Fundamental Issues in Special Education for the Family Law Practitioner

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Event Description

A wide variety of often complex special education issues often confront family law practitioners. It is essential to understand the basic rights of children with disabilities to a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) through a comprehensive Individualized Education Plan (IEP) under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) or a Service Plan under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. This program will identify the most critical components of assisting families through the process of obtaining appropriate evaluations, identifying proper Specially Designed Instruction and Related Services on peer-reviewed research in an IEP, Extended School Year services, private school tuition issues, compensatory education, and when to seek a due process hearing to effectuate these rights. Ample opportunity for question-and-answer will be provided as part of the session.

TIME:
Lunch: 11:30 AM – 12:00 PM
CLE: 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM

CREDIT(S):

1.0 SUBSTANTIVE CREDIT

SPEAKER:

Dennis C. McAndrews, Esquire
McAndrews, Mehalick, Connolly, Hulse and Ryan, P.C.

Mr. McAndrews has worked for over forty (40) years in the public and private sectors in several roles in the fields of estate planning and disability law. He is the founder and Managing Partner Emeritus of McAndrews, Mehalick, Connolly, Hulse, and Ryan Law Offices, P.C., a fifteen attorney law firm with offices in Berwyn, Scranton, Wyomissing, Wilmington Delaware, and Metropolitan Washington D.C., which regularly represents individuals and their families in a variety of areas, including estate planning/administration, special education matters, special needs trusts, elder law, abuse of vulnerable persons, guardianships, higher education abuse/discipline matters, and injury cases. He frequently acts as a consultant to other public and private attorneys with regard to estate planning/administration, disability and special education issues.

Mr. McAndrews has served as Executive Director and Staff Counsel to two select committees of the Pennsylvania State Senate which evaluated Pennsylvania’s system of care for the intellectually disabled and drafted proposed legislation designed to modernize Pennsylvania’s legal basis for the provision of care to the intellectually disabled. He served for fifteen (15) years as a Special Education Hearing Officer for the Pennsylvania Department of Education, and was assigned to determine the appropriate educational classification, program, and placement of school-age children with disabilities. Mr. McAndrews was also selected to serve as one of the first appellate hearing officers in Pennsylvania under new Department of Education regulations.

During his seventeen (17) years as a prosecutor in the Philadelphia area, and thereafter in criminal defense matters, he handled many cases involving defenses of mental disability. He successfully pursued a conviction against the wealthiest murderer in American history, John E. DuPont, for the murder of Olympic gold medal wrestler, David Schultz. He is also a frequent contributor for national and local news media involving legal and political issues and has offered commentary for CBS, NBC, NPR, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, The Legal lntelligencer, and many other news outlets.  For over 30 years, Mr. McAndrews was an instructor of Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Criminal Justice and Business Law at Villanova University, Immaculata University and Drexel University. He is a frequent lecturer to national conferences, Bar Association Committees and advocacy groups concerning special education, estate planning/administration, the rights of the elderly and individuals and with disabilities and has authored numerous articles regarding these matters. He has served as a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Elder Law Council and served for a decade as Chairman of The Disability Law Committee of the Delaware County Bar Association.  Mr. McAndrews obtained his law degree from Villanova’s Charles Widger School of Law in 1978 and was awarded a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education together with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science from Villanova University in 1975.

Dennis is the author and sole actor of a play entitled “If JFK Survived Dallas: Presidential Reflections of an Elder Statesman”.  He has also written “The Open” a screenplay which chronicles Ken Venturi’s dramatic victory in the 1964 United States Open Championship where he overcame heat exhaustion to achieve a triumph after years of being a washed up tour professional.

QUESTIONS?
Email Lexi Driendl (cle@lancasterbar.org), Continuing Legal Education & Marketing Coordinator