The Hearing....

I had my due process hearing yesterday by phone, it was sort of anti-climatic. The judge just went through the paperwork and made sure everyone had a copy of everything and had read everything, he also went over the main points that we wanted to address to make sure he had them right, and asked if we had additional comments.

The state rep repeatedly stated that they felt that they could not "guarantee" that my son's services would stay in place after June 2010, and that they didn't want to write a letter, one because they were sure lots of other parents would like to have letters, and they didn't feel they could provide me with the assurances that I needed.

Funny, I don't recall asking for a guarantee of any kind, I never used that word, and well, lets face it, all I am really asking for is for the state to follow federal laws and guidelines, it is odd that they cannot guarantee they are going to follow laws and rules. Just because they cannot predict the Legislature, who by the way would get sued again if they passed anything that prevented laws and rules from being followed.

I wish I could have pointed that out at the time, it of course didn't occur to me until after the fact.

I did tell the judge that I felt I was entitled to written communication no matter what the content, and that is what I really have been asking for.

I also reiterated that I did not expect the judge to direct the Legislature, but I did feel that the Judge should be able to read the rules, laws and regulations, evaluate what the state has done thus far, and determine if the state is in compliance with those rules and regulations, and if they are not, order them to become compliant and let them figure out how to do it.

The state mentioned that they feel no civil rights were violated because services didn't stop, I wish I had thought faster on my feet and commented to them that is for the judge to decide, not them.

It also occured to me that I should have brought up the fact my son is on AHCCCS because of SSI and recieves federal dollars regarless of what the legislature does.

The judge stated that he will take everything into consideration, and write a ruling that will be mailed out, and at that time we have the right to appeal.

So to sum it up, try to make sure you have everything you want to say submitted in writing ahead of time, if you forget anything they will at least have the documentation, or write you what you want to say and say it.

Raising Special Kids Event-March 27th

There is going to be a HUGE event for Raising Special Kids, we went last year and had a lot of fun! Details are below:

Special Day for Special Kids
Sponsored by
Scottsdale Sunrise Rotary Club
Phoenix El Puente Rotary
Scottsdale Unified School District Learning Classes
Raising Special Kids

Saturday, March 27, 2010
10am – 2 pm
McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park, Scottsdale

Register on the day of the event
Questions? Contact Dan McAuliffe 480-315-5216
or Al Chaves (En Espanol) 480-221-7259

Directions:
McCormick - Stillman Railroad Park is located at
the southeast corner of Scottsdale Road and Indian
Bend Road, 1.7 miles west of the 101 Loop, exit
Indian Bend. Our address is 7301 E. Indian Bend
Road, Scottsdale, Arizona 85250

Direciones:
McCormick - Stillman Railroad Park esta localizado
en la esquina sur este de Scottsdale Road y Indian
Bend Road, 1.7 milas al oeste de la autopista 101
Loop, salida Indian Bend Rd. La Direcion es 7301 E.
Indian Bend Road, Scottsdale, Arizona 85250