Rios Eubanks

Grateful for the opportunity to support the work of Disability Rights Legal Center towards the mission of a more inclusive world!

We are deeply grateful to this year's co-counsel and pro bono partners for their indispensable efforts to foster a more inclusive society.

Pepperdine Alumni Elizabeth Eubanks ('05, JD '08) was appointed to the American Bar Association Commission on Disability Rights. The commission promotes justice and the rule of law for people with mental, physical, and sensory disabilities, and their full and equal participation in the legal profession.
https://law.pepperdine.edu/surf-report/posts/elizabeth-eubanks-05-jd-08-appointed-to-aba-commission-on-disability-rights.htm

Hard at work for our community!

Parent: LAUSD not providing fair, equal education to disabled son Tiffany Gardner says the school wanted to isolate her son

NEW GUIDANCE ISSUED TODAY FROM THE U.S. DEPT OF EDUCATION. Some quotes of interest:

- The Department recognizes that some parents may have
specific health and safety concerns about sending their children back to in-person instruction because of the perceived health risk to the student’s immediate family and to other household
members — even as parents are also concerned about their child missing the instructional and social and emotional opportunities that come with in-person learning. Therefore, reopening
schools safely is of utmost importance. SEAs and LEAs should put in place layered prevention strategies including promoting vaccination and universal and correct mask-wearing in schools.

- OSERS wants to reiterate and emphasize that infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families and children with disabilities retain their rights to receive appropriate services under IDEA. This
includes ensuring that IEPs are in effect for children with disabilities at the start of the upcoming school year, and all other rights of children with disabilities and their parents under IDEA Part B
are protected.

- OSERS is unable to grant waivers under IDEA Parts B and C to SEAs or LAs as a result of the pandemic or to otherwise create safe harbors from potential or existing litigation by parents or others.

- Looking forward, we emphasize the importance of SEAs and LAs focusing their general supervisory responsibilities on providing technical assistance and support to LEAs and EIS
providers to—(1) mitigate and address the impact of service disruptions on the progress of infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families and children with disabilities, with a
particular emphasis on children who have been most impacted by the pandemic; and (2) ensure full implementation of IDEA during the 2021–2022 school year.

sites.ed.gov

Join us on September 30 for a virtual conference on California Special Education Law.

Devon will be presenting on Litigation and Due Process Post Covid-19. Elizabeth will be co-chairing the conference and presenting on Systemic Investigations and Litigation.

There will also be panels looking at FAPE during COVID from a practitioner's perspective and at the IDEA's substantive versus procedural violations.

Swipe right for more details on why you should attend!

Enjoyed watching this motion design piece created by a dyslexic student to show an exaggerated representation of what it is like to be .

EVEN THOUGH the CDE issued guidelines in 2017 acknowledging that the ability to read is a fundamental skill and the foundation on which we build lifelong learning and EVEN THOUGH decades of research exists that provides a wealth of information on how to identify and educate dyslexic students, we still speak with an overwhelming number of families with children with who have not been properly educated. This can result in academic deficits as well as social/emotional difficulties.

If you have a student with a reading disability and aren't sure where to start, ask your school district if they are using evidence-based programs that incorporate "Structured Literacy" instruction.

WHAT IS IT LIKE TO BE DYSLEXIC? - UNIVERSITY PROJECT - DYSLEXIA SIMULATION Song - Ludwig van Beethoven - Moonlight Sonata, 3rd MovementThis is a motion design piece I created for university minor project in Graphic Design: Visual Co...

Our first day of school pictures!

Welcome to Kiran Idrees, Ladda Arceneaux, and Sara Johnson who are our Fall Semester law clerks in the Disability Rights Clinic at .

Good luck to all students (and parents) as we return to school. 2021-2022 school year, here we come!!

In-person instruction resumes and option out for independent study due to on-going concerns may be a complicated decision for a student with an IEP. We are happy to help with these decisions - fill out our intake form, its quick and easy!
https://www.rioseubanks.com/get-in-touch

We are honored to announce that Elizabeth Eubanks was appointed to the American Bar Association Commission on Disability Rights to promote the Commissions, "...commitment to justice and the rule of law for people with mental, physical and sensory disabilities and to promote their full and equal participation in the legal profession."

Elizabeth's experience, commitment, and insight regarding disability rights makes her the perfect candidate for this position. Join us in congratulating Elizabeth! For more information on this ABA Commission on Disability Rights click here:
https://www.americanbar.org/groups/diversity/disabilityrights/

The U.S. Department of Education has issued a Resource to Support Students and Educators on "Long Covid." Students with post-COVID conditions (health problems existing more than 4 weeks after first being infected with COVID-19) have rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and can be eligible for special education and related services under the IDEA. If a student previously eligible under the IDEA now has post-COVID conditions, the IEP Team should meet to review if new or different services are needed. The right to be free from disability discrimination extends into colleges and universities as well for students who may require academic adjustments and/or reasonable modifications.

Check out this quote from the Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights:

Students with disabilities—including those whose long COVID is a disability—have a right to be free from discrimination in school. Federal disability laws, such as Section 504, guarantee
equal opportunity to learn for students with disabilities. OCR is committed to enforcing Section 504 and ensuring that all students with disabilities have the supports and services needed to fulfill the law’s commitment.
—Suzanne B. Goldberg, Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights

www2.ed.gov

Fantastic interview with Professor Art Bl**er, our colleague and Disability Rights Advocate at Chapman University!
"And an important factor in the coming years I think will be that people claim disability, and will discover that it’s actually a part of the way a lot of us live, and not something that’s going to go away, but going to be more likely. And we can make the world a lot better by acknowledging the value of lives with disability."

ABILITY Magazine - Art Bl**er, PhD JD Listen Art Bl**er is Professor of Peace Studies and Political Science and has been on the Chapman University faculty since 1981. He received his Ph.D. from Ohio State University and his J.D. from Southwestern University School of Law. His research and teaching interests include disability studies, h...

Our team turns 3 today! Bringing together over 25 years of collective experience representing people seeking access to education, health care and their community because we believe that a better society will be led by those who experience the world differently!

We are almost one year in to COVID-19 school closures and the educational impact on our disabled students has been historic. So what do we do now? What are the lessons learned? How do we prepare to return students to school? How do we address the educational deficits? How do we get accurate and comprehensive data?

Join Rios Eubanks attorney, Elizabeth Eubanks, in a panel discussion hosted by the Autism Society of America on February 24.

This panel will include an inclusive discussion relevant to students with all disabilities, but space is limited, so be sure to mark your and RSVP today!

Pro-tip: if you have done all you can advocating including having the District assess your child, its probably time to consider a 2nd opinion via the IEE process. We are here to help with the IEE process!

Rios Eubanks had the honor training medical providers on how they can help patients with special education needs during the Pandemic. Thank you to the Silicon Valley Medical-Legal Partnership for your dedication to having knowledgeable providers!

California Dyslexia guidelines can be found here:https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/se/ac/documents/cadyslexiaguidelines.pdf

Looking for supplemental educational resources for struggling readers? The Center for Neurodiversity, Learning and Wellness is offering a literacy tutoring program that starts today! take a look at this flyer for more info!

ADA? Regional Center? Special Education and COVID-19 updates? Assessments? Type your answer in the comments!

We honor a pioneer and leader of the civil rights movement!