Looking for an aggressive attorney in Montgomery County- Special Education

[Binny]

Hello,

After four years of being misled- and jumping from one program to the next- I am in desperate need of an aggressive and great attorney that knows Montgomery County Public Schools well- and can help with getting my child non public placement? Can you guys recommend anyone? or even who not to go for? I don't have financial means to be able to experiment.

[Anonymous]

What is the disability?

[Anonymous]

My neighbor ended up homeschooling. None of the non-public placements worked. If you're pushing for such a placement and it's not forthcoming, it's because there aren't enough seats, so MCPS shunts students to various programs for as long as possible before offering a seat at a private. An attorney might or might not hurry this process along. If you're desperate, I agree that you should try. Just brace yourself. MCPS has budget problems, but keeps their lawyers in funds, sadly.

[Anonymous]

I am sorry that you need attorney to fight for your child. I was in your shoes 10 years ago with Montgomery county for my child. Another family was in the same elementary school area fought and costed them hundreds of thousands dollars. They gave up the fight with the country. They moved away. I fought for 2 years. We could not get the service that my child need. We sold our house and move. It was the best thing for my child. 50k just to sell the house. Over all, I would do it again in a second.

[Anonymous]

Mcps will drain your funds - they heavily imvest in litigation. There are way too many neurodivergent kids and we are not serving any of them well. You are vying with many other parents for limited slots and long waits. I would avoid litigation at all costs. MCPS wins 90 percemt of the time- there are articles about this. I looked into a micro school for my kid as an alternative option. Is there any way to be creative in your schooling options?

[Anonymous]

My son had autism. He is low functioning. He was in the autism program for three years, then LfI for a year, and now they want to put him in learning center. They don’t have the support. Period. So I’m going to try my luck with the an attorney- but need help finding the right one.

[Anonymous]

I wish you luck with an attorney, but I echo what 19:46 says - there are simply not enough seats in private placements to go around, and even the very best attorney isn't going to change that.

[Anonymous]

Brian Gruber for sure.

[Anonymous]

Binny wrote:Hello,

After four years of being misled- and jumping from one program to the next- I am in desperate need of an aggressive and great attorney that knows Montgomery County Public Schools well- and can help with getting my child non public placement? Can you guys recommend anyone? or even who not to go for? I don't have financial means to be able to experiment.

I don't want to discourage you, OP. But this isn't going to end well if your means are limited.

[Anonymous]

What counties do you guys live in? On paper, MCPS is great but in reality they don’t have the staff and resources to support my child, I have no other option.

I’ve heard about Brian gruber- but I also heard he doesn’t give back the retainer. Is he aggressive? Do you have personal experience with him?

[Anonymous]

I echo others that the problem might be lack of options rather than not wanting to offer placement. And I see that resources are getting thin for you. So, if you want to do this, you should identify where you think your child can be served and have documentation that your child could be accepted before you even consider hiring an attorney.

And, you should recognize that by not offering you what doesn't exist might be a gift. If the county decides it can't serve your child, then there might not be an obligation to allow your child to continue to attend school in any capacity until a placement is found which leaves you with no options and a kid at home for you to take care of while you wait. I've seen this happen a lot though my peer group is not MCPS even though my kid was. And, there was a six month period where my kid sat at home before a placement could be worked out, but I don't know if this happens a lot at MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My neighbor ended up homeschooling. None of the non-public placements worked. If you're pushing for such a placement and it's not forthcoming, it's because there aren't enough seats, so MCPS shunts students to various programs for as long as possible before offering a seat at a private. An attorney might or might not hurry this process along. If you're desperate, I agree that you should try. Just brace yourself. MCPS has budget problems, but keeps their lawyers in funds, sadly.

This!! Attorney will drain you — mcps will kick the can down the field…for years.

Non public’s aren’t great and there are limited seats. That and MoCo, Frederick, DC, HoCo and PG all compete for the same limited spots.

We actually won a settlement - on paper. It was a paltry sum and only a fraction of expenses. It’s been a full school year and haven’t seen a dime. We spent so much more in fees to get to this place that we are still majorly in the financial hole. (And still no placement that works)

If I could do it again I would have stopped after the first placement failed. Pulled to homeschool or virtual. There aren’t too many private schools who will take kids with needs —- so we are all in the same boat of force to homeschool.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I echo others that the problem might be lack of options rather than not wanting to offer placement. And I see that resources are getting thin for you. So, if you want to do this, you should identify where you think your child can be served and have documentation that your child could be accepted before you even consider hiring an attorney.

And, you should recognize that by not offering you what doesn't exist might be a gift. If the county decides it can't serve your child, then there might not be an obligation to allow your child to continue to attend school in any capacity until a placement is found which leaves you with no options and a kid at home for you to take care of while you wait. I've seen this happen a lot though my peer group is not MCPS even though my kid was. And, there was a six month period where my kid sat at home before a placement could be worked out, but I don't know if this happens a lot at MCPS.

Yes this happens a lot in mcps. Mine was without placement at home for 18 months….

[Anonymous]

What private placement do you think your son would be accepted at?

[Anonymous]

OP- you might have better luck going to the media --MCPS hates bad press. What kind of schooling are you looking for? Would LFI be a better fit than a learning center?