Practice Overview

Education / Special Education Law

Attorneys Experienced with New Jersey Education Law

The lawyers and staff of the Law Offices of Shelley L. Stangler, P.C. are committed to helping parents in education law matters. Ms. Stangler advocates for children and their families in getting the services and support they are entitled to under the law.  

Parents typically know and understand their children better than any agency or professional. However, when a child has special needs, decisions about that child's education are usually made in Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings, which may result in an inaccurate evaluation and wrong or ineffective conclusions, and denial of services. Ms. Stangler advocates for children and helps clients through an array of tests, meetings, due process hearings, district court litigation, and more.  She can help you understand the meaning of the relevant statute, the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) as well as navigating various options of mediation and complaint resolution with the State Department of Education, the United States Office of Civil Rights, Division of Education, and other local, state and federal agencies.

A Lawyer with a Medical Litigation Background is Helpful

Many education law matters, particularly those involving special education, require knowledge of medical issues. An attorney working in New Jersey special education law must understand the learning issues involved in autism, pervasive developmental disorder (PDD), Asperger's syndrome, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and other conditions that affect a child's education.

Shelley Stangler's 24 years of work in cases involving medical evaluation, expert opinion, causation and courtroom litigation  makes her particularly suited to addressing the medical and learning needs of children in a potentially adversarial setting. She is adept at negotiations and can help bring the parent's and the school together to find a satisfactory resolution to your children's needs without resort to expensive litigation. However, when the educational needs of your children are not being met, this is the firm which can provide skilled and effective litigation to back up your advocacy.

Although you are required to pay legal fees in connection with a special education case, under certain circumstances legal fees can be won in litigation.  The fees charged by the Law Offices of Shelley L. Stangler are highly competitive with other firms.

A Lawyer with a Civil Rights Background is Helpful

In addition to claims involving the IDEA and due process hearings, certain education cases may involve other areas of law including harassment, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Law Against Discrimination (LAD), the federal civil rights statutes (United States Code Title 49 Section 1983, ("1983 litigation"), and other civil claims.  The parent may be having problems taking time off from work which might implicate the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). It is important that the lawyer you retain have a working knowledge of all the various areas of civil law which may apply to your child's education.   Some of the claims may be taken on a contingency fee basis, where you do not pay unless we obtain compensation.   

Shelley L. Stangler has extensive experience handling civil rights litigation including police misconduct, government misconduct and discrimination claims.  As a corporation counsel of the City of New York she began working on federal and state civil rights matters very early in her career. 

Contact Us

Please contact us to consult, either during the day or in the evening, with one of our law firm's education law attorneys. We have law offices in Springfield, New Jersey, and New York City and can also meet with you in Jersey City. We have a Spanish speaking legal assistant. We help people throughout New Jersey, including Jersey City, Springfield, Bergen County, Union County, Essex County, Morris County, Hudson county, Middlesex county, Monmouth county, Summit, Westfield, Millburn, Chadham, Hillside, Cranford, Scotch Plains, Livingston and other New Jersey communities.