Wiscarson Law filed a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) against the McMinnville School District, alleging that the District was discriminating against students with disabilities by dismissing those students early. Students with disabilities who rode specialized buses were let go before general education students, leading to less instructional time. Before OCR issued their ruling, the District agreed to…
In this next Spectrum Life article, written by Diane Wiscarson and Kelsey Coulter of Wiscarson Law, the difference between placement and location is explained. Placement refers to the type of educational program and location refers to a geographical site. To learn more about these sometimes confused terms, click on the link below. https://www.spectrumlife.org/blog/placement-vs-location-what-does-it-mean
By Diane Wiscarson. Published in the Mar/Apr 2020 edition of Portland Parent.
Diane Wiscarson, Kelsey Coulter, and Taylar Vajda of Wiscarson Law collaborated on an article published in the latest edition of SpectrumLife Magazine, discussing issues related to modified diplomas and graduation. Read about it here: Spectrum Life Winter 2019 article
Diane Wiscarson and Taylar Vajda of Wiscarson Law collaborated on an article published in the latest edition of Spectrum Life Magazine, explaining what parents can do if they are not happy with their child’s placement and may want to send their child to a private school instead. Read about it here. Spectrum Life Magazine article
KGW8 reporter Cristin Severance has spent the last year reporting a series titled “Classrooms in Crisis.” Cristin explores issues in Oregon classrooms including, but not limited to, disruptive learning, budget cuts, and busing, from both parent and teacher perspectives. See link below to the entire series: https://www.kgw.com/section/news/investigations/classrooms-in-crisis
As part of KGW8’s “Classrooms in Crisis” series, Cristin Severance reports about bus drivers being attacked on school buses. Drivers are advocating for para educators on board to help keep everyone safe. Diane Wiscarson talks about what is going wrong and what these students are entitled to receive by law.
NPR reported on the use of restraints and seclusions in schools, including the likelihood that many school districts fail to report incidents to the U.S. Department of Education, as well as parents. The article focused on the effect restraints and seclusions had on individual students, including two Washington families represented by Wiscarson Law. https://www.npr.org/2019/06/05/726519409/desperation-and-broken-trust-when-schools-restrain-students-or-lock-them-in-room
Spectrum Life Magazine article by Diane Wiscarson and Taylar Vajda with helps for parents of non-speaking students. https://www.spectrumlife.org/blog/nonspeaking-but-not-unable-416
The June 2019 issue of the The Scribe offers some key information for writing doctor’s notes to cover specific needs in a special education plan. See page 7 in the link below: https://indd.adobe.com/view/2bd8e326-c234-4f84-b069-0030b48d733c