California Legal Blog

Tips for addressing a disagreement with your child's teacher

On behalf of Leigh Law Group posted in education law on Thursday, January 17, 2019.

Every parent experiences a disagreement with their child's teacher at some point. You may not see eye-to-eye with how a teacher interacts with your child, disciplines them or manages the classroom. A teacher may not understand your child's special needs due to an executive functioning issue or disorder.

With a small adjustment in the classroom, your child might excel. Disagreements are bound to happen, but how they are handled can greatly affect the outcome. Consider the following six tips for addressing problems with a teacher. If matters cannot be resolved or if they involve bigger issues, then it may be helpful to have an education law attorney represent your interests at a follow-up meeting with the administration.

The cyberbullying summit: Steps for prevention

On behalf of Leigh Law Group posted in Civil Rights Litigation on Monday, November 19, 2018.

Children and teens spend extensive hours on their phones and online. Their social lives are intertwined in texting, gaming and social media. Kids communicate through these channels in negative ways, too. Your child might receive harmful and negative content about themselves or their classmates online, known as cyberbullying. Cyberbullying can be humiliating for kids and teens, leading to depression and anxiety.

The Federal Partners in Bullying Prevention Summit on Cyberbullying was recently held at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The summit included panel discussions with representatives from Google, Twitter, Facebook and the Family Online Safety Institute. A law enforcement panel addressed the issue of sending illicit photos and how it can lead to cyberbullying. The panels dug into how deeply cyberbullying can affect kids. Parents want to know how these platforms are protecting their children and what they can do to stop it.

Leigh Law Group obtains temporary restraining order for a young autistic man to run track

On behalf of Leigh Law Group on Saturday, February 20, 2016.

Sometimes it's the relatively small victories that are the most satisfying. The ones that go unnoticed by the wider world but which make a tangible, enriching difference in the life of a disabled person.Leigh Law Group recently had one such victory for a young man with autism that serves to reinforce why we do what we do. J.S. is a young man diagnosed with moderate to severe autism. He has extreme difficulty in social settings and in doing pretty much anything that a typical high school student takes for granted. However, one thing that J.S. can do well is run. For the past 5 years, J.S. has participated on his school's cross country and track and field teams with the help of a Section 504 Rehabilitation Act accommodation which provided J.S. with a running assistant. This assistant would accompany J.S. during practices -- in order to translate the instruction of the coaches and to accompany J.S. on distance runs through the town. This is the only way J.S. could access the athletic program in a manner equal to other students or in a meaningful way. Through this participation, J.S. was able to experience the social comradery and personal challenge that athletics provides. It was also one area where he was as good as his peers. Through athletics, J.S. gained confidence and pride in his accomplishments. His teammates also benefited from seeing J.S. battle through his disabling condition and run just as fast as they did. They looked at J.S. in a new light.As we said initially, this worked well for five years until, just prior to J.S.'s senior year, the school district took away the accommodation for the running assistant. The school district offered only to have an aide sit in a chair and observe J.S. run -- J.S. was required to remain in visual distance of the seated aide. As you have likely gathered, this changed "accommodation" rendered J.S. unable to run in cross country since the very definition of cross country is long distance runs that would almost immediately take J.S. out of the visual perception of the aide. J.S.'s parent pleaded with the district to no avail. The district would not relent and J.S. lost the ability to participate in cross country. J.S. had previously ran a 7:20/mile pace.J.S. also needs this accommodation for track and field as there are distance runs throughout the town and because J.S. simply cannot process the coaches' instructions in the manner his typical peers can -- he needs more individualized instruction.J.S.'s parent decided that for the fast approaching track and field season she had no other option but to challenge the district legally. After hiring the Leigh Law Group we put all hands on deck to file a complaint in federal court in San Francisco and to prepare an application for a temporary restraining order requiring the district to implement the longstanding accommodation which allowed J.S. to participate in track and field. The Court, based on our filings, immediately required the district to respond as to why J.S. should not receive the accommodation. After the district's response, we filed a reply the next day and the Court entered a temporary restraining order requiring the accommodation and requiring further response from the school district. J.S. was immediately able to participate in track and field as his parent had identified a qualified assistant to run with J.S.The school district then offered to immediately settle the matter and to provide J.S. with the reasonable accommodation that allows him to meaningfully participate in track and field. Case closed.So, will history mark this moment? Hardly. Very few will notice or care about the result. But as we look back on our professional accomplishments and forward to those to come, we will have an indelible image of J.S. running alongside his peers, running through the streets of his town, running because he is just as good as anyone else at it. And that image will drive us to be better in all that we do too; to strive when the odds are against us; to realize that small victories for vulnerable members of our society can outweigh more traditional measures of success. To never stop running.Leigh Law Group is an education law, employment law and civil rights law firm based in California with offices in San Francisco, Marin County, the East Bay and Los Angeles. Leigh Law Group

On behalf of Leigh Law Group on Wednesday, October 8, 2014.

In Daubert v. Lindsay Unified School District (9th Cir. - July 25, 2014) 1:09-cv-1463 GSA, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the granting of the school district’s motion for summary judgment. Plaintiff claimed that the school football field public bleacher seating’s lack of wheelchair accessibility violated Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act. In that instance, the bleachers were accessible only by stairs and the other viewing locations were not on the field.On appeal, the court held that the District did not have to structurally alter the bleachers to provide access. Since the bleachers were constructed before the ADA’s January 26, 1992 enactment date and was never reconstructed or altered, it constituted an “existing facility” under the ADA. As such, the District need only provide program access by “operating each service, program, or activity so that (. . .) when viewed in its entirety, (it) is readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities.” (emphasis added)Importantly, the court interprets Title II as making a clear distinction between “facilities accessibility” and “program accessibility.” The District need only provide access to the program. Here, the public “program” being offered by the District is only the football game, which the bleachers are just part of the “facility” in which the program takes place.In Daubert, the District had three other specific locations from which persons using wheelchairs are able to watch the games. Daubert, however, challenged that the alternative locations relegated him to an “inferior view” of the field and denied him a particular social experience.The court, however, reiterated that the program offered is the football game, to which, the social experience is merely incidental to this program. Additionally, in this matter, it was undisputed that the views were unobstructed in at least three of the alternative locations.Citing the Supreme Court ruling in Tennessee v. Lane, 541 U.S. 509, 532 (2004), the court explained that “[i]n the case of older facilities, for which structural change is likely to be more difficult, a public entity may comply with Title II by adopting a variety of less costly measures . . ..” Structural changes in existing facilities are not required where other methods are effective in achieving compliance. [citing 28 C.F.R. Sec. 35.150(b)(1).] The Leigh Law Group is a law firm located in San Francisco and Marin County focused on education law, special education law, civil rights, employment law and business law.

Leigh Law Group, with co-counsel, files class action for refinery workers

On behalf of Leigh Law Group on Tuesday, September 16, 2014.

Violations Alleged on Behalf of Thousands of EmployeesSan Francisco, California, September 10, 2014: A class action lawsuit filed on Wednesday accuses Timec Company, Inc. dba Transfield Services (“Timec”) of failing to pay basic minimum wages to workers who work as general laborers on refinery maintenance crews. The case was filed in the Northern District Court in San Francisco. The plaintiffs are Joseph Vierra and Kevin Woodruff, and the case is Joseph Vierra and Kevin Woodruff v. Timec Company, Inc. dba Transfield Services, Case Number: 4:14-cv-04105-KAW.The lawsuit alleges that Timec’s non-skilled “Field Employees” are sub-contracted out to various oil and gas refineries throughout the state of California, where they work alongside skilled maintenance workers as Safety Attendants, Laborers or General Helpers. The lawsuit further alleges that the Plaintiffs are required to “badge in” at their assigned refinery up to one hour before their shift “sign in” time in order to take internal transportation to the refinery location where they would be working, change into their safety gear, and, in some cases, participate in “safety talks” --- all of which activities took place before their shift “sign in” time and all of which were uncompensated.The proposed class includes thousands of current or former Timec Field Employees working in oil and gas refineries throughout the state of California.“Timec’s Field Employees work long hours in often uncomfortable and dangerous conditions. They deserve to be properly compensated for all their hours of work,” said John T. Mullan, a partner at Rudy, Exelrod, Zieff & Lowe, LLP, who is representing the Timec Field Employees with Jay Jambeck, of the Leigh Law Group. “The Field Employees often work twelve-hour shifts supporting the skilled refinery maintenance workers,” according to Jambeck. “It’s outrageous that Timec expects them to provide it with free labor on top of that.Vierra, 41, commented, “We all felt Timec’s practice of making us work off the clock was wrong. We hope that by finally standing up and fighting back, Timec will pay us what we think they owe us and we can put a stop to this once and for all.”The Plaintiffs are seeking unpaid minimum and overtime wages and other compensation on behalf of current and former Timec Field Employees throughout the state.Press Contacts

Jay T. JambeckLEIGH LAW GROUP (https://www.leighlawgroup.com)870 Market Street, Suite 1157San Francisco, CA 94102Telephone: 415.399.9155John T. MullanRUDY, EXELROD, ZIEFF & LOWE, L.L.P.351 California Street, Suite 700San Francisco, CA 94104Telephone: 415.394.5597

The Leigh Law Group is a San Francisco, California-based law firm with a commitment to helping employees protect their rights in the workplace. The Leigh Law Group has successfully litigated complaints nationwide and has extensive experience handling complex cases in state and federal court litigation.Rudy, Exelrod, Zieff & Lowe, LLP is a leading law firm in the field of wage and hour class actions and won the largest overtime verdict in United States history in Bell v. Farmers Insurance Exchange. The firm specializes in representing employees in individual and class action litigation.To obtain the Complaint, call Leah Wahlberg at (415) 434-9800.Timec/Transfield employees or former employees who would like to learn more about the case should visit www.rezlaw.com and click on “Class Actions” or contact John Mullan at (415) 394-5597, [email protected], or Jay Jambeck at (415) 399-9155, [email protected].

Important things to know when hiring a special education attorney

On behalf of Leigh Law Group on Thursday, May 8, 2014.

We at the Leigh Law Group know hiring a special education attorney can be (wait,... is) daunting. You have to face trusting your child, that precious gift that changed your life more than any one single thing, to someone you only barely know. Here are some things you should know:1. Some attorneys have never taken a case to due process. They will talk tough at an IEP, or maybe take the case to mediation, but they will never take that extra step to convince districts who truly do not want to comply with the law that you are willing to fight.2. Some attorneys have never taken a case to the appeal process. Parent success before the California Office of Administrative Hearings is notoriously elusive (we are being nice here). The appeal from a due process proceeding is taking a case to federal or state court.3. Some attorneys have never taken a case to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Judges in state and federal court, the vast majority of which are well meaning, are both overburdened and lacking in specific training under the IDEA. Appealing to appeals court, or having an attorney who has done so, gives your case credibility in the trial courts and before the administrative hearing office.Leigh Law Group, special education, education and civil rights attorneys in the San Francisco Bay Area, have successfully taken special education cases to all of the above levels. We have prevailed in due process proceedings. We have settled cases in federal court obtaining substantial services for our clients' children even in the face of a loss at the due process level. We have argued and received favorable ruling from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on cases which have made law for all families in California, even in the face of federal trial court judges telling our clients they had no case.Because we have taken cases to every level of the court systems (short of the Supreme Court of the United States), school districts know that we are in the case for the long haul, for the families we represent. We don't pass a case off when the going gets tough. We get tougher. We zealously advocate our clients' meritorious cases as long as our clients desire us to do so and as long as it is in our clients' interest to do so.We did an informal count recently, and realized that we have represented no less than eight other families of attorneys' children who have needed special education or education assistance. Those attorneys have uniformly recognized that our expertise and skill is unmatched. We also looked at how long some of our clients have been with us and found that some of our clients have been with us for 8 years or more - using our assistance when necessary to guide their children through their school career. We've seen students go from fourth or fifth grade through high school -- graduating when no one thought they would.Our experience allows us to work reasonably with school districts to obtain services to which your child is entitled. We have our own kids and care about kids. Let us guide you and your family through this difficult process and toward a result that your child deserves. One of dignity in a society that sometimes has to be reminded that the smallest, quietest, shyest, and most awkward can grow into a shining example of humanity.Leigh Law Group is a special education, education, civil rights, disabilities rights and business law firm in San Francisco and Marin Counties. We were established in 2004 by a daughter who is a former school teacher turned lawyer who aspires to be a singer/songwriter and teachers' son (mother and father) who aspires to do well by doing good.

Leigh Law Group partner Mandy Leigh argues case before 9th Circuit Court of Appeals

On behalf of Leigh Law Group on Tuesday, April 22, 2014.

Leigh Law Group founder and partner Mandy Leigh recently argued before the United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in a longstanding special education case raising issues of first impression in the Ninth Circuit.

Leigh Law Group notches win for federal employee

On behalf of Leigh Law Group on Tuesday, April 22, 2014.

The Leigh Law Group, with offices in Marin and San Francisco, recently prevailed on a motion to adjudicate a Title VII race discrimination claim before the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The case thereafter settled with a promotion for the affected employee along with compensation for leave hours utilized, back pay and attorneys' fees.The Leigh Law Group represents individuals, businesses and educational entities in the San Francisco Bay Area in the areas of employment, education, business and civil rights matters (including race, national origin, gender and disability discrimination).

Audio Taping the IEP: Know Your Rights

On behalf of Leigh Law Group on Tuesday, October 1, 2013.

Audio Record the IEP Meeting.

Preschool Children with Disabilities

On behalf of Leigh Law Group on Tuesday, July 23, 2013.

On February 29, 2012 OSEP issued a guidance letter confirming that preschool aged children who qualify for special education under the the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) are entitled to placement in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE).Preschool aged children are defined as 3 to 5 years old. Eligible preschool aged children are entitled to all the rights and protections guaranteed under the IDEA. These rights include but are not limited to placement in a preschool setting with typically developing peers. The IEP, a written document governed by the IDEA and most state special education laws, must be developed (in writing) and include an explanation to the extent, if any, to which the child will not participate with nondisabled children in the regular class.Before a child with a disability can be placed in a more restrictive environment outside of the general education classroom setting, the IEP team must consider whether supplementary aides and services could be provided that would enable the child to benefit form a general educational setting with non disabled peers.If a public school program is available, the local educational agency (LEA) may choose to offer appropriate placement and services in that program. However, if the LEA (usually the school district or some other public agency) does not offer a public preschool program, the LEA must explore all "alternative methods to ensure that the LRE requirements are met for that child". Some of these methods can include:1. Enrolling children in preschool programs operated by other public agencies2. Enrolling preschool children in private preschool programs with non disabled peers3. Providing for home based servicesThese services should be provided at no cost to the parents.The first step in determining eligibility is to notify your LEA in writing requesting an assessment for special education eligibility because you believe your child has a qualifying disability.This is not intended as legal advice. If you believe you require assistance in obtaining special education services, please contact the Leigh Law Group at 415-399-9155 or [email protected] to set up a free intake.

California Legal Blog

Tips for addressing a disagreement with your child's teacher

The cyberbullying summit: Steps for prevention

Leigh Law Group obtains temporary restraining order for a young autistic man to run track

Leigh Law Group, with co-counsel, files class action for refinery workers

Important things to know when hiring a special education attorney

Leigh Law Group partner Mandy Leigh argues case before 9th Circuit Court of Appeals

Leigh Law Group notches win for federal employee

Audio Taping the IEP: Know Your Rights

Preschool Children with Disabilities

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