Some of Our Work (PDF format)

  • Mills v. D.C. Board of Ed.
  • Smith v. Robinson
  • North v. DC Board of Ed.
  • Moore v. DC
  • Cox v. Brown
  • Doyle v. Arlington County
  • McKenzie v. Smith
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    News Alert:
    As we observed last year, disabled children and their families, as well as their advocates, continue to face obstacles in their efforts to secure appropriate schooling. Some of the most interesting issues currently being litigated, discussed and studied concern notice to public school systems of parental intent, questions of public school responsibility for privately-placed children, and the continuing intertwining of Least Restrictive Environment and the definition of an Appropriate Education. In this time of "Change," how Congress and the States respond to these issues -- as well as how developing litigation unfolds -- will lead to an active and interesting 2008-2009 year in the special education arena.
    We have been representing educationally-disabled children for thirty-four years, advocating for each student’s individual right to an appropriate education and to a life of quality and opportunity. Our years of consistent and committed representation in this field have given us a unique expertise; we are skilled both at collaborating with individuals who have knowledge of children with special needs, and at assisting our clients to navigate the public special education process. We are proud of what we do and how we do it.

    We have also learned a few things over the past three decades, about our school systems, about our clients of course, and about ourselves. Based on that knowledge and experience, we have established certain guideposts or principles that we attempt to follow in all of our special education representation. There are twelve:
    1. Delay is Deadly – Human development and education happens, and it is impossible to recover days lost in the life of a child.
    2. Parents are Experts – In the ivory tower world of special education, there are many experts, but none more knowledgeable or reliable than the parents of the child.
    3. Parents are Equal – At least they are under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, where an equal partnership between parents and school systems is mandated.
    4. Parents are Advocates – There are many professionals in school systems who advocate for children (and many more who just say they do), but none of them can do what a child’s parents do.
    5. “I” equals “Individualized” – As in Individualized Education Program, the single most powerful aspect of a disabled child’s schooling, the right to individualized treatment.
    6. Education is Broad – Under the IDEA, it is much more than reading, writing and arithmetic, but concerns social/emotional development, organization, and self concept.
    7. Schools are Responsible – Not for everything, but for a lot. The school systems are trained in this federal law, receive federal money under it, and are presumed to know what they are doing. They are therefore responsible.
    8. Appropriateness Bounds LRE – The least restrictive environment for a disabled child must first be determined to be an appropriate one for him or her.
    9. All Needs Must Be Identified – Disabled children do not necessarily get the best education money can buy, but they do have the right to have all of their educational needs identified before a program is proposed.
    10. Observation is Best – Nothing substitutes for a parent finding the time to go into the school and observe in the classroom. This applies to all education, not just “special ed.”
    11. Development, Progress, Entitlement – A shorthand formula meaning nothing more complicated than a child is entitled to progress in normal human development. If this is not happening, then the IDEA provides for other paths to that natural entitlement.
    12. Sometimes, Get Help – As in the rest of life, sometimes our personal efforts are not enough. If you think you might be at that place, give us a call.

    Michael J. Eig & Associates, P.C. - 5454 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 760 Chevy Chase, MD 20815 - Phone: 301-657-1740
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