Blog - Guiding with Integrity

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What Special Education Placements Are Available for Your Child? 
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Putting It All Together: How to Review Your Child’s Entire IEP Before the Meeting 
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Does Your Child Need Extended School Year Services?
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How Is Your Child’s IEP Placement Determined? 
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What Should Happen When Your Child Isn't Making Progress? 
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Do Your Child’s IEP Progress Reports Actually Tell the Whole Picture? 
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How Much Special Education Does Your Child Actually Need?
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Do Your Child’s Supplementary Aids and Services Actually Match Their Needs? 
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Do Your Child’s Accommodations Actually Match Their Needs? 
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Do Your Child's IEP Goals Actually Match Their Needs? How to Tell Whether Your Child's Annual Goals Were Written from the Present Levels 
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How to Read a Draft IEP Before Your Annual Review: Why the Present Levels Matter More Than You Think 
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Summer Social Skills Programs in Montgomery County and Surrounding Areas 
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When Progress Reports Don’t Match the Data: What Parents Need to Know
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Don’t Let the School Rush Your IEP Meeting 
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📉 When “Progress Monitoring” Doesn’t Actually Show Progress 
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🤖 Is AI Writing Your Child’s IEP? Why Parents Should Pay Attention 
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Outside Evaluations: One Question Parents Should Ask
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Surviving Middle Schoolers in the Wild (For Love, Not for Fun 😅) 
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If Your Child Isn’t Progressing, It’s Time to Look Closer at the IEP
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Extended School Year (ESY): What It Is and Whether Your Child Should Attend 
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Why Bringing an Attorney to an IEP Meeting Matters
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“Let’s Wait and See” Is Not a Plan
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“If You Can’t, I’ll Come Get You”: A Parent’s Turning Point
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Advocacy: A Personal and Professional Perspective 
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Why Re-Evaluations Matter More Than You Think 
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What to Do If Your Child’s School Denies a Special Education Evaluation 
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Why Present Levels (PLAAFP) Matter More Than You Think 
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Before a Child Is Removed from General Education: What Supports Schools Must Consider First 
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Least Restrictive Environment Isn’t a Placement. It’s the Law
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When Weather Closures Are Decided Too Late, Working Parents of Neurodivergent Students Are Left in Limbo 
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Bullying, Neurodivergent Students, and FAPE:   When Schools Fail to Keep Children Safe 
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🧠 Mental Health in Schools:   Why Regulation Is More Important Than Academics in the School Day 
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Don’t Let the School Define Your Child’s Potential: IEPs, Expectations, and Big Dreams
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A Year of Advocacy, Connection, and Building a Village
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Why Early Detection of ADHD Matters – And What Happens When It’s Missed
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Behavior Is Communication: Why Punishment Isn’t the Answer
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🔤 Dyslexia in School: What It Is and What Services Can Help
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Empowering Families Through Data: A Practical Guide to Tracking and Understanding IEP Goal Progress
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You Don’t Have to Fund It Alone:  Where to Find Grants for Your Child’s Needs 
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Transition Planning in Maryland IEPs: What Parents Need to Know (And What Schools Get Wrong) 
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When Empowerment Means Less: The Hidden Impact of Education Grant Cuts 
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How Ongoing Lawsuits Over K–12 Education Could Affect Your Family 
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📘 Part 4: Disproportionality and Equity Concerns in Special Education 
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📘 Part 3: Delays and Bureaucracy in Special Education Disputes 
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📘 Part 2: Increased Awareness of Student Rights in Special Education 
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📘 Part 1: Staffing Shortages and Overwhelmed Schools in Special Education 
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Rising Special Education Complaints: A 4-Part Series 
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Understanding Due Process: A Parent’s Legal Path in Special Education 
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The Impact of the Federal Takeover of D.C. Police on Special Education Students
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Beyond Labels: Addressing Inequity in Special Education 
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Gifted and Struggling: How DC and Maryland Schools Handle Twice-Exceptional (2E) Students 
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How Theo Huxtable’s Dyslexia Educated a Generation About Learning Disabilities 
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Supreme Court Decision on Education Department Layoffs Sparks Fear for Special Education Services
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The Ugly Truth: How Medicaid Cuts in the "Big Beautiful Bill" Hurt Special Education
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Inclusion in Special Education and Why It Matters 
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Victory or Setback? What Mahmoud v. Taylor Means for Students with Disabilities 
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Why Social Emotional Learning Matters for Your Child in Special Education 
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US Supreme Court to Schools: Do Better by Students with Disabilities 
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Don’t Punish the Disability: The Importance of a Manifestation Determination Review (MDR)
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FY 2026 Budget: D.C.’s Chance to Step Up for Special Education—or Fall Further Behind Maryland 
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Support, Strategy, and Success: Summer Strategy Sessions with Shefter Law for Families with IEPs 
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Your Child Was Refused Special Education Services: What Do You Do? 
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Helping Students Thrive: Understanding Emotional and Behavioral Disorders in the School Environment 
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She’s Not “Just Distracted:” The Hidden School Struggles of Girls with ADHD
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How New School Discipline Guidance Could Affect Students with Disabilities 
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D.C.’s Budget Crisis: What Parents of Special Education Students Need to Know 
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Special Education Disability Rights Cases Halt Under Trump Administration 
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Little Steps, Big Futures: The Power of Early Intervention and Child Find in Special Education 
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Disability Laws: Protected on Paper, Left Behind in Practice
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Bullying and IEPs: Is Bullying Alone Enough to Get an IEP? 
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Transition Planning from High School to Adulthood for Students with Disabilities 
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Massive Job Cuts at the U.S. Department of Education May Be Catastrophic to Special Education Students  
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What is a Prior Written Notice (PWN) and Why Is It Important?
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Will Special Education Protections Be Kicked Out of the U.S. Education Department? 
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Supporting Mental Health in Special Education: What Teachers and Parents Can Do 
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Latest Threats to Special Education are a Slowdown in Civil Rights Enforcement and a Push to Abolish the Department of Education 
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The Fear of Losing Legal Protections for Students with Disabilities Under the New Presidential Administration
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Legal Protections for Students with Disabilities: What Parents Need to Know 
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Inclusive Classrooms vs. Specialized Programs: How to Choose the Best Learning Environment for your Child 
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Advocating for Your Child's Needs in the Midst of a Special Education Teacher Shortage
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Addressing Staffing Shortages in Special Education 
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IEP Stigma: Myths vs. Reality 
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Getting Racism Out of Special Education
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Activists Push the Passage of the Autism CARES Act of 2024
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Executive Functioning in Special Education, ADHD, and Autism
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Trauma-Informed Teaching in Special Education
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The Importance of Assistive Technology in Special Education, IEPs, and 504 Plans
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We Must Preserve Special Education by Fighting Efforts to Abolish the US Department of Education
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Cultural Competence is Mandatory for Special Education Students to Thrive
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The Growing Role of 504 Plans in Supporting Mental Health in K-12 Schools
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Do Some Kids with ADHD Lie as a Form of Self-Preservation?
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US Dept. of Ed Proposes Grants of $30M for State Assessments and $149M for Student Literacy Programs
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Inclusive Classrooms Benefit All Students By Lateefah S. Williams, Esq.
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transitions blog
Transition Programs
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Changes Blog
Lots of Changes at Shefter Law
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3 year review blog
Triennial Reevaluation
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teacher training blog
Did You Know an IEP can Include Training?
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strategy session blog
New Services
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PWN blog
The Secret About PWNs
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IEP season blog
IEP SEASON IS HERE
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World of Possibilities Disabilities Expo
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Acronym blog
ABC, FBA, BIP: Acronyms Demystified
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blog IEP 8
IEP Part 8: Graduated High School? Now What?
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blog IEP 7
IEP Part 7: When, Where, How Often and How Long?
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blog IEP 6
Part 6 - Accommodations for District and State Assessments
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blog IEP 5
IEP Part 5 - When Interacting with General Education?
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blog symposium
Lehigh University Special Education Law Symposium (June 20-25)
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blog IEP 4
IEP Part 4 - Related Services & Supplementary Aids
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blog IEP goals
SMART Goals
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blog IEP PLOP
Present Levels of Performance
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blog IEP progress reports
IEPs - How & When YOU Will be Informed of Progress
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Return to In Person Learning
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Parts of an IEP
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IEP EVALUATIONS, MEETINGS & DISTANT LEARNING PLANS DURING COVID
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Breaking News - MCPS virtual only
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MCPS draft plan for fall learning
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Maryland's School Recovery Plan for 2020-21
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ESY During COVID Pandemic
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MSDE Direction for Distant Learning for Students with Disabilities that Require Extensive, Intensive, Individualized Instruction
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Individualized Continuity of Learning Plans during COVID 19 (IEP Amendments)
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Serving Children with Disabilities during the Covid-19 Pandemic
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Special Education and Distant Learning
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Providing FAPE during Coronavirus Crisis
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blog atty or advocate
Education Advocate or Attorney: Which do you need?
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Baselines
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