Students participating in the Health Law Partnership (HeLP) Legal Services Clinic at Georgia State University College of Law often work on cases to obtain Supplemental Security Income and Medicaid for their clients’ children. Sometimes they also are able to work on cases helping clients access special education services for their children, which is equally as rewarding.
This past year, two clinic students, Greg Mercer (J.D.’23) and Grace Parker Gluck (J.D. ’24), along with Assistant Clinical Professor Christina Scott, successfully advocated for their client’s fourth grade son. The child, who was diagnosed with a significant intellectual disability and dyslexia, was not improving academically, despite receiving special education services. A doctor with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA) referred the child’s mother to the Health Law Partnership (HeLP) where the case was assigned to the clinic.
Mercer was conducting client intakes at the Children’s Hughes Spalding location at the time and was able to meet with this family in person. “Our client's child was receiving almost none of the services outlined in his Individualized Education Plan (IEP), which is a violation of [Individuals with Disabilities Education Act] IDEA,” said Mercer. “I learned that in addition to his intellectual disability, he still also had lingering effects of a concussion and trauma following a very bad car accident.”
The IDEA is the federal law that governs special education and guarantees students with disabilities receive a free and appropriate public education if eligible, an IEP is created that outlines the goals, accommodations, and services to be provided. This child’s IEP did not address this and was lacking meaningful goals.
“Upon first meeting our client, it became immediately obvious to me that this was a kind and caring mother trying her hardest to advocate for her son. But she and her son were lost in the complexity of the school system, unsure of what options were available to them,” said Gluck. “It especially pained me to see how both mother and son were struggling after the car accident and simply not receiving the help they needed to move forward with his education. It was a pleasure to lend our services to this family.”
Scott attended the child’s IEP meeting, which was after the end of the semester. She was able to educate the school team on new requirements to support students with dyslexia in Georgia. As a result, the IEP team drafted new goals. The school also offered 200 hours of private tutoring and arranged for the child to attend with transportation and breakfast provided. Scott was also able to have him assigned to a more appropriate school that was closer to his home for the next academic year.
“When I spoke to [the client] following the school’s offer, she said she was happy to know that she was heard and believed,” said Scott. “We will continue to follow up with this client to ensure that her child is getting the services he needs in school.”
The Health Law Partnership (HeLP) is a nationally recognized medical-legal partnership among Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta Legal Aid Society, and Georgia State University College of Law. The HeLP Legal Services Clinic is the education arm of HeLP and teaches up to 20 law, medical, and graduate students each semester. Under the supervision of an attorney, law students represent families who would otherwise be unable to pay for a lawyer, helping to address health-harming legal needs.