BOP -- Burden of Proof. The current Supreme Court took the Burden of Proof in Impartial Hearings away from school districts and now, since parents bring most of the Hearings, the BOP is on them, causing Hearings to be much more costly and complicated. Kids are having their rights diluted every day. Now, the NYS Legislature has passed legislation that has made its way to Gov. Spitzer's desk. URGE HIM TO SIGN IT!!! Ask every New Yorker you know to urge him to sign it:
Assembly 5396-A - burden of proof - delivered today to the Governor. Governor's decision due midnight the 15th of August.
VOLUME, VOLUME, VOLUME - WE NEED CONTINUOUS AND MASSIVE PHONE CALLS, FAXes and EMAILS TO THE GOVERNOR’S OFFICE.
ASSEMBLY 5396-A BY NOLAN, BURDEN OF PROOF BILL DELIVERED TO SPITZER TODAY
(If you called or emailed or faxed before, do it again. Get others involved - family, friends etc)
A.5396-A returning the burden of proof to school districts was delivered to the Governor today. He has 10 days excluding Sunday and today to act. Therefore his decision will be due by midnight, Wednesday the 15th. He will very likely take the full 10 days.
Obtaining the Governor’s approval of this measure will not be easy. All of the school district associations are vehemently opposing it, including the New York City Department of Education, the Big Five School Districts, the School Superintendents and the School Boards Association.Call, FAX and email the following:
Governor’s FAX is: 518-474-1513
Call:518-474-8390 or 518-474-1041
Governor’s contact info/address (including email link) is at:
START WITH THIS MESSAGE OR MAKE UP YOUR OWN (ANOTHER COMING NEXT WEEK, BUT DON'T WAIT)
I am a parent (family member, friend, advocate for) of a student with disabilities. Assembly bill 5396-A by Nolan would require that school districts, not parents, bear the burden of proof in special education hearings. This bill is essential to enable parents to protect their child's right to a decent public education by relieving them of the necessity of hiring an attorney which many cannotafford.
Even impartial hearing officers say that placing the burden of proof on parents has ledto far more costly, adversarial, legalistic hearings, driving parents and districts further apart rather than bringing them closer together.
Governor, do the right thing for our children. Please sign Assembly bill 5396-A by Nolan.
Remember: this bill would remedy Schaffer v. Weast, the US Supreme Court decision from a year ago which turned the clock back decades for children with disabilities. In the absence of a state law to the contrary, Schaffer forces parents to bear the burden of proof in special education hearings over their child’s IEP. Parents therefore are charged with presenting their case, making legal arguments, examining and cross examining witnesses, including hostile witnesses, and adhering to the procedural requirements of a hearing.
1 For those parents unable to afford legal representation, this burden is absurd and impossible.
2. Unless the Supreme Court decision is remedied by the State Legislature, the federal right to a free and appropriate public education will belong only to those who can afford the legal help to exercise it.
3. For everyone else - including many middle income, most low income and all poor families and their children - the federal right to a Free and Appropriate Public Education is becoming a "right" on paper only, with no meaningful due process to enforce it.
4. Life for parents seeking appropriate educational services for their children with disabilities was, prior to the Schaffer decision, often a nightmare. Schaffer has made it worse. Asking to remedy Schaffer is a very reasonable request.
5. The Legislature must restore the sound pre-Schaffer status quo. It existed for three decades in New York State - 1975 (inception of special education) to late 2005 (Schaffer decision). The pre-Schaffer status quo recognized that, in a dispute, school districts bring to bear resources which few parents, especially those with limited means, can match. By giving districts the burden of proof, it sought to level the playing field between parents and school districts. But by reversing the burden of proof and putting it on parents, Schaffer gave districts a lopsided advantage. Now parents of limited means DO NOT STAND A CHANCE if they must defend their child’s right to a Free and Appropriate Public Education.
6. The impartial hearing officers and their State Association, the New York State Administrative Law Judges Association, have said that Schaffer has resulted in a procedural mess, making the hearing process excessively legalistic and adversarial, driving parents and schools further apart rather than bringing them together. The hearing officers and their Association support this legislation. That is critical because as judges, not advocates or school districts, they are neutrals whose only objective is to reach a fair and impartial decision. They believe that approval of A5396-A is critical if hearings are to focus on the needs of the child, not the legal maneuvering of the parties
Would it be worthwhile someone from another country replying?Use my town and zip -- Shirley, New York 11967 Thanks.Bump!Bump!...Count me in....I'm from MA but I want to see this get passed. I'll b e calling Monday am.Thanks...on Monday, you'll get a real voice. This is supposed to be signed Wed. (or not) so call, call, call on Mon. and Tues.Bumping - Please call before Wednesday.I did email !! and wrote my own impassioned pleaI faxed.
bumpDone - I called!
Done.
Karrie
Thanks so much everyone. Tomorrow's the big day, so please, all, call, write, email! I will let you know once I hear if the Gov's signed it. This impacts us all.
Please, please send in your comments. If this bill does not pass, we parents stand to lose the right to ENFORCE our rights unless we have pockets deep enough to afford the hundreds of dollars an hour an attorney who is able to stand up to the bigtime District attorneys costs. And most small-time attorneys will no longer take our cases on since their chances of winning (and getting big compensations awarded to them) will be slim to none. This is a NY thing, but it will have a ripple effect across the country. Use my ZIP (Shirley, NY 11967) or even your own out-of-state zip. They'll tell you this is for only NYers, but believe me they will take not of out-of-staters calling. PLEASE DO THIS NOW! Thanks.
Just call 518-474-8390 or 518-474-1041; say "I want the Governor to sign A5396-A" and give the operator your zip code.
What happens in New York can happen in other states. New York is known for it's good services. If the Governor doesn't sign this, what will that mean for other states? All should be concerned.I will do on Mondy as well.
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