This E-newsletter is devoted to sharing information about special education, disability rights, mental health and human services law, political policy and research that is of importance to people with disabilities, their families, and the professionals that work with them. It also includes updates and news about our firm and its activities. We hope you find it helpful and welcome your comments and suggestions. —  Matt Cohen

As of April 1, Matt Cohen and Associates has a new mailing address:

Matt Cohen & Associates 

77 W. Wacker Drive

Suite 4500

Chicago, IL 60601 

We're hiring: Part-time litigation attorney

Matt Cohen and Associates is recruiting for a part-time litigation attorney to work on special education, 504, and ADA litigation, including mediation, due process hearings, administrative complaints, and federal and state court litigation. Candidates must have prior trial experience, including experience in evidentiary hearings and contested matters, as well as pre-trial practice including depositions and pre-trial motion practice.

Candidates should have at least three years of litigation experience. Prior history as an educator or clinician working with children and/or adults with disabilities is a significant consideration. Candidates who are bi-lingual in Spanish are especially encouraged to apply. Candidates must also have experience conducting community education/outreach activities and speaking to the public. Involvement in service to not-for-profit organizations is useful. Illinois attorneys will be strongly preferred but candidates outside the state must be able to obtain Illinois licensure and be Trial Bar eligible in order to be considered.

For more information or to apply, please send your resume and cover letter to Matt Cohen and Associates. 



New fund supports Chicago families, children with disabilities 

A new Diverse Learners Recovery Fund is being offered to families whose children with disabilities were disproportionately impacted during the pandemic. The $5 million fund is being offered through a partnership with the City of Chicago and Ada S. McKinley Community Services.

“This program is going to impact every single one of our communities because the reality is there’s people with disabilities in every single community here in Chicago, and I can’t think of anything better than that,” says a city official. Read more from the Sun-Times.

Illinois families needing Early Intervention services face delays

More than 4,000 Illinois children are waiting to be evaluated to see if they qualify for Early Intervention, a program that supports children three years and younger with development delays and disabilities. The program serves 20,000 children, but families need an evaluation before they receive services.

Advocates peg staffing shortages as a major cause for the delays and are urging the state to boost funding for the program. Read more from Chalkbeat.

TAKE ACTION: Support FDA ban on electric shock for self-injurious or aggressive behavior

The Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA), of which Matt Cohen is a board member, is urging us to write the Federal Food and Drug Administration to support its proposed ban on electric shot treatments for individuals with self injurious or aggressive behavior. COPAA says the use of shocks is torture for the children and adults with disabilities who experience them. Send your letter today.

 

New federal data shows jump in students receiving special ed services

The number of students receiving special education services jumped 2 percent from 2020 to 2021 according to the annual report from the U.S. Department of Education. In 2020, 7.6 million children and young adults received special education services under IDEA. By 2021, that number had jumped to 7.8 million. Read more from Hechinger Report.



New report shows young children suspended for normal childhood behaviors

A new analysis shows that elementary schools across the country are using suspension as a routine discipline device for misbehaviors that might otherwise be viewed as normal childhood acting out. The Hechinger Report looked at data from 20 states, including Illinois, and found that suspensions are common for “disorderly conduct, defiance and insubordination.”

“We can hold older students accountable to know the rules of behavior in their schools,” says one researcher. “We certainly can’t expect younger children to know all of those things and to anticipate the consequences of all their actions.” Read more from Hechinger Report. 



• Facilitated district agreement to therapeutic day school placement and obtained enrollment at the familiy's ideal school.

• Effectively advocated for special education eligibility and a substantial IEP for a student with specific learning disabilities.

• Supported a family whose IEP team was proposing placement in a cluster classroom. Effectively advocated for additional supports in the current LRE setting and avoided a change in placement.

• Guided a family to effectively advocate for a change of placement to a therapeutic day school for a student going into high school. 

• Obtained an initial eligibility with robust services for a bright student with learning disabilities. 

• Secured access to extended science materials for a student receiving homebound instruction. 

• Effectively advocated for a dedicated aide and deliberate use of assistive technology plan to support the transition to co-taught classes in middle school for a student with mobility, vision, learning, and executive functioning challenges. 

• Obtained a placement in a therapeutic day school for a student with autism entering Transition programming. 

• Through collaboration with private clinicians, parents, and school staff, facilitated the team implementing a range of interventions in the public school as opposed to changing the high school student’s placement to a therapeutic day school. 



Matt Cohen has been ranked as one of America’s Most Honored Lawyers, in the top 5 percent, by the American Registry for 2023.

Matt Cohen has been selected a 2024 Illinois Super Lawyer, a distinction he has held since 2007 that is awarded to only 5 percent of Illinois attorneys.

Matt also has once again been selected an Illinois Leading Lawyer for 2023, a distinction earned by fewer than 5 percent of all lawyers licensed to practice law in Illinois.

Matt also has been named an Avvo top lawyer for 2023.

The new (16th) edition of K&W Guide to Colleges for Students with Learning Differences is out. Matt Cohen once again is a contributing author with his article, “The Rights of College Students with Disabilities: Myth vs. Reality.” 

ABOUT US

Matt Cohen is the founder of the Chicago law firm Matt Cohen & Associates LLC. 

The practice is concentrated in representation of children and families in special education and discipline disputes with public schools, disability rights advocacy, including advocacy for accommodations in admissions and licensing tests and in colleges and graduate schools and legal assistance to mental health and human services professionals and the organizations they work for. 

For more information about Matt Cohen and the staff and to view this email in your browser, please visit our website.

If you have any questions, please contact his assistant, Tami Kuipers at 866-787-9270 or tami@mattcohenandassociates.com.