Upcoming FREE Webinar: REGISTER TODAY Date: Thursday, May 18, 2023 at 4:00 PM EST (Approximately 2 hours, depending on Q & A) Learn to Utilize Special Needs Trusts and ABLE Accounts to Access Medicaid, SSI, DDD  Services and Other Public Benefits to Plan for the Future of Your Child With Special Needs  Attorneys Donald D… read more →

The Quick Guide for Families summarizes the information in the Policies and Procedures Manuals prepared by the New Jersey Department of Human Services’ Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) for the DDD’s Medicaid waiver programs, the Supports Program and Community Care Program. The Quick Guide summarizes the eligibility rules and regulations governing the Supports Program and.. read more →

Top Rated New Jersey Lawyers In 2019 Donald D. Vanarelli has been selected by the New Jersey Law Journal as a Top Rated New Jersey Lawyer in 2019. Mr. Vanarelli, and the other attorneys featured in the list of Top Rated NJ Lawyers, have all achieved the peer reviewed rating of “AV Preeminent” by Martindale-Hubbell,.. read more →

(This post was prepared by guest bloggers, Beth Manes and Jessica Weinberg, attorneys whose practice is focused on special education law. Their law firm is located in Westfield, NJ: Manes & Weinberg | Special Needs Lawyers, LLC.) Once the first marking period in the new school year is over, it is time to assess the.. read more →

Donald D. Vanarelli, Esq. (http://VanarelliLaw.com/) will provide an overview of the use of Special Needs Trusts (SNTs) by disabled persons so as to prevent an applicant’s financial assets and income from impacting eligibility for needs-based public benefits such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Medicaid, services from the Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD), Section 8 Housing and.. read more →

In Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District RE-1, 580 U.S. ______ (2017), one of the most important special education cases in decades, the United States Supreme Court established the standard for determining “when handicapped children are receiving sufficient educational benefits” to satisfy the requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The lower courts.. read more →

Parents who have a child with special needs in school will meet annually with the school district to develop an IEP (Individualized Education Program), a document that outlines the educational program and special services their child will receive.  (Although the IEP team must meet annually, meetings can be scheduled any time at the request of.. read more →

Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), 20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq., public schools must provide children with disabilities a “free appropriate public education.” When a school district cannot provide a student with an appropriate education, the IDEA mandates the school district must reimburse the family for the costs of sending their child.. read more →

Recently, I had a consultation with a parent of a child suffering from attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) who shared some of the lessons she learned over the years in advocating to obtaining appropriate special education supports for her child in her local school system: 1.  To make her case that her elementary school student with.. read more →

A New Jersey appeals court ruled that the state has no obligation to pay for transportation that would allow a 25-year-old man with autism to attend an adult day program because he is on the waiting list for a Medicaid waiver and a comparable program is available closer to his home. J.J. and L.J. on.. read more →

If you have a special needs child, you should be familiar with the federal laws and state regulations that outline the educational rights that your child is entitled to. For example, from the age of 3 to 21, a child with special needs enrolled in a public school is often entitled to special services or.. read more →

Special education law is complex. However, I believe that the following cases provide a favor of the issues involved in special education law. In selecting and summarizing the cases, I utilized a number of resources available on the internet. One particularly useful resource was The Right to Special Education in New Jersey – A Guide.. read more →

The ultimate purpose of the special education laws is “to ensure that all children with disabilities have available to them a free appropriate public education that emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet their unique needs and to prepare them for further education, employment and independent living.” Special education laws give families of.. read more →

Under the law, each public school child who receives special education and related services must have an Individualized Education Program (IEP). The IEP guides the delivery of special education supports and services to the student with a disability. The importance of IEP is to insure that a child with a disability who attends a public school.. read more →

FAPE And Your Disabled Child The federal statute governing special education, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the federal regulations implementing the IDEA, and the governing New Jersey regulations, mandate that all disabled children between the ages of 3 and 21 who reside in New Jersey have available a “free appropriate public education”, or.. read more →

In a case pitting the family of a special needs high school student against the school district that had been ordered to pay the student’s hefty private school tuition, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that, when schools do not appropriately identify and provide services to students with disabilities who require special education and related services,.. read more →

The economic stimulus bill, which President Obama signed yesterday, dramatically ramps up spending for a broad array of social programs for needy and disabled Americans. The bill raises federal spending for schools that serve largely low-income students from $14 billion to more than $27 billion. Federal support for special education, an area where local school.. read more →