Services
Special Education
We offer advocacy services at any and every stage of a student’s journey in receiving a special education including (but not limited to):
Providing legal and practical guidance to parents who suspect their child may have a disability;
Assisting in the special education referral and evaluation process;
Attending IEP meetings;
Communicating and collaborating with the school district in order to accomplish parents’ goals for their child and avoid costly and unnecessary litigation;
Investigating and touring private educational programs with parents to determine whether they might be appropriate alternatives to a public school setting;
Ensuring that the child’s due process rights aren’t being violated; and
As a last resort, if we cannot amicably obtain the appropriate services for a child from their private school, filing a due process complaint with the school district seeking funding for private services.
General Education
We represent students and their families in a variety of school related matters such as:
School discipline and suspensions;
Bullying;
First Amendment violations;
FERPA/Privacy violations; and
Staff misconduct.
Though our education legal services primarily focus on assisting parents, we also offer the following services to Courts, Hearing Officers, law firms and other attorneys:
Serving as a Guardian ad litem for students;
Testifying as a witness and/or expert in impartial hearings or Court proceedings;
Collaborating with other attorneys/firms on their cases, including per diem appearance coverage; and
Organizational development consulting to maximize administrative operations and efficiency.
Organizational Development
Educating children should not be an adversarial process between parents and school districts because, ultimately, everyone wants the same thing – to provide children with the tools to succeed and avoid costly and unnecessary litigation.
At AZL&C we advocate for children by not only assisting individual families but by also working with educational organizations, whether public or private, to ensure they understand their legal obligations and develop policies and infrastructure for compliance with these obligations.
We do this by helping senior leaders implement organization change interventions through science backed methodologies and real-life applications that can be used to more efficiently identify and service students with special education needs within the legally mandated compliance period. As part of our OD consulting services, we assess an institution’s data collection methods, staffing, budgeting, policies and procedures, technology, and overall operations in order to recommend improvements to process, technology and staff so as to streamline and connect various steps in the organizations processes.
Training & Lectures
We are available to meet with groups of parents, professional organizations, businesses, and municipalities to discuss special education mandates, the evaluation process, rights and responsibilities of school districts, and supports and services available to students.
About
Ariel Zitrin
Ariel Zitrin is the former First Deputy Director for the New York City Department of Education’s Special Education Legal Unit (SEU). As First Deputy Director, Ms. Zitrin oversaw the day-to-day operation of the unit and supervised a staff of over 200 attorneys and paralegals in their investigation, settlement and/or litigation of all special education complaints brought against the DOE by parents seeking funding for private school tuition and special services.
