Spring 2024:
The MLO Minute: “Our Western Pennsylvania Special Education Practice Honors The Preservation of History”
By Dennis McAndrews, Esq., Founder and Managing Partner Emeritus, and Heather Hulse, J.D., M.S., M.A., Senior Partner Scranton Office and Lead Attorney for Western Pennsylvania —
At our firm, we regularly take time to reflect upon the often-tragic history of mistreatment of persons with disabilities, from cradle to grave. As part of this ongoing program, this month our Western Pennsylvania special education practice recognizes The Western Pennsylvania Disability History and Action Consortium, which preserves and shares the historic struggle of Western Pennsylvanians with disabilities to attain human and civil rights. This important consortium educates the public about disability history to improve community access, participation and equal opportunity, and to ensure disability rights through existing and new policies and laws, and joins stakeholders across Pennsylvania to advocate on policies that ensure the civil rights of persons with disabilities. Our firm invites you to visit their excellent website at Home | Western Pennsylvania Disability History and Action Consortium (wpdhac.org).
Last year, our entire firm together watched the moving documentary entitled “I Go Home” which chronicled the terrible conditions in which residents of the Pennhurst State School and Hospital existed prior to an exposé by local news station. This remarkable documentary can be viewed at the following link: https://www.pbs.org/video/witf-i-go-home/ . At our firm, we recognize that this terrible history cannot be allowed to repeat itself, and our work every day across Pennsylvania and Delaware is designed to ensure that children with disabilities receive equal access to an appropriate, meaningful educational program to lift them toward independence and self-sufficiency. In Western Pennsylvania, we can be reached at (412) 313-5510, or by clicking here to contact us, and we look forward to providing your family with our free consultation. The vast majority of our cases are handled without charge to families. We look forward to working with your family.
