March 2nd, 2016 – Special education law office opens in Georgetown
Attorneys focus on advocacy at no cost to parents
by Molly MacMillian, The Cape Gazette
McAndrews Law Offices, the nation’s largest special education legal practice, has opened a new office in Georgetown. The firm provides free legal counsel for students who say they have not received a fair and appropriate public education.
Attorneys at the practice recently hosted a roundtable discussion with nearly a dozen education advocates in southern Delaware. Associate Caitlin McAndrews, Esq., a former teacher herself, opened the panel and offered limited legal advice.
The legal team at McAndrews Law Offices, Caitlin McAndrews, Esq., left, and Lauren O’Connel Mahler, Esq., attend the U.S. District Court Admissions Ceremony.
“It’s OK to disagree; you just have to do it in the right way,” McAndrews said. “Be firm and professional; in schools it’s not just what’s best for the child, it’s what’s appropriate.”
The advocates who attended ranged from new Delaware residents who were not able to transfer teaching and special education credentials to representatives from Autism Delaware, social workers, teachers and parents.
They addressed annual meetings held to establish an individual education plan for each special needs student, parents’ rights and a vocabulary of educational acronyms that leaves many parents and others unsure what they are agreeing to.
Click here to read the full article by Molly MacMillian on The Cape Gazette
