A Lawyer on the Spectrum Champions Special Education Law

John Reed [00:00:00] Have you ever told someone or been told, “Don't let your situation define you,” or “Don't let your condition define you?” It was likely meant as encouragement, and it may have been good advice. But sometimes how we're born, where we're raised, an illness or traumatic event, or the challenges we face are necessary to choosing a successful path based on how each of us sees success. We don't have to let our situation or condition define us.

[00:00:32] But what if it informs our chosen career or advocation? And what if it gives us the insight we need to help others? My guest on Sticky Lawyers today is Erik Weber. There are many things that make Erik remarkable. As a law student, he wrote a paper that sparked reforms of California's state-run institutions for the disabled. As an attorney, he advocates for students with special needs, helping them get the resources necessary for them to learn.

[00:01:01] As an athlete, he's medaled in numerous long-distance competitions and formed a running team for special needs children in San Diego. Oh, and Erik happens to be autistic. Let me be clear: Erik isn't a sticky lawyer because he's on the spectrum. He's in the club for the other reasons I mentioned. But his autism does inform his work and his outreach to others, and I look forward to exploring that with him today.

[00:01:27] Hey, Erik, welcome to the podcast.

Erik Weber [00:01:29] Thanks for having me.

John Reed [00:01:31] Let's get right into this. I want to talk about your practice because I think it's really, really interesting. For those who aren't familiar, how would you define special education law?

Erik Weber [00:01:42] Special education law is important to me because I went through the IEP process as a kid, as a student, many years ago, and some of those years were when I was nonverbal. I did not talk until I was eight, seven, and now it's hard to get me to shut up sometimes. What an IEP really is, ideally, it's a collaboration between parents and the school district on meeting the individual student’s unique needs.

John Reed [00:02:10] And what goes into it? What are the components of an IEP? What do you need to have in it to take effect?

Erik Weber [00:02:17] So what you have to have, first of all, are the school district has a Child Find obligation, and that's where the school district has an affirmative duty to check out a student if the school district knows or should know that the student may have a disability that would need some services, some accommodations to help the student access education. And then after doing some assessments, if they determine that there is an IE P that has to be had based on the assessments, they create present levels of performance, which sets the ground level — the baselines — for the students with the special needs. And then from the present levels of performance, which have to be accurate, then they create the measurable annual goals. And they have to be measurable so that the teachers and therapists know how to implement them. And even when the student goes to a different school, if the goals are measurable, instead of being vague, then it's easy for the teachers in the other school to pick up where it was left off.

John Reed [00:03:21] Okay.

Erik Weber [00:03:22] And also the related surfaces, such as counseling, physical therapy, occupational therapy, adaptive physical education, and other things to address any functional areas of need. Now, a lot of misconception happens when teachers and sometimes parents think that, “Oh, an IEP is just about academics,” which is not true. An IEP is about academics and functional areas of need. Functional areas of need, including the physical needs, including behavioral needs, social-emotional needs, et cetera, et cetera.

John Reed [00:04:02] I'll go back to what you said, that it should be a collaborative process.

Erik Weber [00:04:07] Absolutely.

John Reed [00:04:08] It should be the student, the families, the teachers, and whoever. I guess if that's the case, forgive me. Why does a family need you if it's something that can be done collaboratively between the family and the school? What's your role in the process?

Erik Weber [00:04:23] A lot of times the parents don't know what the educational rights are —for procedural rights for themselves and the substantive rights for the students. And it's the job of people like me to come in and help them through the IEP meetings. And if the school district continues to not do what it's supposed to do, then it's my job to help guide the parents through due process. I file the due process complaint. I look through the educational records, through a records request, and I get the records. I like to look back two or three years in the student's IEP and the educational records to see, well, different things, such as, were there any repeated goals, any copy and paste from the previous year? If there was, that's the denial of free appropriate public education.

[00:05:10] The parent needs to be able to have an opportunity to meaningfully participate in the IEP process. Not all procedural violations are denials of free appropriate public education. But if they are serious enough and they affect the education in a negative way, then yes, then those count as denials of fate.

John Reed [00:05:28] Do you run into situations where the school district says, “Hey, we're doing our best,” right? We're doing our best, but their best isn't good enough?

Erik Weber [00:05:37] I have seen those situations, and I'm not going to name names, but some of the school districts that tend to say that the most are innocently enough, the ones who are the quickest to give the parents what they need if I do drag the school district into due process in front of OAH.

John Reed [00:05:53] And OAH is what?

Erik Weber [00:05:53] Office of Administrative Hearings. That's the overseeing body that looks at the special education laws, IDEA, and the corresponding California Education Code and the regulations.

John Reed [00:06:07] So if there is a violation and you can't negotiate directly with the school district to get it fixed, where does that dispute go? It goes to this administrative tribunal?

Erik Weber [0:06:19] Sometimes it can go to mediation before ever having to file a complaint. Or sometimes the mediation happens after. There's also a resolution hearing, which is a smaller, more informal version of the formal due process hearing. And the due process hearing is done in front of an administrative law judge.

John Reed [00:06:41] Okay. And are you representing the family?

Erik Weber [00:06:43] Representing the students.

John Reed [00:06:45] I thought I read somewhere where there are some administrative procedures within this where the attorney can attend, but only for purposes of gathering information to advise later. And I'd not seen that before. It seemed kind of interesting to me.

Erik Weber [00:07:00] Well, I will say this. A lot of other attorneys typically don't go to IEP meetings. They just come in after something has gone completely wrong. But I like to also take the preventative approach, or more the proactive approach, rather to help clean up stuff before it ever has to get that far, because I believe in addressing the unique needs of the students sooner.

John Reed [00:07:24] And if it doesn't get resolved in the administrative forum, does it go to court? Is that an avenue?

Erik Weber [00:07:31] It almost never gets that far. Sometimes it does. I haven't had to take it that far, fortunately. In order to even go to a civil court, you have to do what's called “exhausting the remedy,” and you have to go through OAH first and then exhaust that remedy. If the OAH stuff absolutely does not work out, if even the due process here in front of the ALJ doesn't do it, then it could go in front of a civil court.

John Reed [00:07:59] Of course, I don't want you to name any school districts, and I don't want you to name any of your clients. But tell me some of your greatest hits, some of the proud accomplishments you've had, things that you're particularly proud of in terms of how you've helped your clients.

Erik Weber [00:08:12] Sure. So, some of my proudest moments are getting some students into non-public schools so that they could get the more individualized attention that they needed in smaller classroom settings. And I have one who was doing, let's see, I believe, first-grade work in the fifth grade. And then he got into non-public school, and he's in 7th grade, and he's already catching up grade levels. He's doing fourth-grade level work right now.

John Reed [00:08:42] Okay. And I was going to ask you, your work transcends public school or non-public or private school? You work in whatever school environment to help that family.

Erik Weber [00:08:52] Exactly.

John Reed [00:08:53] You went to law school. You studied all that law school had to offer. What was the appeal of special education law? I think I probably know the answer because you had experienced the IEP process yourself, but what drew you to it, and were there any other areas that attracted you?

Erik Weber [00:09:11] I wanted to give people with disabilities, especially students, a chance to thrive, to find their own footing, and to be able to excel as unique individuals and to become productive, tax-paying citizens. To be able to be the best that they can be if they have the family members, at the school districts, people around them, in the circle supporting them as a cohesive unit.

John Reed [00:09:33] Now, in law school, you wrote what became a very consequential paper about group homes. Can you tell us about that paper and what prompted it?

Erik Weber [00:09:44] Yes. So, in 2013, I was coming home from a special Olympic softball tournament in the fall State Games, and we had just won the State Games championship, got a gold medal in our division. We were coming home in a team van, and I was listening to some horror stories about what some of my teammates who they lived in group homes, and they were sharing some disturbing stories about the treatment by group home staff members and management.

[00:10:19] And at least two-thirds of group homes in San Diego at the time were substandard. They were not providing the medical care, the nutrition that was needed. And some had this culture where if the residents complained about things such as cockroaches running across the table, they got retaliated against. The residents typically have been conditioned into submission and silence because they didn't want to stir up or rock the boat and get themselves punished for speaking out.

John Reed [00:10:51] Sure.

Erik Weber [00:10:51] And so what my paper does, “Home Sweet Home: Group Homes for Human Beings Who Have Special Needs,” is it calls for some reforms, including increasing the staff training hours. It also calls for oversight, more frequent oversight over the group homes. And it also calls for what has resulted in the closure of the big state warehouse institutions, as I've called them, where the resident-to-staff member ratio was just terrible. It was one staff member for every twelve patients and the CEOs were making easily six figures in annual salaries and it was leading to substandard care of the individuals. And so, what the closure of those state warehouses has helped to do is to move the individuals and the resources into more community based settings.

[00:11:45] While also it's important to recognize that the group homes, too, need to improve so that the people living in them can be treated as people first.

John Reed [00:11:56] So you wrote this, but some pretty influential people read it.

Erik Weber [00:11:58] Yeah.

John Reed [00:11:59] And then some action was taken. Tell me about that.

Erik Weber [00:12:02] Three state legislators, I shared it with them and pretty soon, in the mid-2010s, those big state warehouses, except for Fairview, got closed down.

John Reed [00:12:13] I think what's really important about this piece you wrote is although the title focuses on group homes, the activities and pulling back the curtain, if you will, on the larger institutions, when you close those, it necessitates better group homes because that's where those residents are going to go. This was a holistic solution that you were putting out there.

Erik Weber [00:12:36] That's right.

John Reed [00:12:37] So you graduated from law school, you passed the bar. What does the first day of the practice of law look like? What were you doing? Where did you take your practice from there?

Erik Weber [00:12:48] Well, let's see. So, a lot of my law practice has been pretty much based in my house. A lot of the contacts have been by word of mouth or by references from families to other families, and then they seek me out.

John Reed [00:13:02] You've been in practice for how long now?

Erik Weber [00:13:04] So I graduated from California Western in December 2014, took the Bar exam in February 2015, and found out in May that I’d passed.

John Reed [00:13:13] And there's a story about you ending up at California Western Law School.

Erik Weber [00:13:18] Yes. So, when I was applying to law schools, my first choice was actually University of San Diego. But because of my not-so-attractive LSAT score, USD said, “Go somewhere else for a year, and then maybe we'll think about taking you in.” And I said, well, okay, screw you guys. I'm going to California Western. California Western took me in from day one.

John Reed [00:13:44] And I understand you're an active part of the alumni network there too.

Erik Weber [00:13:47] Yeah, I'm part of the alumni association board of directors. I'm in my second term of that right now.

John Reed [00:13:53] Erik, you talked before about your having an IEP when you were a kid. Tell us more about, oh, I guess, your educational journey. How do you learn? What's your learning style?

Erik Weber [00:14:08] I like to learn a mix of visually and through actually doing something. I think, what's the word? Kinesthetically. My auditory processing was typically terrible growing up. I could hear things, but it wouldn't always filter through my head as quickly as it would through that of others. But if I could see it or if I could touch it and try it myself, it just picked up quicker.

John Reed [00:14:33] I guess they call it the spectrum for a reason. Describe for us your autism. I'm curious to know how you experience the world if you'll indulge me and share that with me.

Erik Weber [00:14:45] Well, let's see. My autism, I'm highly detail oriented. I also have a very low tolerance for stupid drivers on the road.

John Reed [00:14:55] That's not autism. Sorry. That doesn't count.

Erik Weber [00:14:59] So my mom has also joked with me that I'm the autism whisperer because I connect with others with disabilities really well. And as someone who has gone through the IEP process, and they call it a spectrum for a reason, when you meet one person with autism you've met one person with autism. I believe it's my empathetic, sympathetic connection with the students I work with and the athletes that I’ve trained that makes me a really solid attorney when it comes to special education law because I know how to gauge what it is each student needs and how to get the assessments they need and how to get the teachers and the parents on the same page with each other.

John Reed [00:15:43] With your autism, are there aspects that have actually helped you in your education? Things that you've learned to do, either coping skills or things that you do naturally that have made you a better student.

Erik Weber [00:15:54] One of my coping mechanisms, Well, I like to run, of course. That helps to clear out the brain farts in my head, and it's also great for my physical and mental health, fitness, and doing obstacle course races. It's really great for the mind, heart, and soul. But one of the other coping mechanisms that I've gone to is memorizing and reciting comedic monologues from at least 14 different comedians. And I did a talent show during my first year of law school at Cal Western.

[00:16:23] And that was a great icebreaker for me, getting to connect with other students there, because when I first got in there, other students were wondering why I was getting accommodations such as time and a half, use of a computer, and assigned my private testing room. But then when they figured out that, one, I'm funny, and two, I can memorize all this stuff, that was a big part, the memory stuff. Then they wanted me as a study buddy all of a sudden.

John Reed [00:16:51] Yes. No, I could see where you'd be very popular. Well, so much of learning law is just rote memorization.

Erik Weber [00:16:58] And application, too.

John Reed [00:16:59] That's true. I don't want to take anything away from that. You're absolutely right. Let's talk about running. You've touched upon its importance to you on a daily basis. When did it start and how has that — and I'm going to call it a passion you tell me if it's not — but how has your need for and your passion for running grown over the course of your life?

Erik Weber [00:17:19] Well, it's a passion and it's a lifestyle. It's part of me. So, it started when I was nine years old after my father passed away. My mom put me into running so that I could find confidence for my life and find positive role models. The running also helped me with rhythmic breathing because after my dad passed away and also after years of doing some sinus cleaning, because in the back of my sinuses, I wasn't born with open drainage holes in the back of the sinuses. So, every few months I would have to get my sinuses drained, otherwise I would get ear infections just from the snot going back into the ears and eustation tubes. And so, the gas mask was the worst part because they would have to knock me out with this horrible smelling gas, the sleeping gas, to get the stuff out of my face. And then I developed this nervous tick of gasping if I got nervous.

[00:18:15] But the rhythmic breathing that I got from running helped to eliminate that stuff.

John Reed [00:18:21] Tell us about where your running has taken you in terms of events and travel and things like that.

Erik Weber [00:18:27] So let's see. Well, I got into Spartan Racing in 2021, the obstacle course race. I love that stuff. It has some reminders of going through Captain Kids World at Sea World, climbing on the net, crawling through the tunnels, and doing some of this other contact intensive stuff. And the running itself I've done USA Masters Games track and field in 2017, beat everybody in the 10,000 meter race on my first ever Masters Track and field event, and I've also done the World Games Unifie:d half marathon, finished fourth out of everybody in that event.

[00:19:09] But one of my proudest accomplishments, really, on the running side of things has been as a coach, as somebody who trains the athletes: Team Skybirds. That's a big part of it.

John Reed [00:19:22] Okay, no longer be modest. What's your medal count?

Erik Weber [00:19:28] Man? The medal count is enough for me to have to get another metal hanger or two in my room because my mom won't let me turn another sibling's room into another trophy room for myself. So got to make space and accommodate that stuff. But let's see.

John Reed [00:19:46] Just give me a ballpark.

Erik Weber [00:19:47] At least 120 gold.

John Reed [00:19:49] Oh, my gosh. That's fantastic. Good for you. Yeah, good for you. So, you talked about the Spartan races. Are you still doing any road races, or have you moved completely over?

Erik Weber [00:19:59] Oh, yeah, I'm looking to move more toward, let's see, for 5k or shorter track and field, but for 8k or longer road, trail, cross country, because the 5k's can be really expensive per mile compared to, say, a 10k or 15k. I mean, if you calculate by per mile. I calculate it in the same way that I calculate pricing of per ounce or per pound at a grocery store. What can I get the most mileage out of or what can I get the most bang per buck for?

John Reed [00:20:33] That's interesting.

Erik Weber [00:20:34] And that turns out to be longer distances.

John Reed [00:20:36] At one point in my life, I tried to be a runner, and I can assure you I would pay more money to run less. So, you and I have a different way of going about the math for this.

Erik Weber [00:20:45] Plus, longer distances are my favorite anyway.

John Reed [00:20:48] Well, it sounds like it. How many miles are you putting in a week now?

Erik Weber [00:20:52] I do 14.2 miles every two days.

John Reed [00:20:55] Good for you, man. That is just awesome. And I got to ask, what's your PR?

Erik Weber [00:21:01] In what distance?

John Reed [00:21:02] You tell me. Impress me. Tell me.

Erik Weber [00:21:05] Okay, so marathon personal record chip time: 3 hours, 26 minutes, 27 seconds. And one of my athletes, Philip, he blew that time out of the water this year. He ran a 3:10:32 in the Carlsbad Marathon that he and I both ran this year.

John Reed [00:21:24] Philip is part of Skybirds, right?

Erik Weber [00:21:26] Yes. And he's 16. He was ten when I first started training him.

John Reed [00:21:31] Okay.

Erik Weber [00:21:31] And he, too, has autism, and he and his family have used running as a way to bring each other together. And Philip coaches his younger siblings in how to run longer distances, too.

John Reed [00:21:45] Fantastic. Well, tell us about the origins of Skybird. How did that start?

Erik Weber [00:21:49] So, Skybirds, it's a derivative name from my racing nickname, Night Falcon.

John Reed [00:21:56] Okay.

Erik Weber [00:21:57] And Skybirds got started in 2017. We used to be with Special Olympics until Special Olympics kept pushing this lockdown nonsense here in California, kept things closed. And we finally left Special Olympics in fall of 2020 and started training on our own as a fitness group called Skybirds Cross Country at Choice Lake. And I run them around the lake and take them through pull-ups on the pull-up bar, take them through burpees, push-ups, sit-ups, and some other fun exercises to keep them engaged socially and keep them physically active.

John Reed [00:22:32] Sure. Erik, let me ask this. I have to imagine that besides good form and stamina and the health aspects, you're teaching your team other things. What are you teaching them?

Erik Weber [00:22:44] Self-confidence and how to be their own heroes.

John Reed [00:22:46] Fantastic. That's awesome. First up, how many years on Skybirds now?

Erik Weber [00:22:50] Let's see. So, started 2017, and so what are we in now? Wow. Coming, yeah, we've done at least six years already. Time flies.

John Reed [00:23:03] How many athletes or team members would have cycled through the program thus far?

Erik Weber [00:23:07] Oh, we've had, let's see, back before the Lockdown stuff, we had at least twelve athletes, mostly children.

John Reed [00:23:16] Okay.

Erik Weber [00:23:16] It depends on who wants to show up on each given week. And many of the athletes have also moved on to doing their own physical competitions on each weekend. And Philip, he does high school cross country and track and field. He's a varsity runner, and he's the best runner in his school.

John Reed [00:23:34] Okay.

Erik Weber [00:23:35] Joshua he does USATF Youth Track and Field, and he loves the 1500. And he wants to get into a 3000 steeple chase because he saw that I did it.

John Reed [00:23:46] You mentioned something earlier, and I wanted to pick up on it. What's the relationship between Skybirds and Special Olympics? It sounds like you needed to create a different team or move to a different team.

Erik Weber [00:23:58] Yeah. So, my mom and I used to be a part of a different Special Olympics track team. But the head coaches that were running it at the time in 2014 through 2016, they were not good coaches. They were not connected to the athletes’ needs. They weren't training the athletes in any distances longer than 100 meters. The one who was training the athletes how to run longer distances for those years was me. And we got tired of the organizational culture of those two particular coaches. And to give the athletes something better than what they had, we started our own team, and eventually, they came over to run with us.

John Reed [00:24:39] So where does the Skybirds team compete and what type of events?

Erik Weber [00:24:44] Well, let's see some track and field. I've also had some compete in some road races. Joshua, he's done some cross country and USATF Dirt Dog cross country series. There was one four-miler race last year in October, late October, I believe it was, and he won his age group.

John Reed [00:25:05] Are these Special Olympics related?

Erik Weber [00:25:07] Well, no, the events are well, Joshua He still has been doing some Special Olympic stuff in the Skybirds cross country and in the youth track and field team that he also trains with throughout the week called USA Rockets. He's been doing those races, those track meets, and those cross-country races outside of Special Olympics. He's branched out and expanded his opportunities.

John Reed [00:25:30] One thing you mentioned earlier after your dad's passing, that was an event that you had to deal with, and you turned it into a book. Tell us about that.

Erik Weber [00:25:39] “Autism for Dads: The Importance of a Father's Love.” So, when I wrote the book, at the time, between 50% to 80% of fathers were leaving the household after the autism diagnosis because they perceived it as the loss of the perfect child. And my book is about encouraging fathers to stay invested in their kids and stay connected with them and to come down to their level, play as kids, and be the heroes for their children.

John Reed [00:26:08] And sounds like your dad was that for you?

Erik Weber [00:26:11] Yes, absolutely.

John Reed [00:26:12] That's just book one.

Erik Weber [00:26:14] Then there's book two: “Changing Lanes but Staying on Track.” It's about overcoming life's challenges and charging forward.

John Reed [00:26:22] Is there a book three coming?

Erik Weber [00:26:24] Well, I've been focused more on putting out motivational videos on my YouTube channel and also backed up some of the videos on a Rumble account. So, YouTube, you can find it— Eric Weber. Another good search tag to find it, along with my first and last name are Night Falcon, and that'll help pull up my channel. And then Rumble, you can just find that by searching “Eric N. Weber”— middle initial is N.

John Reed [00:26:50] Erik, you are a lawyer, you're an advocate, you're a competitor, you’re a coach, you're a community builder, you're an author, you're a motivational speaker. What is next for you?

Erik Weber [00:27:00] Well, on August 6, I'm going to be competing in a Deka Strong two-person team event with one of my other athletes, Amit. He's Philip's cousin and getting him into obstacle course racing. And he loves to climb stuff and he is a real smart alec. He loves to negotiate, just like his crazy coach/lawyer me.

John Reed [00:27:29] You've taught him well. You've taught him well. Erik, we will be sure to put a link to YouTube and Rumble and all the other places where people can find you on the web. I know people are going to want to learn more and keep up with what you're doing. It has been my pleasure talking with you today. I've learned a lot and I'm sure our listeners have, too. And I really want to thank you for being here.

Erik Weber [00:27:49] Thanks for giving me the platform to speak to you today and to share the story of myself and Team Skybirds with all of you.

John Reed [00:27:56] Happy to give you that platform.

[00:27:59] If this is your first time tuning in to Sticky Lawyers, we hope you enjoyed the conversation and that you'll subscribe and come back for more. If you're a regular stickler, then you already know what we're about, and hopefully, you've already subscribed. Beyond thanking you for listening, can I ask you for a solid? Could you please leave us a review and let us know how we're doing?

[00:28:19] There are more people than just me who put this together, and we would all appreciate the feedback, preferably positive. Until next time, I'm John Reed and you've been listening to Sticky Lawyers.