The KingSpry law firm in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, is proud to announce Episode Five of our education law podcast, the Legal Lunch Room.
Each episode, our hosts invite education attorneys and school leaders to share how current education law trends and court decisions impact school boards, students and our community.
This episode dives into the intricacies of “Special Education Discipline” and covers everything from working with the IEP teams to communicating with building leaders and parents. Featuring Special Education attorneys Rebecca Young and Alyssa Hicks, as well as Salisbury Township School District Director of Special Education Tracey Jacobi, our guests share best practices for disciplining students with special education needs.
“There are three times when you can remove a student from an educational setting,” says KingSpry Special Education Chair Rebecca Young, but, “really, the district never stops having an obligation to provide a FAPE.”
‘We try to be collaborative among the school and the parents,” says Special Education attorney Alyssa Hicks. “We always try to work together to find a solution.”
“I’m listening for the overall issue that has transpired, who was involved, what the precipitating factors may have been… what are we doing as an IEP team? Does the child have specific interventions listed in their IEP? If they do, have we implemented those?” Tracey Jacobi says, “I think it’s really important that the educational team looks at all that information. Ask clarifying questions so we don’t miss anything.”
“Something to keep in mind is that you have your special ed team available to you, but administrators don’t always have their special ed cap on,” Attorney Hicks adds. “It is very important to communicate with your special ed team and the IEP team, so they can pay attention to behaviors and help you determine if there’s a pattern.”
We hope you’ll join us. Listeners may tune in to Legal Lunch Room on all major podcast platforms including Apple, Spotify and Google.
KingSpry attorneys Richard Campbell Jr and Jonathan Huerta host the podcast. Campbell focuses his practice in public finance and municipal law. Huerta focuses his practice in education and civil litigation. He is the Chair of the firm’s Local Taxation and Assessment Law Practice Group.
