Volunteer of the Month

Elana Simha

Special Education Project Volunteer • Law Office of Elana Simha LLC

Meet Our Volunteer of the Month

We’re proud to recognize Elana Simha as MVLS’s Volunteer of the Month. Through MVLS’s Special Education Project, Elana helps students with disabilities and their families access the legal advocacy, services, and educational supports they need to make progress.

Elana Simha MVLS Volunteer of the Month Special Education Project

Volunteer of the Month Elana Simha

Why Elana Volunteers With MVLS

I volunteer with MVLS’s Special Education Project to ensure students with disabilities whose parents cannot afford legal services have access to representation.

Both federal and state law afford students with disabilities crucial rights on paper. However, those rights may not help if parents do not know about them or feel ill-equipped to advocate against a team of professionals from the district.

When I accept an MVLS case, I educate parents about the law and use litigation or advocacy to help get a child the services or programming they need to make progress.

There is nothing that makes me happier than closing a case knowing that both the parent and the district understand a child better because I got involved, and that the child is in a more appropriate program as a result.

Recent Cases Elana Is Proud Of

I have worked on many different types of cases for MVLS, including due process hearing cases, advocacy cases, and suspension cases.

Each case presented unique issues of law and fact. They required multiple meetings, nuanced negotiations, and expert involvement. I am being honest when I say I am proud of them all.

One student with autism spectrum disorder is now slated to start in a school much more appropriate for him. Another student is receiving high-quality independent evaluations so we can better understand his unique educational profile. A third student will have multiple suspensions removed from her records.

For each student, this is life-changing.

Elana’s Advice to New Volunteers

Do it! For someone starting out, MVLS’s Special Education Project is a great way to learn a fascinating area of law where medicine, neuroscience, education, psychology, and the law converge.

For someone experienced in special education law, taking on an MVLS case or two is a way to help ensure that it is not only parents who can afford counsel, private services, or private schools whose children get what they need to make progress.