Law Ofc of Allison B. Vrolijk, Esq, Special Education Attorney

09/05/2026

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08/21/2026

I've got a question, particularly for those of you who do not live in the Atlanta metro area: how do your states/districts address students who have IQs in the low to mid 70s range when it comes to high school path to graduation?

Here in Georgia, I've had a fair number of clients who fit that profile, whose reading, writing and/or math levels are well below what they really need to be in order to successfully and independently complete high school general education graduation course requirements, but whose IQ is too high to be on an alternative assessment. These are students on an independent 3rd grade math level, expected to take and pass high school geometry, or algebra 2. Students reading on a 4th grade level expected to take and pass US Government, World History or 11th grade literature.

What would best serve many of these students would be for their classes to meet them where they are, to continue to receive instruction in elementary-level reading, writing and math skills, to also have classes that focus on functional academics and practical living skills, to prepare them for THEIR future life.

Instead, in Georgia, these students are placed in these "Carnegie unit earning" (typically small group, but not always) classes, basically gifted grades while being hand held through "accommodated" (not modified - wink wink) curriculums. Parents of these students who reach out to me pretty consistently do NOT want this, but rather want their child to continue working on basic reading, writing and math.

So I'm wondering, how do other districts/states address these students who fall in this crack between being able to legitimately and independently access grade level curriculum and being eligible for an alternative assessment? Is there a workable solution, even if it would take legislative change/action?

08/07/2026

Beginning of the year bus issues? Is the bus causing your student to arrive late, or leave school early? Is your student’s bus ride unnecessarily long? I've been asked to resurrect this (now quite old, but still relevant) post regarding special education transportation:

Many of our children are unable to ride the “regular” bus to school, so they receive transportation on a bus that is normally smaller, has fewer children, and typically has an aide or monitor on it. But like every year, I am again hearing complaints about this bus service. The two most prevalent complaints are 1) my child’s bus ride is too long; and 2) my child’s bus arrives much later than, or leaves much earlier than, the regular buses, so instructional time is lost. Both complaints are more than valid and you should do something about it.

Many courts and the United States Department of Education Office of Civil Rights (OCR) have held that bus rides of children with disabilities should be comparable with the bus rides of children without disabilities. Most of these cases held that one hour of travel time, each way, was the acceptable outer limit in your average situation. Of course, circumstances such as whether you live in a rural or urban area must be taken into consideration; but if your child’s bus ride is taking over an hour, the school district should reroute its buses or create a program closer to your home to provide your child with a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE).

Courts and the OCR have also held that shortened school days due to lengthy bus rides is only permissible if there is a legitimate educational justification. That means that having your child arrive late, or leave early, is only acceptable if there is an educational reason for this shortened day. If your child does not need a shortened day, then they should be leaving at the same time, or within minutes, of the regular education buses. If your child has already lost valuable instructional time because of the bus scheduling, you are entitled to compensatory education (remember that due process hearing requests can reach back for 2 years, state complaints for 1 year).

So how do you go about trying to resolve these issues? If you are going to be seeking compensatory education for prior lost instructional time, you might have to pursue some kind of dispute resolution (due process, OCR complaint or state complaint) to get it on your own (an advocate or attorney might be able to get you compensatory education without going to court). But if you’re just seeking to get the problem fixed, and are meeting resistance as you move up the chain of command, I recommend you get help from a seasoned advocate or special education attorney, to get this issue resolved without the need for litigation. Because these issues really shouldn’t need to go that far.

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08/04/2026

I have been asked to re-post the following, as we again embark on a new school year. Ask and ye shall receive. ;)

TIP OF THE DAY: So here we are in Georgia, a new school year has begun. And I'm already hearing reports of IEP teams, inheriting new 6th grade or 9th grade students, asking parents to meet to make "adjustments" to IEPs. This typically looks like one of two things: 1- changes to services (for the convenience of the school); and/or 2 - changes to accommodations (due to the new school not wanting to provide the accommodations that the last school's IEP team determined the student needed).

In either of these cases, it is unlikely that your child's needs have changed over the summer. There is likely no new information about your child to indicate that anything should be changed. So I caution you to be VERY skeptical of a new IEP team trying to convince you that your child's IEP should be changed so early in the school year.

08/03/2026

Happy First Day of School to my friends in Georgia! I hope everyone's year gets off to a great start.

Unfortunately, though, I've already gotten an inquiry about in-school After School Programs, specifically one that was denying access for students in self-contained "program" classes. They cited staffing issues, and the parent wanted to know if there was anything they could do. I went back on my page to copy a response I gave to a similar question a bunch of years ago, and thought it was worth sharing here. So here is my response to the parent:

Unfortunately, the answer isn't straightforward. It all depends on whether the program is privately run or run by the school. If the program is entirely owned/run by the public school, they MUST provide accommodations. It's a little murky when it's privately run. Here's what I posted a handful of years ago on my page on the subject:

ANSWER: An after school program that is run by a private entity is required to provide reasonable accommodations if the school district provides "significant assistance" to the private entity.

As outlined by OCR in 2015:

Significant assistance is tested by a number of factors indicating whether a substantial relationship exists between a recipient of federal funding and a private entity. The factors evaluated in determining this issue include:

1) direct financial support provided by the recipient;
2) indirect financial support provided by the recipient;
3) provision of tangible resources such as staff, facilities, and/or materials at no cost or reduced cost;
4) intangible benefits such as the lending of recognition and approval;
5) selectively providing privileges and resources to the private entity; and
6) whether the relationship is occasional and temporary or permanent and long-term.

Not all factors must be present to support a finding of significant assistance.

Here's the OCR opinion:

https://www.ed.gov/sites/ed/files/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/investigations/more/15151107-a.pdf?fbclid=IwY2xjawTYi6pwZG9mAWV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAGJyaWQRMWJ4M3pWd1FCOGxld1V4OVRzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeMX0qZVnX_8GfjyfWxpqkDvKNB3PL8BSAi4EaQJrjJib4txnaJ4zf-KY01rg_aem_Yb5IfPZ07l7UgAgsdkp0cQ

06/02/2026

Not sure who needs to hear this......but it keeps popping up in my professional life.

Just because you CAN sue, doesn't mean you SHOULD. There are often lower-level solutions that can, and should, be pursued. If you're consulting with an attorney, please make sure it's someone you've been told you can trust, someone who tells it like it is, and isn't going to rush to litigation just because they can. Oftentimes, in the end, the only winners are the attorneys who get paid..........

I have this quote on my law firm's website, and I stand by it:

Discourage litigation. Persuade your neighbors to compromise whenever you can. Point out to them how the nominal winner is often a real loser -- in fees, expenses, and waste of time. As a peacemaker the lawyer has a superior opportunity of being a good man. There will still be business enough.
-- Abe Lincoln

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04/23/2026

It's been a long time since I've made a post......but I recently compiled some information that some in Georgia might find interesting.

I've always said that, in Georgia, you shouldn't ever have to file for due process if you have a strong enough case -- that districts usually are willing to negotiate/mediate without litigation pending. That cases that do go all the way to hearing are usually losing propositions for parents. I often encourage parents to try stand-alone mediation first, saving the time and expense of all that comes along with a due process case. And FWIW, I've had a good amount of success for/with my clients going that route.

I recently decided to examine whether that proposition still holds true. Using absolutely no scientific method, I took a look at all due process hearing decisions that resulted in a published opinion for the years of 2023, 2024 and 2025. Realize that this does not capture how many due process hearing requests were filed and settled prior to going to the actual hearing (CADRE crunched those numbers a handful of years ago, but the most recent year I can find information on is 2020-21). Here is my summary:

2023:

10 hearing decisions
At least 9 cases pro se (parents represented themselves without an attorney, although one parent WAS an attorney)
Main complaint: 6 FAPE, 1 breach of settlement agreement, 1 child find, 1 FERPA, 1 MDR appeal
Results: parent 1 (unclear whether parent was represented), districts 9.

2024:

14 hearing decisions
12 cases pro se, 2 cases represented by attorneys
Main complaint: 5 FAPE, 4 MDR appeals, 3 LRE/enrollment/placement, 1 eligibility, 1 IEE request denial (brought by the district)
Results: parent 0, districts 14.

2025:

14 hearing decisions
9 cases pro se, 5 cases represented by attorneys
Main complaint: 9 FAPE, 4 MDR appeal, 1 brought by district due to parent behavior
Results: parent 5 (sort of, see * below), districts 9.

* Of the 5 parent "wins," 2 were true wins, 1 was a win on a technicality, and 2 were partial wins. Interestingly, all of these "wins" were by pro se parents.

So, over the past 3 years: 38 due process hearing decisions, 6 parent wins, 32 parent losses. That is, if we're counting partial and techincal parent wins - if we're not, then it's 3 parent wins, 35 parent losses.

01/05/2026

Taken from the files of "I Can't Make This Up"

Recently received a client's progress report with supporting data to review. Child has a goal for answering comprehension questions off of a cold read passage (divided into one objective for factual questions and one objective for inferential questions). Putting aside the fact that progress was reported on the overall goal ONLY rather than each objective separately, the three pieces of supporting data provided were:

1 - teacher read passage aloud to student; only factual questions asked;

2 - "passage" was three pictures that told a story; data sheet reflects that they spoke about the pictures before answering the questions.

3 - teacher read aloud to student and they discussed the passage before student answered the questions.

Despite this, the progress report itself says that Student read the passages independently.

Made for an interesting meeting..............

Lesson: ALWAYS ask for the data used to support the reported progress.

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