Blog - Guiding with Integrity
Activists Push the Passage of the Autism CARES Act of 2024
By Lateefah S. Williams, Esq. People with autism and their families have been pushing Congress to pass the Autism CARES…
Executive Functioning in Special Education, ADHD, and Autism
By Lateefah S. Williams, Esq. Executive functioning helps people plan, organize, initiate and complete tasks. These skills are important in…
Trauma-Informed Teaching in Special Education
By Lateefah S. Williams, Esq. In today’s society, there are numerous factors that can cause trauma. Some students were traumatized…
The Importance of Assistive Technology in Special Education, IEPs, and 504 Plans
By Lateefah S. Williams, Esq. Imagine sitting in a classroom, excited to learn. Then imagine that you don’t have the…
We Must Preserve Special Education by Fighting Efforts to Abolish the US Department of Education
By Lateefah S. Williams, Esq. As you are aware, Donald Trump was recently elected President of the United States, and…
Cultural Competence is Mandatory for Special Education Students to Thrive
By Lateefah S. Williams, Esq. In today’s diverse classrooms, cultural competence is mandatory for students to thrive and it is…
The Growing Role of 504 Plans in Supporting Mental Health in K-12 Schools
By Lateefah S. Williams, Esq. In a post-pandemic world, helping students deal with mental health challenges in K-12 schools has…
Do Some Kids with ADHD Lie as a Form of Self-Preservation?
By Lateefah S. Williams, Esq. There is a new—well, newish—theory that some children, along with a few adults, with Attention…
US Dept. of Ed Proposes Grants of $30M for State Assessments and $149M for Student Literacy Programs
Blog by Lateefah S. Williams, Esq. Last month, the U.S. Department of Education put out a press release announcing “$179…
Inclusive Classrooms Benefit All Students By Lateefah S. Williams, Esq.
Ensuring that all students receive the educational support they need is not just a legal responsibility; it is a moral…
Transition Programs
There are a lot of challenges for our older children that are earning a certificate of completion. What happens after…
Lots of Changes at Shefter Law
I know it has been a while since I have blogged and I have several great reasons. 1. We are…
Triennial Reevaluation
There is a reason that IDEA requires a reevaluation every three years. A lot of times I have seen schools…
Did You Know an IEP can Include Training?
§300.320(a)(4) of IDEA says that each child's IEP must contain a statement of supplementary aids and services. §300.42 defines supplementary…
New Services
I am excited to let you all know about new services I am offering, Strategy Sessions and Strategy Sessions with…
The Secret About PWNs
I'm going to tell you a secret that schools don't want you to know. Three little letters P. W. N.,…
IEP SEASON IS HERE
Back to school, yay!! It has been a rough 18 months for all of us, and a rocky start of…
World of Possibilities Disabilities Expo
The World of Possibilities Disabilities Expo is being held on October 23, 2021 at the Amuel Riggs IV Alumni Center,…
ABC, FBA, BIP: Acronyms Demystified
I hate when schools start meetings and just keep going instead of checking for understanding. As educators, you would think…
IEP Part 8: Graduated High School? Now What?
Part eight of the IEP is often neglected. This is your child's transition services. IDEA requires that transition services be…
IEP Part 7: When, Where, How Often and How Long?
Part seven of the IEP is the date for beginning of services and the frequency, location, and duration of the…
Part 6 – Accommodations for District and State Assessments
Hi everyone. Part six of the IEP is the accommodations for district and state assessments. Accommodations for assessments can be…
IEP Part 5 – When Interacting with General Education?
Part five of the eight parts of an IEP. If you saw my first video in this series, the parts…
Lehigh University Special Education Law Symposium (June 20-25)
I wanted to share how excited I am to be one of twenty-three experienced special education attorneys from across…
IEP Part 4 – Related Services & Supplementary Aids
Part 4 of the 8 parts of an IEP is related services and supplementary aids and services. These can be…
SMART Goals
Goals need to be SMART. Okay, what does that mean? Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time sensitive. Still not sure,…
Present Levels of Performance
One of the most important parts of the IEP is Present Levels of Performance (PLOP) or, as the section is…
IEPs – How & When YOU Will be Informed of Progress
There are so many little parts to the IEP that some parts get overlooked or not even discussed. I have…
Return to In Person Learning
Yay! Some of your children are going back to school. I know it has been a rough year and those…
Parts of an IEP
Did you know there are 8 required parts of an Individualized Education Program? IDEA states that IEPs developed for special…
IEP EVALUATIONS, MEETINGS & DISTANT LEARNING PLANS DURING COVID
I want to first apologize for not blogging for so long. I have started to Video blog and have a…
Breaking News – MCPS virtual only
MCPS Superintendent of schools just send an email stating that MCPS will be virtual only for the entire first semester…
MCPS draft plan for fall learning
Letter form MCPS Superintendent just emailed. It provides the draft plan for the 2020-21 school year. The two options being…
Maryland’s School Recovery Plan for 2020-21
The number one question on all parents' minds right now, is what will school look like in the new school…
ESY During COVID Pandemic
Now that the school year is coming to a close, many parents are worried about the summer and whether…
MSDE Direction for Distant Learning for Students with Disabilities that Require Extensive, Intensive, Individualized Instruction
Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) posts Technical Assistance Bulletins (TABs) providing direction on how to provide continuity of…
Individualized Continuity of Learning Plans during COVID 19 (IEP Amendments)
I found this guide for parents put out by Disability Rights Maryland very helpful to use when developing a plan…
Serving Children with Disabilities during the Covid-19 Pandemic
MSDE issued a Technical Assistance Bulletin #20-01 regarding servicing children with disabilities during COVID 19. In a nutshell, schools still…
Special Education and Distant Learning
I found this article interesting and wonder what other school districts are doing. My daughter’s case manager scheduled a meeting…
Providing FAPE during Coronavirus Crisis
I do not even know what to say. I definitely do not agree with teach none if you cannot teach…
Education Advocate or Attorney: Which do you need?
The world of special education can be overwhelming at times. Lots of acronyms and new vocabulary being tossed around by…
