4 Key Takeaways about IEPs from a Special Education Law Attorney

“Know that you and your child have rights.” If there’s anything that Georgianna Junco-Kelman, Esq., wants you to know about Individualized Education Programs—or IEPs, for short—that powerful one-liner says it all.

For two decades, the special education law attorney has dedicated her practice to securing the educational rights of families of students with disabilities. And when it comes to navigating the daunting and often confusing complexities of the IEP system, knowing what your student is fundamentally owed by your school district is a critical first step. 

“If you’re properly informed, if you are empowered, you can absolutely help your child,” proclaimed Georgianna when she was the featured guest at a program for Westmark School parents and guardians. Her broad overview of IEPs was presented as part of the School’s virtual parent education programs. Here are four key takeaways from Georgianna’s highly candid and informative talk:

1. Your private school student is eligible for an IEP.

“Oftentimes there is a misconception that if you’re in a private school, you do not have access to special education,” Georgianna explained. “You’re a taxpayer. You are entitled to the same process—and potentially the same publicly funded educational services—that any taxpayer in public school is entitled to. But you must understand how to accomplish it because while the law does apply differently to parentally placed students, you still have the right to educational support, including the possibility of having your tuition recovered.”

Indeed, the law requires school districts to locate, identify, and assess all students with disabilities, regardless of their school of attendance. At Westmark, we work with many families who have obtained IEPs through LAUSD and other local districts. 

Georgianna warns that the school districts don’t exactly make it easy for eligible students to gain access to the correct type of publicly funded early intervention or special-ed programs. And subpar options that are not appropriate for the student are commonly offered. But if you suspect your child has a learning difference (LD) and you pursue an IEP, you will be positioned, if found eligible, to pursue such funding for your child’s private school education if/when the district does not offer appropriate public placement, which is often the case for children with LDs, such as dyslexia.

2. You do not need an LD diagnosis to request assessments to determine whether your child qualifies for an IEP.

Here was another misconception Georgianna was able to correct: You do not need to prove your child has an LD to pursue an IEP.

So, as Georgianna recommends, do not hesitate to approach your school district—always making the request in writing!—for an assessment to be conducted to determine eligibility and need if you observe that your child may need additional and/or different educational support.

She explained, “All that the district needs to be informed of is that [you have] a child with a suspected disability that is impacting learning.” There is a very low threshold that qualifies your student for assessment. And while the IEP process does not include making a formal diagnosis, the assessment must test for and identify characteristics of disabilities negatively impacting learning, such as ADHD or dyslexia, and should provide important information about your child’s learning profile and recommendations for specialized instruction as a result of the identified deficits.

At the start of the program, Claudia Koochek (left), Head of School, introduced Georgianna Junco-Kelman (right).

3. You must work tenaciously on behalf of your child.

Georgianna urges families to be proactive and determined when it comes to holding school districts responsible for your LD child’s educational needs. They have legal obligations to your child, but if the child is a privately placed student, the responsibility is on the parent/guardian to pursue assessments and services and to request the annual IEP.

As she explained during the program, changes in the law have placed the onus on the private school parent/guardian—not the school district— to secure the services their child may need and associated tuition reimbursement if applicable.

• The first step is to approach the district with the request for assessments and the assignment of an IEP if the student meets the criteria for one of the federal categories under which to qualify for special education.
• Once the student qualifies, the parent/guardian has the right to an annual IEP meeting. But while this responsibility lies solely with the district if the student is in public school, the private school parent/guardian must be the one to request the meeting year after year for the review of progress, goals, services, and placement for the following school year.
• If the district offers what the parent/guardian deems inappropriate and unable to meet the needs of the student, the parent/guardian can reject the offer—always in writing!—and pursue private school tuition in a due process complaint only after and when the parent/guardian gives written notice prior to ten days from enrollment or continued enrollment in a private school.

But critical to this process, as Georgianna advised, “You as the parent need to reach out to the district and say, ‘I’d like to have my IEP meeting,’ If you don’t do that, then you are waiving your [appellate] rights to recover your tuition” or the money spent on tuition during that lapse in time or the whole year.

“So you push and you ask for what you deserve because this is your kid … [and the school district] has a responsibility. If they don’t have that which your child requires, they have a responsibility to pay for it. That’s the bottom line.”

4. Already have an IEP? Then you don’t need to reapply each year.

Parents/guardians often fear that if they don’t reapply for an IEP each school year, their child’s rights to special-ed services will expire. Not true, according to Georgianna. 

In fact, Georgianna pointed out, “Your IEP is valid and active from the age of three—which is when your child can qualify for one—until graduation [from high school] or the age of twenty-two.” It remains in effect unless a new one is written and approved by both the family and the school district; or until it is agreed upon in writing that an IEP is no longer needed. Remember, too, that your IEP is based on federal guidelines and, therefore, protects your child’s rights in school districts across the country.

In answer to one Westmark parent’s question during the Q&A, Georgianna explained that while LD students cannot use the IEP to receive accommodations in college (since it expires upon high school graduation), other laws ensure that post-secondary students with disabilities continue to receive the support they are owed by other laws based on the Americans with Disabilities Act.

We thank Georgianna Junco-Kelman for covering the basics of IEPs and sharing crucial insights on the process. We also thank our Westmark parents and guardians for tuning into the program and enriching it with great questions during the Q&A! Read more about parent education at Westmark.

• If you are a current Westmark parent/guardian seeking more information about your IEP, contact Marla Yukelson, Director of Lower School, for your Grades 2–5 student; or Jodie Katofsky, IEP Coordinator, for your Grades 6–12 student.
   
• If you are a prospective Westmark family, contact the Admission team with questions about IEPs.

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About the Expert

Georgianna Junco-Kelman is the principal and managing attorney at the Law Offices of Georgianna Junco-Kelman, located in Studio City, California. Practicing for over twenty-four years, Ms. Kelman focuses solely on the representation of students with disabilities and she handles matters in all districts in Southern California. Her career has been marked by an indefatigable drive to ensure any child she represents has equal access to education and is offered the same tools to succeed academically as any neurotypical student—a path and mission inspired by her own child with significant disabilities.