Jill Calian MCA Spedlaw

05/02/2026

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.

04/22/2026

Justice delayed is justice denied.

https://www.npr.org/2026/04/22/nx-s1-5791680/doj-disability-web-access-delay-schools?fbclid=IwZnRzaARV9WBleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEepm77io3sn_Gd7mGk5yi5NXolGN35TlFypg0TMzzfhbKEBl4zOsnSGd1FzYY_aem_4YtxdVeLx3YLFJc4eV2-rQ

Schools, colleges and other public institutions originally had until this week to make online content accessible to people with disabilities. Now, the Justice Department has delayed that deadline.

04/20/2026

This is a good piece on the impact of school choice in one Iowa city. There is a considerable amount of discussion about what the repercussions of school choice were for students with disabilities (hint: it was not positive).

The Sunday Story on NPR One | 31:56

04/20/2026

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.

04/15/2026

A recommendation for those of you interested in expanding your knowledge of special education law... The Council of Parents Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA) is offering a Microlearning Series, that is free for COPAA members and anyone who registers as a guest. If you go to the COPAA website, click on "Learn," and then "Learning Center," you will find a link for Microlearning Series on Parent Rights Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This series of four short videos provides a good overview of key special education concepts and parental rights. This series is one of many excellent resources offered by COPAA, a national non-profit organization, that focuses on building the capacity of parents, attorneys, and advocates to help students and families to secure their educational rights and navigate the complex terrain of special education. As part of this mission, COPAA offers a yearly training conference that I attend annually. COPAA also engages in critical legal and public policy advocacy work, lobbying in Washington, and authoring amicus curiae briefs in key cases involving special education and disability issues. I encourage anyone interested in this area to explore the COPAA website and get involved with this organization, which truly leads civil rights advocacy for students with disabilities. https://www.copaa.org/ #

COPAA is where the movement for education equity finds its strength. We unite advocates to defend the civil rights of children with disabilities and their families.

04/08/2026

Thinking about all the children, their parents, and their teachers, here in the U.S., in Iran, and around the world who are living with this messaging. How do you explain this to a child? How do children understand it and carry on with their days? An existential threat, even if not effectuated, creates a scarring psychological burden. There are no "take-backs" for this kind of warfare.

04/07/2026

This is flat out cruelty. Detained children at Dilley Detention Center in Texas have been cut-off from making artwork, one of the few activities that might allow them to experience joy or express their feelings. After this crackdown, a 13-year old girl in Dilley who used her artwork to process her depression, tried to cut her wrists with a plastic knife. With basic conditions in this facility so extremely poor (inconsistent access to healthcare and medication, unsafe food), I can’t help but wonder whether the children and teens are getting any education, special education, or related services. In Plyler v. Doe, the Supreme Court ruled that all children, regardless of immigration status, have a constitutional right to free education. It further held that states cannot withhold funding for education of undocumented students or deny enrollment based on immigration status. Are students in Dilley getting access to their education rights protected by the equal protection clause? I doubt it. Moreover, this fundamental right is under attack. There are several bills that would upend Plyler that have been drafted in an effort to get this issue in front of the currently-configured Supreme Court, possibly resulting in an overturning of Plyler. Unsurprisingly, Stephen Miller is supporting this agenda to restrict education to children who are U.S. citizens. I’ll post a couple of additional articles in the comments that provide a deeper dive into these awful and extremely concerning developments.

Detainees told ProPublica that art supplies have been removed in room searches, immigrants have lost access to Gmail and staff hover within earshot during video calls.

04/06/2026

Intriguing connections being made through this developing research.

https://www.facebook.com/share/1CrVVqVj1b/?mibextid=wwXIfr

The idea that two conditions at opposite ends of life might be biologically linked is beginning to upend long-standing assumptions in brain science, blurring a divide that has shaped the field.

03/31/2026

The author who is the subject of this article, and who was diagnosed with severe autism as a child, challenges the reader to “[i]magine being stuck inside your head and being more intelligent than people give you credit for.” How tragic to understand so much, and yet to be misunderstood by everyone around you. This piece is a reminder to examine our assumptions about people who are nonverbal.

Doctors believed that Woody Brown would never be able to speak or process language. He went to graduate school and is publishing his debut novel.