Law Offices of Hirji & Chau support the right of students to protest. In anticipation of the April 20 school walkouts in support of gun control, we are providing free legal advice to any student or parent that wants to know what their rights are before and/or after the walkout. Call us to schedule a time to speak with an attorney. …
School District Is Found Responsible for NPS’s Use of Restraints on a Nonverbal Autistic Child
By Briana Banayan and Rosa K. Hirji On March 23, 2018 the California Office of Administrative Hearings found in favor of our client, a student who suffered tremendously at the hands of the Hermosa Beach City School District (“Hermosa”) and Switzer Learning Center, a nonpublic school (“Switzer NPS”). See the full decision here. Zack[1] has autism, seizures, and limited …
New Law Protects Charter Schools Students In Admission and Discipline
By Diana Maltz, Law Clerk and Rosa K. Hirji Charter schools have earned a reputation for discouraging admissions of students with disabilities or pushing out students who may have behavioral issues or special needs. In 2016, the ACLU of Southern California released a report on How Some California Charter Schools Illegally Restrict Enrollment. Starting January 1, 2018, a new law …
Court of Appeal Reverses Teacher’s Restraining Order Against Parents of Disabled Child
CRITICISING A TEACHER IN THE PALMDALE SCHOOL DISTRICT RESULTED IN RESTRAINING ORDER AGAINST LOCAL PARENTS OF DISABLED CHILD THE COURT OF APPEAL REVERSED On February 2, 2018, the Antelope Valley Superior Court reversed its own three year restraining order sought by a teacher from the Palmdale School District against parents of a disabled child. Amber Allington, a third grade teacher, claimed that …
Free Speech Rights – Student Walkouts and School Discipline
Law Offices of Hirji & Chau support the right of students to protest. In anticipation of the March 14 school walkouts in support of gun control, we are providing free legal advice to any student or parent that wants to know what their rights are before and/or after the walkout. Call us to schedule a time to speak with an attorney. Here …
20 Years of Policy Advocacy Against Zero Tolerance: A Critical Review by Rosa K. Hirji
Managing Partner, Rosa K. Hirji, featured in Children’s Rights Litigation ABA Section of Litigation Winter 2018 Issue, Volume 20, Issue 2 Policy solutions are short-lived; instead, advocates need to respond to the attacks on the very nature of public education and the reversal of federal structures that protect civil rights.
Court Decision Calls Out School District Excuses
By Rosa K. Hirji, Esq. On February 27, 2017, the 9th Circuit issued a decision, L.J. v. Pittsburg Unified Schl. Dist. that put an end to the Pittsburg Unified School District’s myriad of excuses for excluding a child from special education. L.J. was an elementary school student with the Pittsburg Unified School District in northern California who began to exhibit suicidal tendencies in …
Regulating Ethnic & Disciplinary Disproportionality in Special Education
by Justyn Howard, Esq. There has been a concerning trend within special education programs nationwide revolving around the overrepresentation of students of color within the special education population. Even more disturbing is the reporting of how often these students of color are disproportionately and unfairly disciplined. Former U.S. Secretary of Education, John B. King Jr.’s amendment to the regulations under …
Lessons from Professor Dumbledore
By Rosa K. Hirji If it wasn’t for Professor Dumbledore, Principal of Hogwarts, Harry Potter would have been expelled during his first year. Even worse, he could have been imprisoned in Azkaban with his soul sucked out by Dementors. After all, Harry broke rules every chance he got – from sneaking around the corridors, leaving grounds without permission, talking back to …
Psychiatric Medication Overprescribed
Drugging our Kids; Children in California’s foster care system are prescribed unproven, risky medications at alarming rates. – The Mercury News, 2014. This is an important article for all parents of special needs children, all parents and citizens of the world. In it, the author describes the how the State of California prescribes psychiatric drugs to children in the foster …