2021
Special Education Summit

View the Virtual Summit

You work hard to help your child receive a safe, appropriate education with the right supports and accommodations. We know the COVID-19 pandemic and distance learning have not made your advocacy any easier. Come join Disability Rights California’s knowledgeable advocates and attorneys to learn about and discuss the nuts and bolts of special education. With multiple topics offered across five days, you can join the sessions that will be most helpful to you! Come learn more about assessments, IEPs, related services and supports, behavior, bullying, transition/life after high school, and what you can do to resolve disagreements with the school.

The 5-day summit was comprised of a series of five 2 hour virtual sessions.

Early Start and Early Intervention Ages 0-3

Children ages 0-3 go through many changes and growth. Many milestones are hit at the time they should, and sometimes milestones are missed or have a difficulty of reaching. There are services and supports that can help. Come learn about what is Early Start, and Early Intervention. Learn what the process is, how it can help a child’s growth and prepare them for preschool.

Speakers:
Maitria Moua
Megan Lazet

Special Education Nuts and Bolts

Navigating the system of special education, is a lot to learn and know. It can be overwhelming at times. Come learn tips and legal rights you have. What are the school’s responsibilities? Different assessments, services to help support the need of the student. And how to have these conversations.

Speakers:
Taymour Ravandi

What to do when Behavior and Bullying Interfere with my Child's Education

Does your child have behaviors that impacts their education? Or, are they getting bullied at school? Students have rights to a safe, supportive environment. In this webinar, you will learn helpful tips to support a student who has behavioral needs or who experiences bullying.

Speakers:
Lauren Lystrup

Transition - Preparing for Life after High School

Transition can be a time in life where we move from part to another. During this session we will discuss transition from high school to life after. During the session we will cover what a transition plan is. How to get one. What should be included. And supports ready for higher education or employment.

Speakers:
Bridget Claycomb
Ivan Guillen
Ibrahim Saab

The Road to Resolution: Understanding Your Options when you have a Special Education Disagreement with the School

Special education disagreements between families and school districts happen often. For many families trying to resolve these disagreements can be stressful and scary. Join us for a live webinar to learn about the different resolution options available to you so that you can confidently advocate for your child’s special education needs.

Speakers:
Ramaah Sadasivam
Lauren Lystrup

Speaker Bio's:

Bridget Claycomb

Bridget Claycomb is a staff attorney with the Youth Practice Group at Disability Rights California. She represents students with disabilities and their families using direct and systemic advocacy. Before DRC, Bridget attended William & Mary Law School, where she was deeply involved in the Parents Engaged for Learning Equality Clinic (PELE), attended the Institute for Special Education Advocacy (ISEA), participated on a local Special Education Advisory Committee, and received the Special Education Advocacy Award upon graduation. Prior to law school, Bridget was an elementary special education teacher at a dual language school. There, she used her Disability Studies background to advocate for inclusive, differentiated instruction for her students, grades kindergarten through sixth.

Ivan Guillen

Ivan Guillen works as a Senior Advocate for Disability Rights California’s Pathways to Work unit.  He has been employed with DRC for the past 16 years serving different roles, however, for the past 9 years his focus has been primarily on assisting individuals with disabilities to gain access to employment and services for employment.  In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his family and friends, and he likes to travel to visit new places. 

Megan Lazet

Megan Lazet is a supervising attorney with Disability Rights California’s Advocacy and Community Engagement (ACE) team. Before joining ACE, Megan represented people with developmental disabilities in a variety of disability-related legal matters as a Clients’ Rights Advocate. Megan was inspired to become an attorney and to work at DRC by her clients with developmental disabilities when she worked at a community based adult day program and a camp for people with developmental disabilities for several years prior to law school. Megan is particularly passionate about supporting people with disabilities to become strong self-advocates who are empowered to make choices and live fulfilling lives.

Lauren Lystrup

Lauren Lystrup is a Staff Attorney with Disability Rights California (DRC). She focuses on special education and juvenile justice issues, addressing the school-to-prison pipeline and intersections of race and disability. She represents students and families to ensure youth receive the services and supports they need. Prior to working with DRC, Lauren worked as a UC Berkeley Public Interest Fellow for the National Center for Youth Law. She graduated from UC Berkeley School of Law and holds a Masters in Social and Cultural Foundations of Education from DePaul University.

Maitria Moua

Maitria Moua is a Clients’ Rights Advocate who works with Central Valley Regional Center consumers and their families to advocate for the rights of people with developmental disabilities and their access to necessary services. During her time with OCRA, Maitria has particularly enjoyed the opportunities to train clients, their families, and staff on various topics from Clients’ Rights to Early Start and Lanterman Eligibility. Maitria finds most rewarding the chance to witness clients develop strong self-advocacy skills and empower their peers to do the same.

Maitria previously worked for a legal non-profit organization in the health unit. Maitria holds a J.D. from the University of California Los Angeles School of Law, and a B.A. in Political Science and Asian American Studies from the University of California, Berkeley. In her free time, Maitria enjoys watching re-runs of “The Office” and playing board games with family.

Taymour Ravandi

Taymour Ravandi is a senior attorney at Disability Rights California who specializes in special education. He has represented parents and students in legal proceedings, participated on statewide stakeholder task forces, written and edited publications, and analyzed and commented on pending legislation.

Ibrahim Saab
Supervising Attorney for Outreach

Ibrahim Saab goes by his nickname, “Bebo.” He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in English, with high honors, from the University of California, Berkeley in 1999. He remained at Berkeley another three years to earn a Juris Doctorate from Boalt Hall. While in law school, Bebo served as President of the Boalt Disability Law Society and helped to organize a daylong symposium on cutting edge issues in disability rights law. He also received the student services award at graduation. Prior to his current position, Bebo proudly served clients of the North Los Angeles County Regional Center as a Clients’ Rights Advocate for 14 years.

Ramaah Sadasivam

Ramaah began her legal career as a litigation associate at a large regional law firm in Sacramento, where she worked on a broad range of civil cases in federal and state trial and appellate courts within California. However, she was inspired to take her career in a different direction after her child was diagnosed with a disability shortly after birth. As a parent of a child with a disability, Ramaah experienced the same challenges many parents of children with disabilities face when advocating for an appropriate education for their children. As Ramaah became more involved in her local community of parents of children with disabilities, she quickly realized that she could use her legal training to advocate for children with disabilities and their parents. Ramaah has worked on individual and systemic special education cases at Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, Jacobson Education Law, a boutique special education law firm in Berkeley, CA, and now at Disability Rights California. Ramaah is a Supervising Attorney in the Youth Practice Group at Disability Rights California.

Tracy Walsh

Tracy is on Disability Rights California’s Homelessness Prevention team, where she assists tenants and unhoused people with disabilities with housing law matters.  Before moving to California, Tracy investigated and prosecuted businesses who defrauded Illinois consumers and worked to obtain injunctive relief, full restitution for consumers, and civil penalties at the Office of the Illinois Attorney General.  Prior to this, she defended homeowners in foreclosure lawsuits and also worked for the circuit court’s residential foreclosure division.  Tracy started her public service career by prosecuting wage theft claims in federal court on behalf of nursery workers and landscapers.  She began practicing law at a small firm in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago, working mostly on family law, housing, and criminal defense matters.