This page collects news coverage, interviews, and commentary featuring our attorneys on special education law in Pennsylvania. You'll find radio segments, articles, and press mentions about IEP advocacy, 504 accommodations, and students' rights in public schools. We update this archive as new stories publish so families can review our perspectives and community work. If you're a reporter or producer, the contact page has direct ways to reach us. If you're a parent looking for help, the items below show how we approach complex school issues and why we focus on practical, student-centered outcomes. Free representation is available for qualifying matters.
Secretive special education settlements are costing school districts millions. Parents say districts aren’t fixing their program
Lawyers say affluent parents who can afford to hire them, and who are dissatisfied with their child’s IEP, are more likely to sue a school district than poor parents. Kate Murphy of Berwyn, a parent and former Tredyffrin/Easttown school board member, reached a settlement agreement with the district for services for one of her children […]
Regional Roundup [WHYY Radio Interview]
“We’ll hear about the specific difficulties that remote learning is causing for special education, and what parents are saying about Pennsylvania’s plan for the new school year. Joining us is special education attorney DAN COOPER.”
CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC
Special education during coronavirus: What should parents tolerate, demand?
Avi Wolfman-Arent Maegen Wagner wants her daughter to learn in the same classroom as everyone else. It’s a simple goal that requires a lot of effort — even when there isn’t a global pandemic. Her first-grade daughter, Elizabeth, has down syndrome, ADHD, and a condition called Oppositional Defiant Disorder. Her special education plan provides her […]
Saving Dobson: A story of class, disability, and self-preservation in a Philly school
What would you do for your kid? For most parents, the immediate answer is as simple as it is cliched: anything. Often doing “anything” for one’s child has consequences for other children. Moving to a wealthier school district leaves another district one family poorer. Testing into a magnet school deprives the neighborhood school of a talented youngster. Shelling out for those piano lessons gives your kid a leg up in the college admissions process, but also puts the child who didn’t get lessons at a disadvantage.
Trying to live up to special-ed law amid the Philly school budget crisis
With a skeletal support staff serving the city’s traditional public schools, many worry that the district has opened itself up to an onslaught of legal claims from families struggling to ensure that their children get the education that they deserve. This is the story of one such family.
