Can a parent sue a school district for retaliatory actions when the parent has exposed violations of law?

Question

Daughter is on an IEP for Emotional Disturbance due to ADHD and several traumatic experiences in her life. I do have basic knowledge of the education laws & have used them to get services for my daughter that most kids don't get. She is smart, but very sensitive to anything negative, needs a lot of one on one support, mother passed away, child grief issues. She has Home Instruction (HI) for Math, English, History and PE. District only allowed 7 hours a week for HI and is enrolled in only 2 regular High School Classes that she is supposed to attend. She does not have any physical disabilities.  
District has not provided a HI for PE all year, and will not pay for the outside PE activities that I have been providing to meet the requirements in state law. 
Repeated requests in increase HI have been denied & discovered that we were not even being provided the required amount of instruction as stipulated in EC 46141, district now has filed a due process complaint and wants to end services.

Louis George Fazzi · Answer

The school district may be in violation of your daughter's civil rights to an equal educational opportunity for failing to provide for all her educational needs. This is a highly specialized area of law, and you need counsel with experience handling education law issues. In and around the bay area you should be able to find highly capable lawyers or law firms with the expertise to represent your child in such matters. No matter how much you have learned on your own, you will never know as much as the legal experts in this field. I urge you to do a search for lawyers/firms with experience handling educational civil right issues.

Ali Shahrestani, · Answer

I offer Education law representation. We can discuss this if you want. More details are necessary to provide a professional analysis of your issue. The best first step is an Initial Consultation with an Attorney. You can read more about me, my credentials, awards, honors, testimonials, and media appearances/ publications on my law practice website, www.AEesq.com. I practice law in CA, NY, MA, and DC in the following areas of law: Business & Contracts, Criminal Defense, Divorce & Child Custody, and Education Law. This answer does not constitute legal advice; make any predictions, guarantees, or warranties; or create any Attorney-Client relationship.

Priscilla Ann Madrid · Answer

You do need an attorney who specializes in education law.  I am not one of them.  However which ever attorney you choose, research their credentials and the state bar website for each jurisdiction the attorney says they practice in for the attorney's actual bar membership and a record of any disciplinary actions.  It is also important to keep in mind, a jack of all trades is most often a master of nothing.  You can often times find very qualified attorneys in specialized areas by contacting the state bar attorney referral service in your state which will have experience or educational requirements as a prerequisite that need to be met before putting that attorney on their panel of attorneys to refer. 
 
Good luck with your search.

Q: Can a parent sue a school district for retaliatory actions when the parent has exposed violations of law?