The special education process is like building a house. There is a logical order to both. Blueprints to Special Education is a training workshop presented by special education attorneys who explain how to use the building blocks of the federal and state laws to develop appropriate services for your learner.
Each September and March, join our state's most prominent special education attorneys to learn how best to support your learner.
*Registrants will receive the Zoom link one day before the workshop
Join our state's most prominent special education attorneys to better understand your child's special education program and your rights. This training workshop will be held via Zoom webinar.
Meet our presenters:
David Weafer, Weafer Education Law
David is the lead counsel of a Western Washington special education law firm, and an attorney with over 10 years of experience fighting for the educational and civil rights of people with disabilities. In private practice he has helped clients obtain access to new services, private school placements, and compensatory education. Prior to practice in Washington, he worked for the non-profit advocacy organization Disability Rights California, practicing state level legal representation and advocacy including enforcement of educational rights violations, helping review and draft legislation, and providing training to disability advocacy groups.
David is motivated to defend the right of every family and student...
David is the lead counsel of a Western Washington special education law firm, and an attorney with over 10 years of experience fighting for the educational and civil rights of people with disabilities. In private practice he has helped clients obtain access to new services, private school placements, and compensatory education. Prior to practice in Washington, he worked for the non-profit advocacy organization Disability Rights California, practicing state level legal representation and advocacy including enforcement of educational rights violations, helping review and draft legislation, and providing training to disability advocacy groups.
David is motivated to defend the right of every family and student to access a fair and appropriate education. This work has included oversight and accountability for schools that leave students behind and for government agencies that fail to provide schools with the resources to teach students who qualify for special education. David has helped students who have been left years behind grade level obtain the support needed to access an equal education. This support includes advocacy on behalf of students to change their classroom and environment and, when needed, litigation to force compliance with the law and changes to District policies.
Time spent in the classroom without appropriate support can never be fully made up, and each student deserves to be seen as an individual and given access to the tools they need to succeed in school. Knowing what rights and options are available is crucial for every student and their family, but this must be coupled with the ability to enforce those rights in the face of ignorance, opposition or bureaucratic inertia. Sharing and exercising the tools of justice that protect students' rights, builds a fairer system for all.
Nicholle Mineiro has devoted her practice to securing the rights of students with disabilities. She once sat at the IEP table as a public school educator and a parent, and brings that experience and compassion to her work today. She zealously advocates for children and youth rights in court, and is a trusted guide for families seeking better special education services...
Nicholle Mineiro has devoted her practice to securing the rights of students with disabilities. She once sat at the IEP table as a public school educator and a parent, and brings that experience and compassion to her work today. She zealously advocates for children and youth rights in court, and is a trusted guide for families seeking better special education services. Nicholle also serves the community working towards education public policy and legislative reform in Washington state, as well as training attorneys, parents and community members to advocate for the education rights of children and youth.
Nicholle is admitted to practice in the U.S. Supreme Court, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States District court of Western Washington. She has been in practice for 16 years in both Washington state and California, representing parents, guardians and students in special education due process cases, civil rights litigation, as well as appeals. Nicholle served as co-counsel in the Edmonds School District v. A.T. case regarding the responsibility of school districts to provide appropriate education in residential treatment centers, regardless of homelessness, truancy, and juvenile justice involvement. She has represented amicus parties in appellate cases involving the constitutional right to an education and transparency into the practices of nonpublic agencies serving children with disabilities. Nicholle is a founding board member and current president of Attorneys for Education Rights, and previously served on the education committee of the Washington Autism Alliance.
Kathy has been in private practice for more than 17 years, focusing on education law and the public’s right to know about government. She has represented appellants and amicus parties in dozens of precedent-setting cases.
In the civil rights arena, she helps parents improve special education for children with disabilities...
Kathy has been in private practice for more than 17 years, focusing on education law and the public’s right to know about government. She has represented appellants and amicus parties in dozens of precedent-setting cases.
In the civil rights arena, she helps parents improve special education for children with disabilities. She also helps news organizations and citizens exercise their right to know under government sunshine laws, including handling the Seattle Times efforts to apply the Public Records Act to the controversial Northwest School of Innovative Learning (NWSOIL).
Before practicing law, Katherine worked for 15 years as a political reporter and assistant city editor at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, where she won the National Press Club Freedom of the Press Award in 1996 as well as various regional awards. She began her law career in 2005 as a law clerk to the Hon. Gerry Alexander, then chief justice of the Washington Supreme Court. Kathy’s legal work has been recognized with the highest possible Avvo rating (10) and designation as a “Rising Star” by Super Lawyers magazine in 2013 and 2015. She was honored to receive The Arc of King County’s “Living Our Legacy Award” for children’s advocacy in 2017, and the Washington Coalition for Open Government’s James Andersen Award for public service in 2014.
Kathy is known as a passionate advocate both in and out of the courtroom. She was instrumental in the passage of House Bill 1240, the 2015 state law protecting vulnerable children from excessive physical restraint and isolation in public schools. She represented a coalition of children’s advocates in the landmark education funding case, McCleary v. State of Washington, and in more recent cases advocating for full funding of services and facilities for children with disabilities. She served for 8 years as Gov. Jay Inslee’s appointee on the State Sunshine Committee, working to reduce secrecy in state and local government. She co-founded the non-profit Attorneys for Education Rights, which advocates for children with disabilities in the legal and policy arenas, and currently serves as its vice president.
Mary is a staff attorney at the Northwest Justice Project as part of the Statewide Youth Education Law Collaborative. She previously was of counsel at Johnston George, and prior to that was the Education Director at Washington Autism Alliance...
Mary is a staff attorney at the Northwest Justice Project as part of the Statewide Youth Education Law Collaborative. She previously was of counsel at Johnston George, and prior to that was the Education Director at Washington Autism Alliance. She also has volunteered with Disability Rights Washington. She is a 2017 graduate of Seattle University School of Law and holds a master’s in nursing from the University of Washington as well as an undergraduate degree in nursing from Marquette University. Prior to law school, Mary spearheaded HB 1688 in 2014 to notify parents of use of isolation and restraint and was the president of the Seattle Special Education PTSA.
Resolving Differences: Disputes and Available Remedies
presenter: Mary Griffin, Northwest Justice Project (NJP)
2:30 pm, Adjourn
Accommodations and Interpretation Services
If you need an interpreter, you must register 30 days prior to the workshop. Please notify us of any accommodation requests in advance of the workshop.
