The Steedman Law Group

11/26/2025

At the center of the case is a question with national impact: What happens to students with disabilities when the very offices that support them and protect their education rights are gone?

11/26/2025

Why is the IDEA important? For millions of parents, like Juliet Barraza, mother of Ben, it has been essential to a full life: "Without the IDEA, Ben's life and our life would have been dramatically different. IDEA was a light that shined on his educational needs and transformed his life and ours."

Learn more from the Center for American Progress on IDEA at 50 Week of Action at: https://www.americanprogress.org/article/idea-at-50-resources-to-support-students-with-disabilities-during-the-week-of-action/

11/21/2025

Tell the Senate to Protect Students with Disabilities. Pass the Senate Fiscal Year 2026 Education Funding Bill Which Supports All of IDEA and Prohibits Moving IDEA to HHS

11/18/2025

https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2025/11/18/concerns-raised-as-teachers-increasingly-use-ai-to-write-ieps/31742/

The number of teachers using AI to develop individualized education programs for students with disabilities is surging, but so too are questions about what role the technology should play.

10/31/2025

📢 Breaking News: Advocating 4 Kids Inc. Files Systemic Complaint Against Portsmouth Public Schools

Advocating 4 Kids Inc. has filed a systemic state complaint with the Virginia Department of Education, citing serious violations of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) by PORTSMOUTH Public Schools.

These violations impact how the district identifies and serves students with disabilities, especially our most marginalized Black and neurodivergent learners.

If your child currently receives (or has been denied) special education services in Portsmouth and you’d like to be included in the complaint, please contact us at 📧 adv4kids@gmail.com

Together, we can hold systems accountable and demand the equity our children deserve. ✊🏾💛

08/07/2025

https://wjla.com/newsletter-daily/special-needs-school-maryland-state-law-howard-county

A Howard County special needs school is not complying with state law according to an investigation conducted by the Maryland Inspector General for Education.Som

11/14/2023

Proud to be part of this organization!

11/03/2023

Take action to end disability discrimination in health care! []

10/31/2023

10/12/2023

https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2023/09/26/major-flaws-identified-with-idea-complaint-system/30562/

At The Steedman Law Group, we're dedicated to empowering parents to advocate effectively for their children through the IEP process and in pursuing their due process rights. We're here to ensure that every child, regardless of ability, has access to a quality education.

One of the main tools IDEA offers families unsatisfied with special education services is the ability to file a complaint with their state, but new evidence suggests the process is riddled with problems.

04/20/2023

The Steedman Law Group celebrates the efforts of the special education advocacy community and the Maryland General Assembly in sponsoring and passing House Bill 1237. As of July 1, 2023, parents of students with disabilities may be entitled to reimbursement for the costs of expert witnesses, in addition to reimbursement of reasonable attorney fees, if they prevail in legal proceedings involving the special education needs of their children.

This law will help to address the inequitable impact of the 2006 decision in Arlington v. Murphy, when a majority in the Supreme Court interpreted the IDEA’s provisions for reimbursing parents’ reasonable attorney fees and related costs to exclude fees paid to experts who testify on the parents’ behalf. Now, parents in Maryland who find it necessary to challenge a school system’s decisions regarding the identification, evaluation, placement, and provision of a Free Appropriate Public Education to their children with special needs are a step closer to achieving the “level playing field” that Congress intended.

Analysis of HB1237: