Jill Calian MCA Spedlaw

02/21/2026

Here's the bottom line: a new GAO report found that between March and December 2025, the U.S. Education Department's Office for Civil Rights (OCR), which is charged with investigating discrimination in education, dismissed 90% of the complaints filed without investigation. The OCR is charged with investigating discrimination based on race, color, national origin, s*x, and disability, the majority of claims filed are based on disability -- they are students with disabilities (or their parents) seeking to vindicate their rights to a free appropriate public education. Historically, the OCR has provided a fairly accessible, low cost way for people to raise these concerns. However, early in its second term, the Trump administration laid off 300 OCR employees and closed 12 regional offices. As a result of this reduction in work force (RIF), and a shift in priorities away from protecting the rights of historically marginalized groups, the OCR is no longer a viable avenue for seeking justice or redress for disability discrimination. Importantly, the OCR staff who lost their jobs were placed on PAID leave while the legality of their layoffs played out in the courts. During this time, the Department of Education paid these workers $38 million dollars not to do their jobs. Following its review, the GAO requested the Department of Education to explain how this RIF and reorganization ultimately achieved any savings. The Department of Education declined to respond to this request, citing that the RIF was rescinded in January. This is a prime example of the government spending your tax dollars while evading its central mission.

The Education Department dismissed nearly every discrimination complaint — likely including many based on disability — all while spending millions to fire staff charged with investigating such cases.

02/17/2026

We need to push back against the ridiculous narrative that Trump is pro-education. Nothing could be further from the truth.

I’m imploring you. The GOP thinks schools are their issue. If Democrats let the party that’s ripping families apart with masked raids, throwing families off health care, and doing nothing to solve soaring costs claim the “education” mantle, they’ve only themselves to blame.

02/13/2026

On a disability-related Facebook post today the original poster asked "what progress-report phrase makes you cheer?" and someone commended, "Not a phrase but actually seeing data included" and I'd just like to lift that up as the best response ever. As a parent, it can be lovely to know that your child's teachers appreciate that your child is "sweet" and "kind" and "hard-working" - but parents deserve more than complimentary descriptions; they are legally entitled to detailed data that shows how their child is progressing on measurable IEP goals.

02/11/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17nXdqVJv1/?mibextid=wwXIfr

We’re excited to share the February edition of our firm newsletter! Each month, our team brings you important updates on:

🔹 Special education and disability rights news
🔹 Announcements from our attorneys and advocates
🔹 Upcoming events

Read it and sign up here: https://conta.cc/3M33MK8

02/08/2026

Chicago and Northshore friends: Recently saw this excellent play about a single mother with a medically complex child. It's at the Northlight Theater in Skokie. Terrific acting. Recommend!

After last night's opening performance, we are proud to report that MARY JANE is officially Jeff recommended! Props to the hard work of the cast, crew, and production team!

02/05/2026

We often see this in our practice. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DDqMZNk36/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Females may be just as likely to be autistic as males but boys are up to four times more likely to be diagnosed in childhood, according to research

02/05/2026

This (Feb 5th) afternoon. This program looks like a deep dive into a(nother) troubling recent change in the public education landscape.

We support public schools because they welcome and serve every student. Too many voucher-funded private schools can discriminate based on disability, religion, s*xual orientation, or ability to pay.

📆 Stand up for inclusion and join the conversation Feb. 5: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_1NFYTfEQR56VESlwNME2dA #/registration

02/04/2026

Special Ed Thought for the Day: The Difference Between Public Schools and Therapeutic Day Schools. I recently heard a special education administrator for a local school district opine that the primary difference between placement options available in public-school and those available through “outplacement” (i.e., placement in private therapeutic schools) is that private therapeutic schools offer a higher staff-to-student ratio. I disagree with that assertion. To be sure, one attractive feature of therapeutic schools is that they tend to be smaller, more structured settings with markedly more instructors and related service providers per student. That said, the most important distinction between public schools and private therapeutic schools is that the private therapeutic schools are more specialized. Their programming and their physical layout are designed to meet the needs of students with disabilities, including complex and high-need disabilities. Moreover, some of these schools focus on specific disabilities such as autism, emotional disabilities, or specific learning disorders. The teachers, staff, and administrators have real expertise, and many years of experience working with a specific demographic of students. Because the learning environment is adapted and simplified, students in therapeutic settings often need fewer supports and accommodations than they did while in public-schools. For example, a student who requires an aide in the general education setting may not need one in a specialized setting that is easier to navigate, more accessible, and more sensory-friendly than typical school buildings. Like public schools, private therapeutic schools provide related services, such as speech, occupational, and physical therapy, and social work. However, in private therapeutic day schools, these services are usually integrated into classroom instruction not delivered separately in siloed therapy rooms and only at set appointment times. Finally, students in therapeutic day schools have a ready peer group of classmates with similar disabilities. Students may find it freeing, and even empowering, to be with other students who share the same challenges.

Don’t get me wrong. There is much to be said for maintaining students in the general education environment in their neighborhood schools to the greatest extent feasible (including that the “least restrictive environment” requirement of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act mandates this). For the vast majority of students with disabilities, the benefits they receive from being educated alongside non-disabled peers outweigh everything else. However, when public schools cannot meet a child’s needs, IEP teams need to look at other options. Distilling down the unique assets of therapeutic schools to a better staff-student ratio sells them short. Public school systems might not like to admit it, but private therapeutic schools offer specialization and expertise that public schools are not equipped to deliver.

02/02/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/1Bx7zyczSX/?mibextid=wwXIfr

The fight continues, but we are not giving up even (and perhaps especially) in these difficult and dark times.

Punxsutawney Phil made his prediction. Here’s ours: families should not have to relive the same fight for special education they fought 50 years ago.

As the Department of Education is torn apart, students with disabilities will pay the price. Protections will get weaker, and guidance and support will get harder to find. When a school fails a student, families have fewer places to turn for answers and accountability. Special education is a legal right, not a perk.

Share if you believe every student with a disability deserves an education that is protected by law and enforced in real life.

01/26/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/1Gvmg4pGL8/?mibextid=wwXIfr

BALTIMORE – Today marks a final defeat in the Trump-Vance administration’s attempt to require school districts throughout the nation to censor lessons, abandon student support programs, and certify their compliance with the administration’s unlawful interpretation of civil rights. In 2025, the...