By JENNIFER MANN
The Patriot Ledger

Sandy White works as an optometrist by day. By night, she pours through legal documents, school records, and case histories.

The job of single mom has gotten a lot more complicated since White began fighting for her son’s special education needs.

“I just do a little bit every day,” she said. “But I totally understand why other parents don’t, or can’t, do this.”

White, of Duxbury, has taken her battle to the U.S. Office of Civil Rights. Most don’t make it that far.

When parents take on a school district over special ed issues, it can be a lonely battle, an expensive one and a gamble to boot.

Kathy Ryan, who reluctantly spoke about her efforts in Randolph for her son Ben, said: “I’m very aware of how this sounds to the average layperson - it sounds like I’m threatening legal action because I can’t get my kid under control. But we’re all Ben has and if we fail him now, I don’t even want to think of the consequences.”

In 2006, there were 160,752 students with disabilities, and only 5,475 parents who rejected the education plans schools developed. Only 34 disputes were heard by the state Bureau of Special Education Appeals.

Others were resolved through mediation or other means.

Some say this is evidence of a system working.

But others contend the decks are often stacked in favor of the school district, because so many parents will concede early on, rather than go for broke.

“Unless the parent has an advocate or an attorney, the balance of power is really skewed toward the school district,” said Ellen Chambers, founder of the advocacy group SpEdWatch.

In the state board decisions, when both parties were represented by an attorney, parents prevailed in six cases and the district in five. When parents did not have an attorney or advocate, parents won in two cases and the district in nine.

Julia Landau, a senior attorney with Massachusetts Advocates for Children, said three Supreme Court cases have further tipped the balance in favor of school districts.

In 2001, the court ruled plaintiffs in civil rights cases can only win attorneys fees with a final decision, not a settlement.

A 2005 decision placed the burden of proof on the party bringing the dispute - usually the parent.

And a 2006 ruling established that parents cannot recover expert fees, even if they prevail.

“They’ve all just had a chilling effect in terms of parents’ ability to enforce their civil rights,” Landau said.

Because of the first ruling, Landau said, districts often settle before a case goes to hearing, but have no incentive to do so quickly.

The year after the decision, the number of state hearing requests dropped by 200, or 26 percent. Nationally, the number of hearings dropped 31 percent, from 6,038 to 4,170.

Landau added all three cases have created a two-track system, where parents with the resources make out above those without.

Chambers explained the dilemma parents face: “You can spend $100,000 to $150,000 preparing for a hearing, then at the door the school can say, ‘we’ll give you 90 percent of it.’ Do you take the risk?”

And costs are not limited to legal actions, as Kerri Bell of Weymouth realized.

In fighting for the school to provide applied behavioral analysis for her 5-year-old autistic son, Bell spent $200 and $1,500 for two advocates. She had already paid $2,000 to cover the therapy on her own.

In June, after the second advocate got involved, the school district agreed to a compromise 12 hours of therapy.

“Anything’s worth it, because I don’t have to pay for therapy any more,” she said. “But that’s $1,500 I could have put toward something else for him, like signing up for swimming lessons; $1,500 is a lot of money.”

Jennifer Mann may be reached at jmann@ledger.com.