Agreeing to Disagree (with Your School District) - Free Presentation February 24th by Dan Heffernan, Esq.

From the Bedford SEPAC

February 17, 2015

How to effectively resolve special education disputes with your school district.

It has been observed that the relationship between families of students with special needs and school districts is akin to being married in a church that does not recognize divorce. This is true whether or not you are seeking better programming within the district or the funding of an outside placement.

This workshop will address how to have a “successful” relationship with a school district, detailing not only the key components of special education law, but how to build a strong case for appropriate educational services, when it’s best to be aggressive or conciliatory, and pursuing the best avenues for resolving disputes.

When:   7:00pm Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Where:  Lane School Multipurpose Room
                  66 Sweetwater Avenue
                  Bedford, MA 01730
                  781-275-7606

Presenter

Daniel T.S. Heffernan is a partner with Kotin, Crabtree & Strong, LLP, and concentrates his practice on representing families of children with special needs in special education and civil rights matters. From 1995 to the present he has served on the board of directors of the Federation for Children with Special Needs, and was board president from 1995 to 2007. In 2014, he received the Federation's President’s Award. In 2002, he and his wife, Julie, received the Dr. Allen C. Crocker Award for Excellence from the MA Down Syndrome Congress.

Heffernan writes and lectures frequently on special education law and advocacy. He has been named a Super Lawyer in special education law every year since 2005, and was named as a Top-Rated Lawyer in Education by The Boston Globe in 2012. From 1995 to 2000, he served as the president of the board of directors of Community Legal Services and Counseling Center. He also serves on the MDSC Education Task Force.

He has two daughters, Maggie and Evie, and a twenty-four year old son, Brian, who has Down syndrome.

Reach him at dheffernan@kcslegal.com or 617-227-7031.