NY SPECIAL EDUCATION BILL PASSED ON BURDEN OF PROOF.

[Guest guest]

Cuddy, the author of " The Special Education Battlefield " A

Guide to Due Process Hearing and Other Tools of Effective Advocacy,

was recently quoted by the Syracuse Post-Standard in an article

addressing the Burden of Proof Bill that was sent to Governor

Spitzer. The Bill was signed that week by the Governor, indicating

his understanding of the plight of parents of students with

disabilities and their struggles for appropriate services from their

school districts. The Bill was signed by the governor on August

15th, and becomes effective in sixty days. Similar legislative

efforts are underway in other states.

Cuddy's book, " The Special Education Battlefield " is available at

www.CuddyBooks.com .

Special ed bill awaits Spitzer

Monday, August 13, 2007

By Delen Goldberg

Staff writer

Gov. Eliot Spitzer has a chance to override a state Supreme Court

decision that many say makes life harder for parents of special needs

children.

As the law currently stands, parents who feel school districts aren't

properly teaching their child must prove their case during an

administrative hearing. Traditionally, school districts carried that

burden of proof and were tasked to show that their educational

approaches were appropriate.

A 2005 state Supreme Court

decision shifted that responsibility, placing it on the person who

asks for the hearing - most often, parents.

The change has meant long and expensive hearings - sometimes up to

two weeks - which cost families, school districts and taxpayers tens

of thousands of dollars in lawyers' fees and lost wages.

A bill now sitting on the governor's desk would pin the burden of

proof back on educators.

Spitzer has until Wednesday to approve or veto the bill, which for

the past two years has overwhelmingly passed both houses. Former Gov.

Pataki vetoed it last year.

" It should help the taxpayers, it should help the kids, and it should

make it more difficult for school districts to deny necessary

services for kids, " said Auburn lawyer Cuddy, who handles

disability and education cases statewide.

Cuddy and other lawyers say school districts often use the burden

decision to intimidate parents.

" What's happening now around New York state is that districts feel

empowered to violate parts of the Special Education law, then sit

back and say to parents, 'If you don't like it, do a hearing and the

burden of proof will be on you,' " said New York City special

education lawyer Dee Alpert.

" It's often not really a matter of parents saying, 'I want the best

possible program or the best possible progress,' " Alpert

continued. " Most often, it's parents saying, 'You're not making any

progress at all.' "

The graduation rate in New York for students with disabilities is

about 37 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

" When you look at that data, you have to say maybe these parents

demanding a hearing have a point, " Alpert said.

Advocates of the new bill say the changes would likely help boost

graduation rates. They have started a grass-roots phone campaign to

urge Spitzer to approve the measure.

School districts are also out promoting an agenda: To keep the law as

it stands.

" There's a lot of lobbying activity going on both ends of this, "

Cuddy said. " We will wait and see whether the governor is friendly to

the disabled in New York. "

Delen Goldberg can be reached at dgoldberg@... or 470-2274.