Bridging Ancestral Wisdom and Modern Justice: The Role of Attorneys in Education Law
One thing we love about education law attorney is that every single case presents a unique question, be it in the context of Individualized Education Plans (IEPs), 504 Plans, Restraint Prevention and in the context of positive behavioral supports. The fact that each client presents a unique set of circumstances ensures that the facts are never repetitive, nor are the considerations that each circumstance demands. What I have come to learn over the last year-plus here at Work-Life Law Solutions, is that each file tells a story. Each intake or first meeting wrests from me the need to ascertain what I call the ‘facts of the case’. I then must immerse myself in those facts in order to provide a meaningful analysis and strategic recommendation, however, there is so much more to learning from our client. Learning from those who have gone through the process before. Learning what has worked and what hasn’t. What the family wants and needs to move forward. What this process means for them in the larger fabric of their lives, jobs, and families. Understanding from my clients how they came to contact me in the first place.
Recently, I’ve been noting that as I spend more time here learning from my clients, learning from our practice, and learning in general, I find that it’s best practice that we may not be taking full advantage of the depth of my legal advocacy just yet. It is increasingly clear to me that I am a firm believer that the best way to attack any problem is head on and hammer it out into something manageable and understandable. I know many aspects of the law and my secret favorite things to do are as described by the American Bar Association, “of counsel” work.
Having this background, it has been an invigorating exploration of self to see how the principles of the Waitaha people resonate with me both personally and professionally. Their principles, values or ideals are simple; they emphasize peace and respect, honor of ancestors, and respect for the environment. I can hear echoes of these teachings when my client says that they want respect, fairness, and justice for their child. And while not all cases may resonate with these principles, it is no shock to me that the ongoing troubles in the school systems we serve have ties to these very same failures.
How can this be used in education law? Let’s consider education law for a moment, in terms of the basic idea of this area of the law. Education law ensures the rights of students while providing a general framework for the provision of education whether it is in a public or private setting. While this is a simple sentence, the process itself is a complex creature of laws, regulations, rules, contract terms, guidelines and interpretations of all of these applied specifically to each client that walks through our doors. The general role of an attorney in this process is to act as a third party neutral, guiding the family through the maze of legal obligations, rules, and processes in ensuring that the immediate needs and long-term goals that they articulate to me are understood and converted into specifics that are understood by all parties involved. Seeing each case as a different story, there is no possible way that I could possibly have all of the answers. So, I dig in, aim to understand, collaborate where I can, or advocate when I must. It is truly a collaborative process as it takes everyone involved to make education law work for our clients.
Where to begin? I was reading Navigating Education Law: The Impact of Attorneys the other day and immediately heard the echoes of the Waitaha principle that we must be able to respect those involved and be respectful to those involved in the process as discussed in Seventh Generation Principles: Seven Principles that Build a Strong Foundation for the Seventh Generation. I noted in that paper that the author stated that it is our responsibility as attorneys to listen to our clients and decide together what course of action to pursue. I found it interesting that, to be fair, both agencies and parents must have attorneys because to not have them exacerbates the issues at hand. At that moment, I realized that this overall view of education law is insightful and compelling. The author then went on to note that while educating stakeholders in the IEP process, attorneys serve the purpose of ensuring that those stakeholders know about effective leadership styles, how to write well, and effective use of complex vocabulary to convey thoughts or “as Native Americans say, if you can’t say what you mean, you can’t hear what you don’t know” (quoting Nancy L Fasteau, Circuit Judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico). This further reminded me of the Waitaha listening and talking principles and why I believe this client-centered value works. We pay attention to every detail, even those that can be difficult to hear.
Now, where there were points that I do not completely agree with the author in their approach, I still thought there were insightful points that our education law practice could benefit from in each of the Waitaha principles that highlighted the role that the attorney plays in the process. Essentially, none of the strategies and methods focused on here can work if the attorney, the school district, and the families involved are not working toward the same endgoal: the effective education of each client that walks through our doors.
We have a lot to learn – not only about how to be good lawyers – but to be good advocates and allies of our clients. Ultimately, these values are essential in determining how our education law practice will proceed, no matter how many questions we face.
For more information on education law, you can visit Wikipedia’s Education Law page.
