Jaclyn Okin Barney Esq. advocates on behalf of people with disabilities through her private legal and consulting practice. With more than seventeen years of experience as a disability rights attorney and advocate, her practice addresses various issues affecting people with disabilities by undertaking work with regard to both policy and legal advocacy on behalf of individual clients and groups.

The areas in which the practice concentrates includes:

Special Education Representation

• Represent students with disabilities and their parents in special education forums such as IEP meetings, special education mediations, and impartial hearings
• Conduct trainings for parents, students, principals, administrators, and attorneys in the area of special education

Disability Policy

• Train organizations and corporations on disability-based topics including disability etiquette and accommodating people with disabilities in employment, higher education and public accommodation contexts.
• Analyze governmental initiatives and regulations with regard to people with disabilities and formulate responses and counter proposals
• Produce policy papers or white papers examining current practices affecting people with disabilities
• Develop legal strategies to advance disability rights efforts
• Assist foundations or grant giving organizations to analyze and develop priorities for disability rights programs

For more information, please contact Jaclyn Okin Barney at 347-559-5098 or jaclyn@jaclynokinbarney.com

New York Lawyers for the Public Interest (NYLPI), New York, NY

Skadden Fellow/Staff Attorney (September 2002 – January 2010)

Special Education Legal Representation

• Represented parents of children with disabilities in obtaining appropriate special education services through advocacy, mediation and impartial hearings
• Coordinated multiple amicus briefs to the United States Supreme Court in New York City Board of Education v. Tom F., 129 S.Ct. 987 (2007) and oversaw drafting of an amicus brief on behalf of NYLPI and the National Disability Rights Network
• Assisted pro bono attorneys in representing parents of children with disabilities in New York City Department of Education impartial hearings

Special Education Policy

• Presented written and oral testimony to the New York State Education Department on special education policies and regulations
• Initiated and oversaw project to advocate for and educate high school students with disabilities to obtain transition services and be better prepared for post-graduation experiences

Law School Teaching and Trainings

• Co-taught law school clinical education course at New York Law School during the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 school years and guest lectured in subsequent school years
• Conducted trainings for parents of students with disabilities to help them understand their children’s rights under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

Deinstitutionalization

• Investigated and advocated for improved conditions for individuals with developmental disabilities living in nursing homes. When appropriate, coordinated and advocated for residents’ transitions to the community
• Filed petition for the appointment of a special guardian for an individual with developmental disabilities living in a nursing home without active family representation. In an evidentiary hearing in New York Supreme Court, successfully represented the special guardian’s recommendation to transfer the individual to a community-based residence
• Testified before the New York State Most Integrated Setting Council (MISC) regarding issues affecting individuals with developmental disabilities living in nursing homes
• Assisted with initial investigation of individuals with mental illness being transferred from psychiatric hospitals to nursing homes when there was no evidence that the individuals possessed conditions requiring increased medical attention

U.S. Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights, Washington, DC

Law Student Employee (March 2002 – May 2002)

• Reviewed and summarized White House disability policy statements in anticipation of future federal programs

Washington College of Law’s Women and the Law Clinic, Washington, DC

Student Attorney (September 2001 – May 2002)

• Represented clients with legal issues, including receiving child support payments, obtaining social security benefits, securing food stamps and other welfare benefits

Washington Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, Washington, DC

Summer Intern with Disability Rights Project (June 2001 – August 2001)

• Worked with clients and performed research for major issues in upcoming cases. Drafted memoranda for court

U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Disability Rights Section, Washington, DC

Intern (August 2000 – May 2001)

• Asked to remain to continue work initiated as a summer intern and to take on new assignments

Summer Intern (May 2000 – August 2000)

• Assisted with research and preparation for pending cases, including a detailed examination of the constitutionality of the Americans with Disabilities Act under the Commerce Clause. Researched and proposed new ways for the Disability Rights Section to enforce settlement agreements. Reviewed cases referred by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

National Council on Disability, Washington, DC

Volunteer (January 1998 – June 1999)

• Assisted in coordinating and implementing the annual youth leadership conference

Disability Law Center, Boston, MA

Part-Time Employee (Fall 1997 – Spring 1999)

Intern (Summer 1997)

• Organized a symposium focusing on raising money to increase the number of out-of-school opportunities for youth with disabilities. Prepared numerous fact sheets regarding a variety of issues affecting people with disabilities

Admitted to practice in New York State Court and the federal district courts for the Southern District of New York and the Eastern District of New York

The Center for the Independence of the Disabled, New York (CIDNY)

Member, Board of Trustees (October 2013 – Present)

ARISE Coalition

Member (2007 – Present)

Adaptive Design Association

Member, Board of Trustees (2015 – 2016)

NYS Bar Association

Committee Member: Legal Education and Admission to the Bar (September 2008 – September 2013)

NYC Bar Association

Committee Member: Education Committee (September 2007 – June 2009)

Committee Member: Legal Issues Affecting People with Disabilities (September 2005 – August 2007)

United We Stand of NY

Member, Board of Directors  (April 2004 – August 2008)

Williamsburg Charter High School

Member, Board of Directors (March 2004 – June 2008)

Jaclyn Okin Barney also serves as the coordinator of Parents for Inclusive Education (PIE), a New York City based group of parents, advocates and professionals working to improve inclusive opportunities for students with disabilities in our public school system.  Formed in 1997, PIE is the only the only group in New York City dedicated solely to advocating for the inclusion of students with disabilities. We use a variety of advocacy tools to effectuate change within the NYC Department of Education. To learn more about PIE, please go to www.parentsforinclusiveeducation.com.

Creating Inclusive School Communities at P.S. 333

• Presenter October 2019           

Inclusion Summit, PIE/NYC Department of Education

• Speaker/Coordinator 2012 to Present

Panel Discussion on Inclusion at NYC Charter School Center

• Speaker April 2016

BCID’s Brooklyn Parent Center Conference

• Keynote Speaker May 2013

United Cerebral Palsy Connect Conference

• Speaker October 2012

Continuing Legal Education Presentations

• Special Education and Mediation November 2008
• The Interactions between Disability Law and Article 10 June 2004
• Updates on Special Education February 2004
• Authority for the Protection of the Developmentally Delayed January 2004

American Bar Association’s National Conference on the Employment of Lawyers with Disabilities

• Speaker June 2006

Rebellious Lawyer Conference – Yale University Law School

• Speaker February 2005

United We Stand of NY – Annual Conference

• Presenter June 2003, 2004

At the heart of my special education practice is my belief that all schools should be equipped to appropriately meet the needs of all students within their community. I often counsel parents on the ways in which they can be successful advocates for their children while simultaneously developing solid working relationships with their public school teachers and administrators. Additionally, as coordinator and legal counsel to Parents for Inclusive Education (PIE), I work with others to advocate to key policy makers within the City for inclusion to be a viable option for all students with disabilities.

Basic Training: My basic special education training includes the essentials of the special education legal system, the effective ways to work within the system, and an overview of the different avenues available to resolve disputes with an emphasis on the non-adversarial methods. My goal is for parents to walk away with a better understanding of how the special education system operates and practical ways to advocate for their children.

I realize public schools are not suitable for all children and private school education is sometimes appropriate and necessary.  As such, my basic training includes information on how and when parents should explore private school opportunities for their children.  When requested, I also conduct trainings focused solely on private school education.

Trainings on Specific Topics: In addition to my basic training, I can conduct trainings on specific topics. Some examples of targeted trainings include:

• Turning 5 Process: A training for parents of children turning five years old and entering the school-age special education system. In addition to educating parents on the City’s special education system, special emphasis will be placed on the turning 5 process, the differences between the preschool special education system and the school-aged system, and the ways to begin to develop a strong working relationship with the teachers and administrators at a child’s school.

• Students’ right to inclusion: State and federal special education laws require students with disabilities to be educated in the least restrictive settings appropriate to meet their special education needs. In other words, to the extent appropriate students with disabilities are to be educated alongside their nondisabled peers. This training focuses on how parents can advocate for their children to be educated in inclusive settings for the entire school day, or portions of the day. This training will also provide a brief overview of the special education reforms that the NYC’s Department of Education is currently undertaking which will require all community schools to become more inclusive and educate the majority of students with disabilities.

• Transition Process: A training for parents and students to learn about the services available in high school to help prepare such students for their transition out of high school. Participants will learn about the ways to ensure that such services are discussed at an IEP meeting and provided to a student. Participants will also gain an understanding of the different agencies (outside of the school system) that will work with students after graduation and how to coordinate these services in preparation for post graduation experiences.

• College Preparation: A training that will speak directly to students about the difference in the legal rights for a student with a disability between high school and college. Students will gain tips on how to advocate for themselves in addition to learning how to request accommodations and the documents necessary to support such requests.   As a person with a disability who sought accommodations in college and law school, I am happy to share personal stories with the students on my experiences learning to advocate for myself.  Parents are also welcome to attend.

Please note, all my trainings are tailored to the needs and interests of the audience. For more information or to arrange for a special education training, please contact me.

Under New York State law, this may be considered attorney advertisement

American University Washington College Of Law, Washington, DC

Juris Doctor May 2002

Activities/Honors

Note/Comment Editor, Journal of Gender, Social Policy and the Law Spring 2001 – Spring 2002

• Published, Board of Trustees of Univ. of Alabama in Birmingham v. Garrett: Has the Supreme Court Gone Too Far?, 9 Am. U.J. Gender Soc. Pol’y & L. 663 Fall 2002

National Students with Disabilities Awareness Day April 2002

• Initiated and organized panel discussion on the United States Supreme Court’s decision Board of Trustees of Univ. Alabama in Birmingham v. Garret as part of a national effort to educate the public on the decision’s ramifications

Equal Justice America Fellowship Summer 2001

Washington College of Law Equal Justice Foundation Fellowship Summer 2001

Tufts University, Medford, Ma

Bachelors of Arts, Majored in Political Science May 1999

Honors

Pi Sigma Alpha: National Political Science Honor Society Fall 1998

Student Affairs Community Service Award Spring 1998

National Council on Disability Youth in Leadership Conference Summer 1997