Matt Cohen & Associates

06/23/2026

Take a few minutes to read Jill Calian MCA Spedlaw 's response to Trump's recent decision to move special education and civil rights out of the Department of Education.

The U.S. Department of Education has begun outsourcing responsibility for overseeing the nation’s sprawling special education system and enforcing civil rights law in schools to other federal agencies, after months of previewing efforts to restructure both core functions.

🏛️ Read more: https://bit.ly/4uFNJ54

06/17/2026

Like many of you, we have known that this was a possibility for some time now, but are sad and disturbed by the choice to pursue the move. We will continue to monitor the situation.

The moves, three people briefed on the plan say, are part of an effort to close the department by moving its functions to other parts of the government.

06/12/2026

We hope you are enjoying the first weeks of summer!

For the past several weeks, our team has been busy helping families finish out the school year strong. Now, we will spend our summer strengthening IEP and 504 plans, helping families to understanding their rights amid budget cuts, and planning for transitions into the next year.

Now is the perfect time to plan ahead. Reach out today to learn how our team can help ensure your child is set up for success and ready for another year of learning.

05/12/2026

Have you read our May newsletter yet?
This month's edition includes writing about:
🔹 Trump's recent attacks on prior settlements with the Office of Civil Rights
🔹 Trump's newest attempts to slash funding for the Department of Education
🔹 New research findings that reveal the benefit of early intervention

Email from Matt Cohen & Associates LLC You don't want to miss this.   May 2026 newsletter This E-newsletter is devoted to sharing information about special education, disability rights, mental health

05/04/2026

In addition to being a phenomenal special education advocate for our clients, Jill Calian MCA Spedlaw is a parent with personal experience advocating for her son. Thank you for all of the expertise and care you bring to your work, Jill!

It is spring and that means spring cleaning and organizing. To many of the parents and special educational professionals reading this post, it also means IEP season. These two rituals of spring intersected for me this morning when, in a spring cleaning purge, I decided to clear out file boxes containing the IEP records for my own son, who is now 24 years old. The photo below (IEP records Kindergarten through 3rd grade) depicts only one of many such boxes. It is surprisingly hard to toss this stuff. Why is that? There is nothing particularly nostalgic about my son's occupational therapy evaluation from 2nd grade. The files represent an educational chapter (IDEA eligibility) that has closed. But reading all the labels of the red subfolders reminds me how much work it was. For years, my brain WAS this file box. Ironically, I'm still reading IEPs -- but now I read the IEPs for our firm's clients' children and not my own. So, to all the parents/guardians with files like these in their closets and in their heads, I just want to say, "I see you" and I appreciate the unseen labor of your love.

05/01/2026

The Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, Inc.'s paper on the history and importance of Due Process Rights in special education dispute resolution is live. We agree with COPAA that this safeguard is integral to protecting the rights of students with disabilities.

COPAA’s 2026 paper,Special Education Dispute Resolution: A Critical Safeguard for IDEA’s Guarantee of Equal Education for Students with Disabilities examines the role and strengths of the dispute resolution system available under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), clarifies...

04/23/2026

Thanks to Jill Calian MCA Spedlaw for sharing more about our approach to IEP reviews.

In our office we frequently review IEPs. Often, we raise deficiencies in these goals in the due process complaints that we file on behalf of our clients. Defective goals can form the basis of a claim that the district failed to provide an appropriate educational program. The most common flaws in these goals are that they are immeasurable, lack baselines, or are compound in nature. A group called Special Education Community posted this helpful checklist of IEP issues that I've pasted below. I'd add one more to this list: goals that are not sufficiently ambitious. We sometimes see goals that simply set the bar too low, for example, requiring a student to achieve a skill that is barely beyond what the student has already mastered. Other objectives may allow for an excessive amount of adult prompting, or set mastery criteria that are not rigorous (e.g., 60% accuracy in 3/5 opportunities). Goals that are not rigorous do not meet the standard set in Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District. As the Supreme Court said, "[an] educational program must be appropriately ambitious in light of [the child's] circumstances.... the goals may differ, but every child should have the chance to meet challenging objectives." Our children deserve no less.

04/06/2026

Did you know that we offer IEP Checkups?

As we approach summer, IEP checkups are a great tool for ensuring your student's IEP will be supportive for them into the next school year 🔆

Call us: 866-787-9270
Email us: [email protected]

04/06/2026

Our April Newsletter is live!

Read the April edition to learn about:
🔹 The Texas lawsuit threatening at-home supports for individuals with disabilities
🔹 The impact of Trump's SAVE Act on access to voting
🔹 Chronic absenteeism trends
🔹 The status of Chicago Public School's Black Student Success Plan
🔹 and more!

Email from Matt Cohen & Associates LLC You don't want to miss this.   April 2026 newsletter This E-newsletter is devoted to sharing information about special education, disability rights, mental healt