There are significant rights provided to parents and guardians through special education law that can create conflicts and confusion with custody rights and Custody Orders.  This presentation will provide an overview of the special education process and the interplay between custody of a child and the rights afforded to parents in the special education process, as well as cover the remedies available through the special education process vs. the Court system. 

Joan Heishman Proper, Esq.

The Law Office of Joan H. Proper, PC

Joan represents clients in special education and general education matters, family law, and Guardianship and Conservatorship in Northern Virginia.  She is a Guardian ad litem for incapacitated adults and children.  She has been identified as an expert in special education in custody proceedings.  She is a Member of the Virginia Bar Association’s Commission on the Needs of Youth.  She provides pro bono services to parents and guardians through the Arc of Greater Prince William and the Arc of Loudoun, and she is a Foster Parent through Prince William County.  Prior to law school, Joan was a teacher in Fairfax County Public Schools and the Diocese of Arlington.  She is a native Washingtonian. She earned a B.A. from Virginia Tech, an M. Ed. in School Administration and Supervision from The University of Virginia, and J.D. from The Antonin Scalia Law School (previously George Mason University School of Law.)

Rebecca Wade, Esq.
Wade, Grimes, Friedman, Meinken & Leischner, PLLC     

Partner Rebecca Janet Wade has spent years representing clients grappling with high-conflict family law challenges. She has in-depth knowledge of where family law intersects with criminal law, along with strategies honed from fighting in the trenches of domestic battles. Ms. Wade has extensive experience with protective orders and laws involving physical abuse, assault and injury, emotional abuse, threats of violence, domestic violence, child abuse and neglect and more. She represents clients in cases of divorce, child custody and visitation, protective orders, child protective services investigations, juvenile delinquency, and criminal charges. Her work defending the mother of a young child left in a hot car seat received considerable media attention. Ms. Wade grew up in Alexandria, Virginia, and graduated magna cum laude from the University of Richmond School of Law.