When I was starting Spencer Walsh Law in 2015, I had a vision that a paperless office would be the best and most productive type of law office imaginable. After having spent close to 20 years buried in paper, I saw becoming a paperless law office as Nirvana, and it has turned out to be incredibly efficient. But I definitely did not foresee a future where we would only be connected to the world through digitization. Like many people, there were entire days this year when the only human interaction I had was through a screen. The result has been the most unusual and difficult year of my life. (I suspect a lot of you reading this might say the same.) 2020 had a brief period of relative normalcy before COVID-19 upended everything. In 2021, the pandemic has dominated our lives since day one.

We’ve all had to adapt to a “new normal,“ although what that looks like is different for every person. For me, the result has been a year spent mostly online. I had stretches of time without any face-to-face social interaction. When I had a break between telephone calls and hearings, I would walk around outside to see something different. After work, I took online bridge lessons and chess lessons and would play games online with my new “remote” friends. Our Spencer Walsh team would have a social hour once a week, where we would all meet on zoom with a cocktail or mocktail and celebrate the fact that we were operating incredibly well despite the challenges that the pandemic threw our way.

Once I got vaccinated, I started having some small in-person get together‘s, but my social life is still a lot more digital than it used to be. It’s been a strange and disorienting experience. My personal world has never felt smaller than it did over the last 12 months.

At the same time, this year was a reminder that our world is more connected than ever. Collaboration has been a constant theme with my work this year. The foundation continues to take up the bulk of my time, and I’m blown away by the amazing progress the Spencer Walsh team made in 2021. We had weekly virtual team meetings. Each meeting is client-focused and focused on a different topic, like getting through the bottleneck at the Impartial Hearing Office, securing funding for our clients who have been successful in hearings and settlements, and how to be efficient despite the incredible inefficiency of the New York City Department of Education. It’s inspiring to hear how our team, by working together, continue to find solutions.

And, each morning as our virtual office opened, our Spencer Walsh team would have a minute of silence on behalf of all of you, and think and feel and send positive energy your way.

I hope you have been able to receive this positive energy we hold for you.

Funding For Preschool And School-Age Special Education Providers Will Increase By 15%

Governor Also Signs Major Legislative Package To Provide Resources To Students With Disabilities, Their Families And Social Services Providers 

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced plans to include a historic $240 million increase in investment for approved private schools serving children with disabilities in her upcoming 2022-2023 Executive Budget. Governor Hochul also signed a package of legislation to increase resources and support for students with disabilities, their families and social services providers.

“This historic investment in schools serving students with disabilities, along with four bills I am signing into law, will make a huge difference in the lives of students, families and schools in every corner of New York,” Governor Hochul said. “Throughout my time in office, I’ve made it a priority to listen to the disability community and provide the resources and support they need to thrive. People with disabilities have my commitment: as your governor, I’ll always stand by your side and fight for you.”

Following the 4 percent cost-of-living adjustment approved for the 2021-2022 school year tuition rates, the New York State Division of the Budget will authorize an additional cost-of-living adjustment of 11 percent for the 2022-2023 school year – an increase of more than 15 percent over two years. The 2022-23 cost-of-living adjustment will increase preschool and school-age special education providers’ annual funding by more than $240 million, with the State ultimately reimbursing school districts and counties for roughly 60% of this cost.

Read the full article here.

The de Blasio administration is transferring oversight of a backlogged special education complaint system — where filings typically take months or years to resolve — from the education department to a city entity that operates administrative trials.

The shift was codified earlier this month in a memorandum of understanding between the city and state education departments and the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH) that gives the city office two years to clear the case backlog.

OATH’s court-like system holds trials on alleged violations in a range of areas, including conflicts of interest rules, campaign finance regulations and local laws, such as the right to paid sick leave from work. READ THE FULL www.thecity.nyc ARTICLE here.

A groundbreaking artificial intelligence algorithm that was developed by scientists at the University of Geneva has the ability to detect Autism Spectrum Disorder—a disability that is quite challenging to diagnose during a child’s early years—in children under the age of five. 

By anonymously analyzing a child’s movements and/or interactions with another person through video recordings, this newfound AI algorithm is able to identify whether a child displays characteristics of autism spectrum disorder, such as difficulty in establishing eye contact, smiling, pointing to objects, or the way they are interested in what surrounds them. For more information on this amazing development, click here.

Schedule a consultation with Spencer Walsh Law, PLLC.

Have you been waiting weeks or even months for reimbursement from the New York City Department of Education? You’re not alone, and Spencer Walsh Law is vigorously helping its clients.

When the NYC DOE fails to make payments to parents that they are lawfully owed after Spencer Walsh Law has won the case for you, whether it be reimbursement for tuition, services, and/or transportation, when you have had enough of waiting for the DOE to pay you, you can “make a federal case of it” – literally – you can engage Spencer Walsh Law to file an Enforcement Action in Federal Court to get the Federal Court to compel the DOE to release your money to you. Spencer Walsh Law has seen great success in “shaking the money loose” with the added “bite” from the Federal Court.

For more information about this and other special education related topics, schedule a consultation with us on our website  at www.spencerwalshlaw.com 

Schedule a consultation with Spencer Walsh Law, PLLC.