Ballou Education is a special education advocate in Los Angeles. IEP and 504 advocacy for Los Angeles families, from LAUSD to charter networks and independent schools.
Los Angeles is the most complicated special education market in the country. LAUSD alone serves more students with disabilities than most states, and it sits alongside charter networks, independent schools, SELPAs and regional centers that each play a different role. Getting the right services requires knowing which door to knock on.
Ballou Education works with families across the city: the Westside, the San Fernando Valley, Hollywood, Silver Lake, Culver City, Brentwood, Pacific Palisades, Sherman Oaks, Encino, Bel Air and Holmby Hills. Some of our families are in their first evaluation request. Others are years into a dispute that has never quite been resolved.
The work is the same in each case. We read the record, identify what the district has agreed to and what it has avoided, and put the next request in writing. California adds its own layer of procedure — compliance complaints to the California Department of Education, mediation through the Office of Administrative Hearings, and SELPA-level placement decisions — and we know how those pieces fit together.
Private and independent school families: if your child attends a private school in Los Angeles, the public district may still owe an assessment and a services plan. Many families never ask. We help them find out what is available.
Record review, goal analysis, preparation and attendance at IEP team meetings.
Explore IEP advocacySection 504 plans for students who need accommodations rather than specialized instruction.
Explore 504 advocacyInitial, triennial and independent educational evaluations, with help reading the results.
Explore evaluationsCDE compliance complaints, OAH mediation and due process preparation.
Explore dispute optionsNon-public school, specialized program and inclusive placement decisions.
Explore consultingA focused session before the meeting with a written agenda and priorities.
Prepare for a meetingThe second-largest district in the nation, with its own special education division, local districts and a wide range of programs.
Smaller Westside districts with their own special education teams and SELPA structures.
LAUSD charter schools are public schools and carry full IDEA obligations, but service delivery varies widely by operator.
Students may be eligible for assessment and a services plan through the district of residence.
Regional centers provide early intervention and adult services, separate from the school district.
We read the full file and tell you what it establishes and where it falls short.
We agree on outcomes and put the requests in writing with clear deadlines.
We attend, document agreements and hold the district to them.
We work with families throughout Greater Los Angeles, including Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Holmby Hills, Brentwood, Pacific Palisades, Santa Monica, Malibu, Manhattan Beach, Palos Verdes, Calabasas, Encino, Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Culver City, La Cañada Flintridge and San Marino.
Submit a written request to your child’s school principal and the special education designee, state the concerns you want addressed, and keep a dated copy. California timelines begin once the district receives a written request.
A compliance complaint goes to the California Department of Education and addresses procedural violations. Due process goes to the Office of Administrative Hearings and resolves disputes about identification, evaluation, placement or services. Which one to use depends on the issue.
Yes. Charter schools are public schools and must implement the IEP, including services and accommodations. If a charter cannot provide a service itself, it remains responsible for arranging it.
Yes. We attend meetings with private schools and with the public district when a services plan or assessment is being discussed.
Free consultation. Bring your most recent IEP, 504 plan or evaluation and we will walk through it with you.
