look at SPEDWatch, read their document “Broken Promises“, and donate a few dollars to their noble cause.  At this time, SPEDWatch is operating only in the state of Massachusetts, but it has plans for expansion if it receives proper support.