Special Needs Planning

Unusual Mom's Advocacy Site

For those of you who enjoy a humorous but substantial approach to advocacy, check out Mothers From Hell 2 .

Student Loans Collected Against the Disabled

The United States Supreme Court ruled in Lockhart v. U.S., 04-881 that student loans can be collected through garnishment of up to fifteen percent (15%) of  Social Security benefit payments.  Because the ruling covers disability as well as retirement benefits, recovery may be made against SSDI (Social Security Disability Income -- payable to disabled adults whose parents paid into the Social Security system) and SSI (Supplemental Security Income -- payable to those with almost no income or assets) as well as traditional retirement Social Security.

Further, in 1996, Congress removed the statute of limitations on recovery of defaulted student loans.  So people who attend school then become disabled and unable to work may have their very limited public benefits further reduced to repay their student loans.

The United States Supreme Court to Rule on IEPs

The United States Supreme Court has accepted a case that may dramatically impact how Individual Education Plans (IEPs) are conducted and reviewed throughout the country.

At issue is the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).  IDEA requires IEPs but is silent about how whether parents have to prove that an IEP is insufficient or whether school districts have to prove that an IEP is sufficient.  This burden of proof issue will surely impact districts' negotiating position in challenged IEPs.

To learn more, please visit the Wrights' excellent article on the case at http://www.wrightslaw.com/nltr/05/al.0722.schaffer.htm