LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A Las Vegas family scored a huge win last year against the Clark County School District, and now they are using their experience to help other parents who have children with special needs.
Sig and Lori Rogich say CCSD gave their daughter, who has dyslexia, an unequal education. They took their case to court back in 2016 and quickly learned they weren't the only ones with claims like these against CCSD.
“We received numerous phone calls, many phone calls, many letters, and we were moved by a lot of the journeys that many families have undergone which were similar to ours, but some were even more heartbreaking. And we were told that the cost of attorneys was expensive, and people were going through the same thing that we were-confusion," Lori said.
Sig and Lori won their case, but many other families are still struggling.
Motivated to prevent other families from going through a similar experience. The Rogich family decided to host a two-day event with legal experts and educators to give families the information they need.
“So by sharing, we’re hoping to make it a little bit easier for the next family and hopefully help them and empower them and say you can do this. You truly can. Look at how much you’ve been doing already," Lori said.
Hilary Freeman, the attorney who represented the Rogich family during their trial, says some of the parents at the event had questions on what to do if they think their students are not in the right educational program.
“My answer to them was well you confirm that they are not doing that and then you look to see whether your child is making progress, meaningful progress with the current program and if they are not then you file for due process," Freeman said.
The Rogich family says being a parent of a child with special needs is already difficult. They realized a lot of parents did not know their rights and they are hoping to change that.
“We hope that they learn there is hope. There is hope, and there’s a pathway to justice for their children," Lori said.
