Beating the Odds: Zach’s Due Process Win Vs. Fairfax County Schools

Podcast: The David Kaufer Podcast: The Lighter Side of the Spectrum · David Kaufer

Opublikowano: 2026-06-12

David interviews advocate Elizabeth Zielinski and parent Jill Janson about Jill’s son Zach, a non-speaking speller, winning a due process hearing against Fairfax County Public Schools on every issue presented. After spelling was added to Zach’s IEP in middle school, the high school team delayed, obstructed, and failed to implement a trained, trusted communication partner, placing him in self-contained life-skills classes, denying electives and homework acceptance, and contributing to failing grades and school refusal. The family first prevailed in a Virginia Department of Education state complaint for failure to implement the IEP, but the district continued delaying corr...