COPAA Files 4th Circuit Brief Involving Case of Student Who is Twice Exceptional

COPAA filed an Amicus brief in support of the parents, Plaintiffs-Appellees in the case of N.P. v. Maxwell. The parents are represented by Michael J. Eig and Paula Rosenstock of Michael J. Eig and Associates.  The parents lost at the Administrative due process hearing, but then prevailed at the District Court level where US Judge F. Motz determined that the compelling evidence presented by the parents mandated placement at the private program designed to address NP’s unique needs as a student who is twice exceptional. Indeed, the ALJ’s decision is neither well-reasoned nor based on the record on this issue.  The parent came forward with compelling evidence that N.P.’s progress in reading, writing and math was less than trivial, demonstrating that N.P. actually lost skills during the years in question.

The IDEA mandates that courts make independent determinations as to whether a school district has complied with the Act based upon the evidence in the record. A child’s IEP must provide meaningful benefit, and be gauged to the Student's potential.  The IEP proposed by the school district must confer meaningful, non-trivial educational benefit on the student.  In this case, the parent provided sound evaluation results indicating that ignoring this expert advice, the school district proposed a continuation of the same program where N.P. failed to make progress and failed to appreciate the nature of this dual exceptionalities: a gifted student and a student with a learning disability.  COPAA urged the Court to affirm the Order of the district court. Selene Almazan and Alice Nelson wrote and filed the brief on behalf of COPAA.
Read COPAA's Brief
Appellant Brief

Dyslexia and Depression: An author’s tale

Posted on June 25, 2016 by Joel Cornah    

"A child who fails due to learning difficulties should be a reflection on how bad the school is for abandoning someone in need, rather than the child themselves being treated as a failure. It has taken me a long time to try and come to terms with things like this, and it is still remarkably difficult to try and stand up and say that no, what was done was wrong. Dyslexic people deserve respect."


http://www.packofaces.com/2016/06/25/dyslexia-and-depression-an-authors-tale/

"I know no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion by education."

Thomas Jefferson  (1743 - 1826)
Third president of United States

K-12 Education: Looking Forward

Resignation and Hope in Albert Camus' The Fall

Beautiful lecture in all respects. The power of storytelling....
when the teller and the listener meet in the world of a story.

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