Ruling levels the field in school lawsuits.
If Friendswood mother Louise Baker had extra money, she'd spend it on tutoring for her dyslexic son, not on legal fees to fight her school district for extra help.
Though she thinks she'd have a strong case, Baker, like most parents of Texas' 500,000 special-education students, can't afford a lawyer to take on a school system. And school districts know it, she said.
"They know no one's enforcing (the law), and they know I can't afford a lawyer," Baker said.
But a recent Supreme Court ruling strengthens the rights of parents with special-needs children, saying they can fight their own cases — without high-priced lawyers or fear of getting into trouble for practicing law without a license.
Though challenging a school district still won't be easy, lawyers said, the ruling levels the playing field for parents who can't afford representation.
This from the Houston Chronicle.
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