The Law Office of Lillian E. Wong
A Massachusetts Special Education Attorney

Yesterday the Alexa Posny, the assistant secretary for the federal Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, announced that Ms. Melody Musgrove  had been named the Director of the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). 

What does OSEP do?
In a nutshell, OSEP administers the Individuals with Disabilities Education ACT (IDEA).  You can find more about OSEP here.

Who is Ms. Musgrove?
Formerly, Ms. Musgrove was the State Director of Special Education in Mississippi, a due process hearing officer, an Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Federal Programs for the Lawrence County School District, an Assistant Principal, and a special education teacher at the elementary, middle and high school levels.  Melody has been noted for her work to reduce the achievement gap for traditionally under-performing students, conducted statewide self-assessments, and designed and implemented a focused system of monitoring local districts.  You can find Ms. Musgrove's LinkedIn profile here. 

I've personally heard good things about her from several attorneys in Mississippi.  Let's hope she is able to live up to her reputation. 

The trial of John Odgren, a child with Asperger's syndrome who was found guilty of first-degree murder, has been all over the headlines.  This article contains one of the first interviews with his parents, and provides some important insights into the trial, the child, and the tragedy.  As a special education attorney, I think it is very interesting that the parents and school struggled to find the proper placement for Odgren, a child with superior cognitive scores but severe emotional disabilities.  In my experience, finding a school for a child with this profile in Massachusetts is incredibly difficult.  Read the entire article here and feel free to leave your comments.

Check out this great New York times article and video about APD and Rosie O'Donnell's personal experience with her son's disorder.  It is inspiring to hear that with proper diagnosis and intervention children with this challenge can make such amazing progress.

I recently came across this article in my copy of Parenting magazine.  While I applaud the magazine for addressing learning disabilities, I was disappointed with the advice.  In the article, a mother of a child with learning disabilities asked the magazine financial expert, "My son has been diagnosed with learning disorders. A special school could help him -- but it costs $7,000 a year. That's about what we have budgeted for savings and chipping away at our debt. Should we do it?"  While the expert did indicate that public funding for the school may be available, that was not the main focus of her answer.


My Response:

As a special education attorney, I think it is very important to emphasize that if a child needs to be educated in a special school it is the school district's legal responsibility to pay for the tuition.  Navigating special education law can be confusing, especially when advocating for private placements.  It is a good idea to contact a special education lawyer who can consult with you about the process and assess the strength of your case.

Yesterday's Boston Globe Sunday Magazine had a very interesting article about early-childhood mental health and treatment.  To read the entire article click here.

My comments:

Early intervention programs for learning disabilities have been proven effective scientifically, which saves taxpayers money. I believe the same will be proven true for emotionally disturbed children.