Raffaele & Associates LLC

What are special education evaluations? Does your child have a Section 504 plan for Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) but requires more executive functioning or organizational support in school? Does your child have an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) for speech and language services, but still struggles in school socially or behaviorally? Or, does your child have neither a Section 504 Plan nor an IEP and you want to know how they can obtain more support and services in school? A special education evaluation (also referred to as a psycho-educational evaluation) will address…

What is Mediation in the context of special education disputes? Has your school district removed or decreased your child’s speech and language service(s) or occupational therapy service(s) from your child’s IEP? Or proposed that your child be removed from his or her local elementary school and placed in a different elementary school in an emotional support classroom?  If you disagree with your school district’s special education decision(s) regarding your child’s services or placement, one option for resolving that dispute is to request mediation.   In Pennsylvania, the Office for Dispute…

What is Extended School Year Services (“ESY”)? ESY are special education and related services provided to students with disabilities beyond the 180-day school year for school-age students. Not all students with disabilities are eligible for ESY. While students with Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) are eligible for ESY, students with Section 504 Plans are not eligible.  For those students with IEPs, ESY must be provided to students if it is necessary to provide them with a free appropriate public education (FAPE).  For students living in Pennsylvania, ESY can take place during:…