Georgianna Junco-Kelman is the principal and managing attorney at The Law Offices of Georgianna Junco-Kelman, and her practice focuses solely on the representing children and adults with special needs. Her personal experience of parenting a child with special educational needs led her to immerse herself in special education law then found her legal practice in 2008, which is exclusively dedicated to the representation of students with disabilities. Georgianna serves on the Autism Speaks Southern California Board of Directors and in 2011 co-founded Autism Speaks Southern California’s premier gala annual fundraiser, she also serves on the Board of Directors of Shane’s Inspiration, an international non-profit organization dedicated to fostering social inclusion for children with disabilities.

Georgianna joins me today to share why she is so passionate about keeping children in mainstream education when it is the best thing for them educationally and socially and describes how she learned about the educational rights her child had. She shares why it is so important that parents are actively involved in their child’s schooling and elaborates on the importance of being well prepared when navigating the IEP process. Georgianna also shares the steps that parents should take if they are not supported by their school district with the appropriate schooling for their child and gives an overview of how she helps her clients to get off on the right foot in IEP meetings from the start.


“ You’ve got to bring these kids out of the shadows, you’ve got to give them the spotlight, you’ve got to show them they are as typical kids as anyone they just need to be accepted and included.” - Georgianna Junco-Kelman


This week on The Different Learning Podcast:

●The things that Georgianna wishes that parents knew
●Her path to becoming an advocate for special needs kids
●Why she is committed to full inclusion for children with additional needs
●Why she is dubious about the benefits of a Student Support and Progress Team (SSPT)
●The stigma attached to diagnosis and privacy rights for students
●Higher education for children with special educational needs
●Georgianna’s message to teachers who are scared to speak up
●The powers that the district administrator holds to support a child in school
●The processes for accessing additional independent evaluations if you need them
●Her tips for getting the most out of an IEP meeting
●Coming to terms with your child’s limitations and still keeping them in a general education classroom
●LAUSD Full Inclusion Program and the benefits of the alternate curriculum


Connect with Georgianna Junco-Kelman:

●Georgianna Junco-Kelman website
●Georgianna Junco-Kelman on LinkedIn
●Georgianna Junco-Kelman on Facebook
●Georgianna Junco-Kelman on Twitter

Connect with Different Learners:

●Different Learners on Instagram