[I see that I have rambled. Take what you can use, and good luck.]

It's reckless to take any more action without an attorney, because you could hurt your eventual case.

There are only a handful of attorneys who truly specialize in special ed in D.C., though many dabble. Of those who specialize, some work at no cost to the client; they collect their fees from the government when they win (but see below). I'm not sure about the non-profits; you should ask about the individual attorney's experience.

I would recommend all of the following, alphabetically:
Margie Cohen (sp?)
Michael Eig
Domiento Hill
Zachary Nahass
Douglas Tyrka

Hill and Nahass work for Brown & Associates; the others have their own firms. I believe that Cohen and Eig only take fully paying clients. I know the other three personally, and all three are great.

The article about Tyrka is complete BS, part of DCPS' attack on parent attorneys started a few years ago. DCPS decided it was more efficient to stop paying attorneys who represent poor kids and to sue those same attorneys than it was to provide services.

They ruined some firms economically while frivolously suing some attorneys and maligning all of them. And BTW, in the case mentioned in the Examiner article, the accusing attorney was later ordered by the federal judge to stop filing documents. (The very conservative and notoriously anti-parent attorney Examiner didn't cover that.)

The tide is gradually turning back, but DCPS has pushed things much further toward a situation in which only rich kids with special needs get educations.

Anonymous wrote:who wrote the IEP? 26 hours of ABA are not going to happen at any DCPS in fact Heather told me specifically that ABA is not part of the services that DCPS offers. Did Early Stages write your IEP? And you are right, they should have had suggestions of placement within 10 days of writing the IEP goals. Email and document every single piece of communication.

Tyler is indeed full for this year. (after a family had blocked a spot for months over similar issues as yours, which I find unfortunate, given that another kid could have gotten months of intervention)

Please get a lawyer or at least contact the Advocates for Justice and Education (http://www.aje-dc.org/) They provide free advocacy.

*hugs* Let me know if you want me to shoot you an email. We're not new to this, unfortunately, but we have been able to make it work for our ASD kids for now.

Hello PP. The IEP actually states 26 hours of specialized instruction. I contacted the Advocates for Justice and Education yesterday and have been assigned an advocate with whom I will meet this Monday. Thank you for your suggestions/advice.

Anonymous wrote:For your request for Education Attorneys who practice in DC:

Diana Savit
Michael Eig
William Reichardt

Hope this helps

Yes - thank you

Anonymous wrote:Oh... wow... I don't know what to say. Why there? What makes them qualified? Sorry OP *hugs*

Thanks PP. I've asked them the same questions, and they can't answer them. I am in the process of securing legal representation. Thanks for the hug - I need it

Call an attorney.
Get in the "queue" in case you need the help.

Oh... wow... I don't know what to say. Why there? What makes them qualified? Sorry OP *hugs*

OP here. Just received an e-mail moments ago with a placement site - Drew Elementary School. I don't know anything about this school. I do know that it's located in a dangerous neighborhood. I think I'm even more furious now.

Anonymous wrote:Michael Eig in Friendship Heights.
We were a client last year for both eligibility and placement.

http://lawforchildren.com/index.html

Founded in 1975, we are a small law firm that focuses on special education rights, almost entirely as governed by the federal Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA). We represent pre-Kindergarten through high school-aged students with disabilities, primarily in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia.

Great! Thank you for the additional information

Michael Eig in Friendship Heights.
We were a client last year for both eligibility and placement.

http://lawforchildren.com/index.html

Founded in 1975, we are a small law firm that focuses on special education rights, almost entirely as governed by the federal Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA). We represent pre-Kindergarten through high school-aged students with disabilities, primarily in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia.

Anonymous wrote:For your request for Education Attorneys who practice in DC:

Diana Savit
Michael Eig
William Reichardt

Hope this helps

Yes, it does. Thank you

Anonymous wrote:Hi OP

I would recommend filing a formal complaint. Here is a link to the complaint process from the OSSE website:

http://osse.dc.gov/seo/cwp/view,a,1222,q,561179.asp

This way there is at least a formal record of the missed timeline. This seems to be a recurring issue with DCPS, no spots for children after about December each school year. The complaint form allows you to propose a solution. If you like the program your child is in now, you could request they cover the cost until an appropriate program opens up for your child in DCPS. Or you could ask that they cover ABA for your child from a private therapist. By law they are required to provide services (that they deemed necessary!) for you child, if they can't provide services then they need to pay for someone else to provide services to your child. You may also want to try emailing Dr Beers, the director of Early Stages, so he is aware. I've filed a few complaints before and the issues have been resolved pretty quickly.

I've had mixed experiences with Advocates for Justice, but they are free. I've know a few people who worked with lawyers associated with Douglas Tyrka. But I just googled him to see about the spelling of his name and this article came up: http://washingtonexaminer.com/local/special-ed-lawyers-turn-against-one-another-039fraud039-claimed-179k-fees# . Hopefully you can resolve this without an attorney.

Good luck to you!

Great info - Thank you very much!

For your request for Education Attorneys who practice in DC:

Diana Savit
Michael Eig
William Reichardt

Hope this helps

Hi OP

I would recommend filing a formal complaint. Here is a link to the complaint process from the OSSE website:

http://osse.dc.gov/seo/cwp/view,a,1222,q,561179.asp

This way there is at least a formal record of the missed timeline. This seems to be a recurring issue with DCPS, no spots for children after about December each school year. The complaint form allows you to propose a solution. If you like the program your child is in now, you could request they cover the cost until an appropriate program opens up for your child in DCPS. Or you could ask that they cover ABA for your child from a private therapist. By law they are required to provide services (that they deemed necessary!) for you child, if they can't provide services then they need to pay for someone else to provide services to your child. You may also want to try emailing Dr Beers, the director of Early Stages, so he is aware. I've filed a few complaints before and the issues have been resolved pretty quickly.

I've had mixed experiences with Advocates for Justice, but they are free. I've know a few people who worked with lawyers associated with Douglas Tyrka. But I just googled him to see about the spelling of his name and this article came up: http://washingtonexaminer.com/local/special-ed-lawyers-turn-against-one-another-039fraud039-claimed-179k-fees# . Hopefully you can resolve this without an attorney.

Good luck to you!

PP here, just to clarify: While ABA per se as a therapy is not offered in such high capacity, it is expected of teachers to be familiar with it, and Heather and her team are working on training everyone.

who wrote the IEP? 26 hours of ABA are not going to happen at any DCPS in fact Heather told me specifically that ABA is not part of the services that DCPS offers. Did Early Stages write your IEP? And you are right, they should have had suggestions of placement within 10 days of writing the IEP goals. Email and document every single piece of communication.

Tyler is indeed full for this year. (after a family had blocked a spot for months over similar issues as yours, which I find unfortunate, given that another kid could have gotten months of intervention)

Please get a lawyer or at least contact the Advocates for Justice and Education (http://www.aje-dc.org/) They provide free advocacy.

*hugs* Let me know if you want me to shoot you an email. We're not new to this, unfortunately, but we have been able to make it work for our ASD kids for now.