Legal Question in Education Law in Pennsylvania

Re: school mis-diagnose

There are a number of questions that you presented. First, is the placement of your child and the school's responsibility. Generally speaking the school is required to evaluate and identify every area of suspected disability and provide a program in the least restrictive environment that is reasonably calculated to impart a meaningful educational benefit. While that may be a mouthful, simply stated, if your child was placed in emotional support and it was too restrictive (i.e. not with his regular class)and/or he did not make educational progress, then your son may be entitled to remedies in the form of compensatory education, reimbursements or compensatory damages. However, statute of limitations may apply to limit any recovery.

With respect to your son's mom, she had the right to sign the papers with the school and the school is entitled to seek only her approval, unless they received express notice that you should be involved. Accordingly, there is no liability against either your son's mother or the school for not seeking your approval on the education plan.

This is a complex area. If you have any further questions, feel free to contact me directly.