One of our biggest successes this quarter came from working with an elementary school student who was facing expulsion. The student had a diagnosed disability, yet his school was not providing him with any special education services. After a disciplinary incident related to his disability occurred, the school sought to expel him. We wrote a demand letter outlining our legal position and explaining to his school district the many ways that they violated federal law. Shortly thereafter, we were able to negotiate a favorable arrangement for our student: he returned to school the next week, had a Section 504 meeting where he was classified as a student with a disability, and had an assessment plan put in place to determine all his areas of disability and educational need.

Spring 2023 Clinical Law Student Team: Matthew Coffin and Natalie Leifer