Jayne is a trained and experienced professional who works to bring comprehensive, personalized, and compassionate special education consulting solutions to the families she assists. Children with special needs are entitled to FAPE (Free Appropriate Public Education) and making decisions related to your child’s individual needs can be highly stressful and overwhelming. In collaborating with Jayne, you will find that the focus will be on your child and his or her special needs with the objective of finding the educational setting or services that will best meet your child’s academic and social/emotional needs.
How Jayne can help you:
Ultimately, Jayne’s goal is to help you become the best advocate that you can be for your child. She will help you navigate the challenging NYC Department of Education, the Committee on Preschool Special Education, and the Committee on Special Education. Among a range of educational advocacy services, Jayne may assist you in the following ways:
- Examining your child’s individual needs
- Reviewing educational records
- Consulting with educators, therapists, medical professionals and others
- Developing a quality IEP or 504 for your child
- Attending meetings with you at the school or DOE level
- Advocating for appropriate educational and related services for your child
- Identifying and securing placement in an appropriate educational setting
- Assisting you at an impartial hearing
FAQ about SEA
Individualized Education Program: An individual plan devised to meet the needs of a student with special needs to ensure that s/he is educated in the least restrictive environment possible. The plan sets appropriate academic goals for a child with special needs and outlines meaningful support services a child might need to help achieve these goals.
Children may have:
- Learning disabilities
- ADHD
- Emotional disorders
- Cognitive challenges
- Hearing impairment
- Visual impairment
- Speech or language impairment
- Developmental delay
A child who has difficulty learning and functioning in a general education setting
Parents should be involved in the process that also involves general and special education teachers, therapists and other individuals who have knowledge of child where necessary or requested.
- Child is identified as possibly needing special education and related services
- Child is evaluated
- IEP meeting is held and the IEP is written
- Services are provided to the child
- Section 504 is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities and ensures that a child with a disability has equal access to an appropriate education.
- The eligible child will receive accommodations and modifications to help him or her function in the least restrictive environment.
- Students with physical or mental impairments that affect major life activity are eligible for services under Section 504.
- Some services or accommodations that your child might be eligible for are:
- Obtaining medicine during the school day
- Use of the school elevator or wheelchair lift
- Modified physical education instruction
- Assistance of a para-professional
- The use of a computer or other assistive technology
- Testing accommodations
- Modified classroom schedule
- One plan will usually suffice
- If you child has a disability and an IEP, he is automatically covered by Section 504
- If your child has an IEP and needs academic interventions, this should be included in his IEP
- The IEP is required to address ALL of the child’s needs that are related to the disability
- An IEP provides a child and his/her family with more rights and protections than a 504 Plan
Many students do not qualify for special education services to be able to learn adequately. However, a child with a disability may be entitles to services or accommodations under Section 504. For example, a student who uses a wheelchair may not need any specialized education al instruction but would be entitled to have building access by means of a ram OR a child with dyslexia who reads on grade level but slowly may not be classified as learning disabled but he may be entitled to testing accommodations under 504
Through a Section 504 Team Assessment Meeting that involves the parents.
- Yes
- As your child transitions from school to pursue higher education, job training, work, personal and social relationships, and independent living, s/he may still require the services and supports s/he needed in school
- At this stage, your child’s IEP must contain specific transition services defined by IDEA amendments of 1997 regulations, which may reflect his or her choices, preferences and needs in the area of education and training, employment, adult living arrangement and community experience.
- There are certain requirements of the IEP team starting at the age of 14
Special Education Resources
