Advocating for Children and Their Families for Over 35 Years
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Allyson McAndrews, M.Ed., Director of Marketing, amcandrews@mcandrewslaw.com
NORTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA LAWYER ADVOCATES FOR IN-PERSON INSTRUCTION FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENTS
Scranton, Pennsylvania (August 2020): As controversy rages across Pennsylvania concerning the manner by which students will return to school, the rights of children with disabilities to have their IEPs implemented through in-person instruction has taken center stage for a Northeastern Pennsylvania lawyer. Heather Hulse, Esquire, the Managing Partner of her law firm‘s Scranton office, is reminding parents that their children have the right to have their special education programs implemented through in-person instruction if they choose to do so, and is aggressively advocating for parents where school districts attempt to fall back on remote instruction for these children despite the requirements of their special education IEPs.
Ms. Hulse stated that:
“We now know a great deal about the impact of inadequate remote instruction for children with disabilities. No other group was so negatively affected by the closure of schools this Spring amid the efforts to provide only remote instruction. We also know how the virus is transmitted and the protections for students and teachers which can permit a return to in-person instruction, especially where the school buildings themselves are either empty due to the use of remote instruction or partially empty under hybrid situations. In all circumstances, students with disabilities can now be returned to the in-person instruction that they desperately require, and which is their right under federal and state law.”
The law firm in which Ms. Hulse is a partner has deep roots in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Its founder, Dennis McAndrews, Esq. grew up in Moscow, Pennsylvania and attended North Pocono High School. His parents were both teachers in the Scranton School District and attended Penn State University. His siblings all attended local colleges and had careers as teachers in Pennsylvania.
The attached documents below provide additional information with regard to the rights of children with disabilities to in-person instruction during the current pandemic.
“Maintaining In–Person Special Education Programming When Schools Close or Retrench”
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McAndrews, Mehalick, Connolly, Hulse and Ryan P.C. has been advocating for children with disabilities and their families for nearly 40 years. Our Special Education Department is prepared to assist families in advocating for appropriate programming for students in settings and circumstances that allow them to make meaningful educational progress as envisioned by federal and state law. We provide free consultations and virtually all of our cases are handled without charge to families.
