KLF will assist your student with educational issues under the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), including Individualized Education Programs (IEP) for kids 3 through 21 years of age and rights under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. If you have a child that you suspect may have a disability, you have the right to have them assessed by your school district free of charge. KLF can help your student receive this assessment. Please don’t be afraid to have your child identified for a suspected disability. Once identified with a disability, we can guide you through the IEP process, help define the goals you believe best for your child’s development, empower you to advocate for your child more confidently in the team meetings, facilitate open communication with the school or act as your representative at the meetings. Many times, establishing a good IEP or 504 plan from the start can help avoid disappointment and misunderstandings down the road. If your loved one does have a disability that is negatively affecting their education, they could be entitled to services that may include: disability determination, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, and modifications of regular education such as preferential seating, extra time for tests, homework modification, computers and audiobooks. Should your student and school find themselves at odds with these goals, Kaeser Law Firm can be on your side to represent your child in mediation, informal resolution sessions and due process proceedings.

In an effort to protect the rights of families, the law is very clear that parents have the right to seek reimbursement of their reasonable attorneys’ fees if they prevail at a due process hearing.

While our practice focuses on representing families and children in special education matters, we also help families with early intervention services. The Early Start Program is California’s response to federal legislation ensuring that early intervention services to children from birth to 36 months old, with disabilities and their families are provided in a coordinated, family-centered system of services that are available through local regional centers. The purpose of early intervention is to lessen the effects of the disability or delay. Services are designed to identify and meet a child’s needs in areas of physical development, cognitive development, communication, social or emotional development, and adaptive development.  The hope is that these services, provided early, will address any delays in development so that your son or daughter will not need services later on. Services available through Regional Centers can include speech therapy, occupational therapy and physical therapy, provided either in an office or in the child’s home. We can help you protect your child’s rights related to any alleged violation of federal or state statutes/regulation governing California’s Early Start Program, including eligibility and services, or related to a proposal or refusal for identification, evaluation, assessment, placement, or services. We can help prepare and refine Individual Family Service Plans (IFSP), Individual Program Plans (IPP) and can help you resolve disagreements through representation and preparation for Mediation, Due Process Hearings or filing a state complaint. Whether you’re advocating for an increase in respite care, fighting for the service that best fits your loved one or contesting an eligibility determination, we want to help.