Taking Off the Gloves
The nonlawyer movement in special education is not dead. It is dormant, seeds sown in land that is now dry, in scorched earth that will not sustain life. But let the rains come and it will bloom again.
There is nothing so sure
As a dream that is pure,
As work done not for pay
So as to make a better day.
Please take our law away
From those who will not say
That every child matters
And IDEA clatters
Without the people to enforce
With nonlawers a key resource.
We’ll get past this dreadful time
And look back at the sand drawn line
When courts and lawyers went berserk
To stop nonlawyers and their good work.
After 30 years of work in litigation, 50,000 children in my teaching career, and thousands of due process cases, I saw a special education system that no longer functioned at any level. As a result I chose to return full time to teaching and research, creating my own early intervention center. I was honored to be asked by Sandy Winkleman to testify as an expert in the remand of her U.S. Supreme Court case to an Ohio administrative hearing. I continue to do parent training for the newest generation of parents having children with disabilities. When these parents talk about our classes, they are sometimes asked, "Is she still alive?" They laugh and say, "Join the class and find out!" I am still here and truly blessed by having so many children and families include me in their lives. Thank you.