Connecticut Special Education Law Blog

The following post is part of a series of reflections and interview responses given by successful young adults with varying disabilities who have direct experience with the Connecticut Special Education system. Our interviewer and writer is Katie Feinstein, daughter of Attorney Feinstein, who is also a successful young adult living with disabilities. Katie chronicles individuals respective journeys within the system and beyond, into their adult lives. The Feinstein Education Law Group represented some of these young adults when they were students. Katie asks individuals to discuss their struggles, triumphs and perspectives as they consider their pasts and move forward into futures of hope and evolving independence.

On November 9, 2017, thirty-seven parent advocates, attorneys, and surrogate parents submitted a letter to Commissioner of Education Dianna R. Wentzell to request that she remind Connecticut school administrators of their duty to appropriately educate students identified as having an Emotional Disturbance as defined by IDEA and State law. In many cases, Emotionally Disturbed students require intensive mental health services as part of their individualized education plans (IEPs).

The recently approved ESSA Connecticut State Plan appears on the federal Education Department's website in a format that is inaccessible to individuals with disabilities. In a letter signed by twenty-seven Connecticut parent advocates and attorneys, Connecticut Education Commissioner Dianna R. Wentzell has been asked to remedy this situation by making the PDF accessible in compliance with Sections 508 and 504 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a federal law that applies to students between 3 and 22 years old that attend a public educational institution. In order to qualify for IDEA, your child must have a medically identified disability that negatively affects his or her learning.

For example, if you have a son that suffers from autism, emotional disturbance, blindness, deafness or any other covered disability, then he may qualify for special education services under IDEA. Furthermore, every school district in the country has a legal duty to help children with disabilities that affect their education.