(Webcast) Transition Planning for Students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: Repairing the Bridge to Adult Services

Tuesday, October 26, 2021 | 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM

• Description
• Faculty
• Agenda
• CLE Credit
• Sponsors

• For students with intellectual or developmental disabilities, the transition from special education services to adult services is especially difficult.  Too frequently, local school districts and state agencies fail to provide necessary planning and services to prepare special education students for the transition, or fail to identify appropriate adult placements for the students as they “age out.”  The panel will begin with an overview of the law on transition, i.e., the rights of students and the duties of school districts under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and NYS Education Law. Participants will then explore the challenges in the transition process at the school district level and ways to overcome them: how to advocate during the development of the Individualized Education Plan (IEP); how to use administrative due process procedures (impartial hearings) to obtain independent evaluation, compensatory education, or other relief.  Finally, the panel will address the role of state agencies, especially the NYS Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD), and issues of eligibility and availability of services.

  Program Fee:
  $49 for Members | $149 for Nonmembers
  Government/Nonprofit/Academic: Free for Members | $49 for Nonmembers
  Members who are Law Students, Recent Law Graduates, Newly Admitted Lawyers (admitted for the first time in any state or country 2019-2021), and In-House/Corporate Counsel attend this program for free.

• Program Co-Chairs:

  Paola Martinez-Boone
  MSW, New York Lawyers for the Public Interest

  Arthur Block
  Arthur Block Attorney at Law

  Kim Susser
  Law Office of Kim Susser

  Nanette Schorr
  Bronx Legal Services

  Faculty:
  

  Ashley Grant
  Advocates for Children of New York

  Michael Cuddy
  Cuddy Law Firm P.L.L.C.

  Juliet Eisenstein
  Advocates for Children of New York

  Alyssa Galea
  Disability Rights New York

• 12:00 – 12:05 pm

  1. Overview by Moderator

  12:05 – 12:30 pm

  2. Law on Transition: The Rights of Students and the Duties of School Districts Under the IDEA and NYS Education Law
     1. Educational and Related Services at the School District Before Aging Out, to Prepare for Future Adult Services
     2. Evaluations
     3. Transition Planning Including Identifying and Involving the Appropriate State Agencies

  12:30 – 12:55 pm

  3. Challenges in the Transition Process at the School District Level
     1. Advocacy During the Development of the IEP
     2. Use of Administrative Due Process Procedures (Impartial Hearings)
     3. Available Compensatory Education, Including Extension of Educational Funding, Independent Evaluations and Other Relief

  12:55 – 1:20 pm

  4. OPWDD – Adult and Children Services
     1. Eligibility
        1. Criteria
        2. Necessary Evaluations and Other Documentation
        3. Fair Hearings to Appeal Denial of Eligibility
     2. Adult Services
     3. OPWDD Services for School Children and Their Families
     4. Quick Overview of Administrative Appeal Procedures

  1:20 – 1:25 pm

  5. Other Agencies – Adult and Student Services
     1. OMH
     2. NYSED:  ACCESS-VR

  1:25 – 1:30 pm

  6. Q&A 

• New York: 1.5 Professional Practice
  New Jersey: 1.7 General
  California: 1.5 General
  Pennsylvania: 1.0 General

• Sponsoring Committee:
  Education & the Law, Jarienn A. James & Evan S. Rosenberg
  Disability Law, Katherine Rose Carroll

  Sponsoring Association:
  Small Law Firm Center

  Co-Sponsored By:
  Education Law Task Force – Legal Services of New York City

  Sponsorship Opportunities are Available! Please Contact:
  Angie Avila, Manager, Membership Outreach and Sponsorships | (212) 382-6608 | aavila@nycbar.org