Back to school [with a lawyer]
Sunday, August 26, 2007
- Organization: Baltimore Daily Record
James G. Pyne's client is only in seventh grade, but he's already having behavioral problems and is being transferred to an alternative school for the fall semester.
He has an IEP, or individualized education plan, which acts as a contract between the family and school for special education services. His parents don't think it's up to date, though, and that's where Pyne comes in.
Pyne was assigned to the family through the recently created Children's Education Project, a pro bono effort started by several legal organizations in Baltimore County. He has requested a meeting with school officials to discuss the parents' concerns.
"The school system is much more responsive due to the fact that a lawyer is present…," Pyne said of previous experiences representing students. "And the services are more forthcoming."
That is the thinking behind the Children's Education Project, which officially gets under way with the school year that starts today.
The project pairs Baltimore County special education students with volunteer lawyers trained to handle their entitlement and discipline cases.
"If you look at the school system statistics statewide, there are thousands of children receiving special education services and thousands of children going through disciplinary hearings," said John J. Condliffe, co-chair of the project and chair of the Baltimore County Local Pro Bono Committee.
"It's disproportionate based on poverty and race, and maybe some tiny percentage is represented by an attorney. If they're disciplined, they have a right to appeal and having an attorney makes a difference. And if they need special ed services, it absolutely makes a difference," he added.
Representatives of the Baltimore County Public Schools did not respond to requests for comment for this story.
The Baltimore County Local Pro Bono Committee, a committee set up by Court of Appeals' rules, is collaborating on the project with the Baltimore County Bar Association, Maryland Disability Law Center, the Maryland Volunteer Lawyer Service, the Legal Aid Bureau Inc., the Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland and the state Department of Juvenile Services.
Pyne was part of the first class trained through the program in June and was one of the first lawyers to be linked with a client through the project just two weeks ago.
Education rights
The problem, as child advocates see it, is that many students in the public school systems start out with minor problems that keep them out of school. Patterns develop, and some of the students eventually end up in the juvenile justice system or the adult criminal system.
"When kids are out of school, it's really a predictor of problems and failures," said Judge Kathleen Gallogly Cox, who is in charge of the juvenile docket at the Baltimore County Circuit Court. "So, I think for the juvenile judges and masters, our view is that the more you can do to make sure kids stay in school and make their time in school productive, it's one of the areas that make inroads so kids stay out of our system."
There is also a link between disciplinary actions and students with learning disabilities. According to the most recent Maryland State Department of Education statistics, in the 2005-2006 school year 11,789 students were suspended from Baltimore County public schools. Of those, more than 2,000 had learning disabilities.
Only 10.8 percent of non-special education students were suspended, but 15.2 percent of special education students were.
Lauren Kallins, pro bono coordinator with the Maryland Disability Law Center, explained that disciplinary matters and learning disabilities frequently come wrapped up in the same package.
"Often it's not just getting a child back into school," she said. "If changes aren't made to their educational program, it's very likely the child will end up suspended or expelled again."
Lawyers can make a big difference in ensuring the children receive all educational options to which they are entitled, she said.
Condliffe and Daniel V. Schmitt, who chairs the bar association's pro bono committee, started the Children's Education Project earlier this year with the intention of making lawyers available to Baltimore County families who need representation during meetings with educators on short notice.
The introductory session in June trained 30 lawyers in the disciplinary appeals process and in special education entitlements.
The way the program works is that the Department of Juvenile Services will include information about the project in its intake process and provide contact information for either the Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service or the Maryland Disability Law Center. The court may also make referrals.
Each of those organizations will screen the cases and determine a student's eligibility for free legal services. General disciplinary cases will then be assigned to lawyers associated with the Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service. Special education cases, which often also involve disciplinary matters, will be directed to the Maryland Disability Law Center. The center, in turn, will go through the bar association in assigning cases to recently trained lawyers.
In exchange for the training, lawyers agreed to accept two pro bono cases through the program over the next two years.
Building on disappointment
The project's organizers are hopeful about the prospects of reaching children and making a difference in their lives, especially given changes they made from a previous effort that failed to reach the same clients.
James F. Rosner, a partner at Whiteford Taylor & Preston LLP and a Pro Bono Resource Center board member, had helped to organize a program along with Kallins in 2004. While lawyers were trained and ready to go, they weren't able to secure help from the schools in accessing students, he explained.
"We wanted to make pro bono attorneys available to poor families to provide free representation to students in administrative proceedings, but [the schools] weren't interested in seeing these students represented by counsel," Rosner said. "So we decided to introduce some legislation."
Bills passed by committees in both the state Senate and the House of Delegates in the 2005 session would have required a listing of social services and free legal services be included with a letter informing parents that their child was suspended or expelled from school. Before it passed the full legislature, however, educator lobbying groups succeeded in rewording the bill to make providing the information optional.
"We were successful, but in a real way we weren't," Rosner said. "The teeth were taken out of the legislation and the consequence was that even though we tried outreach, we never got referrals."
Rosner kept the issue alive, however, in conversations with Condliffe, a fellow Pro Bono Resource Center board member.
Condliffe, a solo practitioner in Towson and chair of the county's local pro bono committee, took an interest and began conversations with Schmitt, his counterpart in the bar association.
Along with Kallins, they began to look at ways to overcome the hurdle that blocked the previous effort: identifying a pool of clients.
They approached Judge Cox, who helped them identify key players to be involved in such a project. While the organizers initially thought a good place to identify students in need of help would be in the juvenile courts, discussions revealed a better point was during the Department of Juvenile Services intake process.
Intake workers ask questions about school discipline and special education, which puts them in the best position to refer students to legal services early on, and keep them in school.
"What we're doing is giving them a number that they can call, so that the children can get a qualified attorney in time to be of service," Schmitt said. "Because, what happens is many of the discipline and suspension cases are heard within days of an event and so usually people don't have time to go out and find an attorney."
"The process is disjointed," Schmitt added. "So, we've tried to take the supply from the courts and the DJS and then coordinate that into a process or system whereby attorneys are trained and then we just have them on a list."
The lawyers
Of the 30 lawyers who participated in a pro bono training session in June, some are family law practitioners and others are simply motivated by the desire to help children.
Matthew S. Sturtz, a principal at Miles & Stockbridge, is a commercial business litigator but has volunteered his services in student disciplinary and special education matters in Baltimore City for many years.
"What frequently happens is parents are confused or they feel like sometimes their concerns are not addressed or they are not able to effectively communicate their concerns, and it is very meaningful for parents to have a lawyer in the room with them participating in the process and helping the process along," he said.
He was the attorney for one student for five years, from the eighth grade until she finished high school, and then became the attorney for her cousin, who had similar disabilities. He helped the second student sue Baltimore public schools for battery.
"School systems do the best they can, but you are going to run into cases where you need legal assistance and this program is set up to find those students," Sturtz said.
Pyne is a solo practitioner who generally does criminal defense work. He has volunteered for pro bono special education cases in the past through the Maryland Disability Law Center.
Expansion
The Baltimore County project has already referred four cases to pro bono lawyers since they were trained. Condliffe expects the rate to pick up once the school year starts Aug. 27.
If the project is a success, he guessed it could become a model for the rest of the state. The program is one of only two in Maryland - the other, in Prince George's County, makes referrals through the public defender's office.
"We need to start some more programs," he said. "We're thinking of the Eastern Shore next."
He has an IEP, or individualized education plan, which acts as a contract between the family and school for special education services. His parents don't think it's up to date, though, and that's where Pyne comes in.
Pyne was assigned to the family through the recently created Children's Education Project, a pro bono effort started by several legal organizations in Baltimore County. He has requested a meeting with school officials to discuss the parents' concerns.
"The school system is much more responsive due to the fact that a lawyer is present…," Pyne said of previous experiences representing students. "And the services are more forthcoming."
That is the thinking behind the Children's Education Project, which officially gets under way with the school year that starts today.
The project pairs Baltimore County special education students with volunteer lawyers trained to handle their entitlement and discipline cases.
"If you look at the school system statistics statewide, there are thousands of children receiving special education services and thousands of children going through disciplinary hearings," said John J. Condliffe, co-chair of the project and chair of the Baltimore County Local Pro Bono Committee.
"It's disproportionate based on poverty and race, and maybe some tiny percentage is represented by an attorney. If they're disciplined, they have a right to appeal and having an attorney makes a difference. And if they need special ed services, it absolutely makes a difference," he added.
Representatives of the Baltimore County Public Schools did not respond to requests for comment for this story.
The Baltimore County Local Pro Bono Committee, a committee set up by Court of Appeals' rules, is collaborating on the project with the Baltimore County Bar Association, Maryland Disability Law Center, the Maryland Volunteer Lawyer Service, the Legal Aid Bureau Inc., the Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland and the state Department of Juvenile Services.
Pyne was part of the first class trained through the program in June and was one of the first lawyers to be linked with a client through the project just two weeks ago.
Education rights
The problem, as child advocates see it, is that many students in the public school systems start out with minor problems that keep them out of school. Patterns develop, and some of the students eventually end up in the juvenile justice system or the adult criminal system.
"When kids are out of school, it's really a predictor of problems and failures," said Judge Kathleen Gallogly Cox, who is in charge of the juvenile docket at the Baltimore County Circuit Court. "So, I think for the juvenile judges and masters, our view is that the more you can do to make sure kids stay in school and make their time in school productive, it's one of the areas that make inroads so kids stay out of our system."
There is also a link between disciplinary actions and students with learning disabilities. According to the most recent Maryland State Department of Education statistics, in the 2005-2006 school year 11,789 students were suspended from Baltimore County public schools. Of those, more than 2,000 had learning disabilities.
Only 10.8 percent of non-special education students were suspended, but 15.2 percent of special education students were.
Lauren Kallins, pro bono coordinator with the Maryland Disability Law Center, explained that disciplinary matters and learning disabilities frequently come wrapped up in the same package.
"Often it's not just getting a child back into school," she said. "If changes aren't made to their educational program, it's very likely the child will end up suspended or expelled again."
Lawyers can make a big difference in ensuring the children receive all educational options to which they are entitled, she said.
Condliffe and Daniel V. Schmitt, who chairs the bar association's pro bono committee, started the Children's Education Project earlier this year with the intention of making lawyers available to Baltimore County families who need representation during meetings with educators on short notice.
The introductory session in June trained 30 lawyers in the disciplinary appeals process and in special education entitlements.
The way the program works is that the Department of Juvenile Services will include information about the project in its intake process and provide contact information for either the Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service or the Maryland Disability Law Center. The court may also make referrals.
Each of those organizations will screen the cases and determine a student's eligibility for free legal services. General disciplinary cases will then be assigned to lawyers associated with the Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service. Special education cases, which often also involve disciplinary matters, will be directed to the Maryland Disability Law Center. The center, in turn, will go through the bar association in assigning cases to recently trained lawyers.
In exchange for the training, lawyers agreed to accept two pro bono cases through the program over the next two years.
Building on disappointment
The project's organizers are hopeful about the prospects of reaching children and making a difference in their lives, especially given changes they made from a previous effort that failed to reach the same clients.
James F. Rosner, a partner at Whiteford Taylor & Preston LLP and a Pro Bono Resource Center board member, had helped to organize a program along with Kallins in 2004. While lawyers were trained and ready to go, they weren't able to secure help from the schools in accessing students, he explained.
"We wanted to make pro bono attorneys available to poor families to provide free representation to students in administrative proceedings, but [the schools] weren't interested in seeing these students represented by counsel," Rosner said. "So we decided to introduce some legislation."
Bills passed by committees in both the state Senate and the House of Delegates in the 2005 session would have required a listing of social services and free legal services be included with a letter informing parents that their child was suspended or expelled from school. Before it passed the full legislature, however, educator lobbying groups succeeded in rewording the bill to make providing the information optional.
"We were successful, but in a real way we weren't," Rosner said. "The teeth were taken out of the legislation and the consequence was that even though we tried outreach, we never got referrals."
Rosner kept the issue alive, however, in conversations with Condliffe, a fellow Pro Bono Resource Center board member.
Condliffe, a solo practitioner in Towson and chair of the county's local pro bono committee, took an interest and began conversations with Schmitt, his counterpart in the bar association.
Along with Kallins, they began to look at ways to overcome the hurdle that blocked the previous effort: identifying a pool of clients.
They approached Judge Cox, who helped them identify key players to be involved in such a project. While the organizers initially thought a good place to identify students in need of help would be in the juvenile courts, discussions revealed a better point was during the Department of Juvenile Services intake process.
Intake workers ask questions about school discipline and special education, which puts them in the best position to refer students to legal services early on, and keep them in school.
"What we're doing is giving them a number that they can call, so that the children can get a qualified attorney in time to be of service," Schmitt said. "Because, what happens is many of the discipline and suspension cases are heard within days of an event and so usually people don't have time to go out and find an attorney."
"The process is disjointed," Schmitt added. "So, we've tried to take the supply from the courts and the DJS and then coordinate that into a process or system whereby attorneys are trained and then we just have them on a list."
The lawyers
Of the 30 lawyers who participated in a pro bono training session in June, some are family law practitioners and others are simply motivated by the desire to help children.
Matthew S. Sturtz, a principal at Miles & Stockbridge, is a commercial business litigator but has volunteered his services in student disciplinary and special education matters in Baltimore City for many years.
"What frequently happens is parents are confused or they feel like sometimes their concerns are not addressed or they are not able to effectively communicate their concerns, and it is very meaningful for parents to have a lawyer in the room with them participating in the process and helping the process along," he said.
He was the attorney for one student for five years, from the eighth grade until she finished high school, and then became the attorney for her cousin, who had similar disabilities. He helped the second student sue Baltimore public schools for battery.
"School systems do the best they can, but you are going to run into cases where you need legal assistance and this program is set up to find those students," Sturtz said.
Pyne is a solo practitioner who generally does criminal defense work. He has volunteered for pro bono special education cases in the past through the Maryland Disability Law Center.
Expansion
The Baltimore County project has already referred four cases to pro bono lawyers since they were trained. Condliffe expects the rate to pick up once the school year starts Aug. 27.
If the project is a success, he guessed it could become a model for the rest of the state. The program is one of only two in Maryland - the other, in Prince George's County, makes referrals through the public defender's office.
"We need to start some more programs," he said. "We're thinking of the Eastern Shore next."
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