Interview with Jennifer Oneal Price, Author of EmpowerEd @jennoprice #nonfiction

Jennifer Price is a special education attorney in the Pittsburgh metro area who has received awards for her legal skills and advocacy.  As a former prosecutor, Attorney Price is very familiar with the courts and believes in making sure every child has an opportunity to succeed both in school and in life.  Her boutique law firm provides services protecting and defending against abuses of the criminal justice system, as well as the educational systems.  With 10 years of experience, Attorney Price’s advocacy has resulted in successes, including getting criminal charges withdrawn, preventing children from getting expelled out of school and federal civil rights lawsuits. Aa a speaker, she has presented at seminars and workshops and has also made regular television appearances for her legal opinions.

★WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS: ★

Website →  www.jenniferpricelaw.com

Twitter →  twitter.com/jennoprice

Inside the Book

BOOK BLURB:

This book outlines the progressive steps taken to address the educational needs of an exceptional child. From the Child Find process to filing a Due Process complaint, courts have addressed many legal issues. This book goes through court cases on some key issues from 2018 with an included workbook-style composition section after the cases. Parents and educational advocates will be able to read the cases and use the Thought Questions and composition space to take notes to better analyze their own case and advocate for their child’s educational rights.

★★★★★ORDER YOUR COPY★★★★★

Amazon → https://amzn.to/2q0Ql2Q

Q: Thank you so much for this interview, Jennifer! Can you tell us where you are from?

 I am originally from Fayetteville, NC, but I’ve lived in Pittsburgh, PA for the past 10 years.

Q: How did you come up with your title? 

The title of my book is based on wanting parents and educational advocates to feel more empowered when they are in an IEP meeting or due process hearing. Parents often comment about feeling overwhelmed or out-resourced by the school and their attorneys. The title represents my hope that the content of the book will make parents feel empowered going forward.

Q: They say you can judge a book by its cover. Can you tell us a little about your cover and who designed it? 

My cover was designed by Laura Boyle. I intentionally wanted more muted colors. I had seen other book covers from competing authors and didn’t like the bold colors or the whimsical/playful look. Parents aren’t feeling that way when they are at a point of needing my book. The table and chairs represent collaboration among all the people involved in educating the child, and the color red indicates boldness. I also wanted only one chair to be the color red to signify that the parent is now
emboldened with the information contained within the book. S/he will no longer be ignored.

Q: Can you tell us something about your book that would make me run out and buy it? 

This book not only summarizes legal cases for parents to help them know how the court is ruling on similar education-related issues, but it provides questions to help parents understand the school’s defenses. I consider the book almost like a playbook in that parents will not only be able to create their offense strategy to get better results for their child but also know how to prepare for the school district’s defensive stance.

Q: Are there any messages in this book that you want the reader to know about? 

None

Q: What was your most favorite chapter to write and why? 

I liked writing the chapter on evaluations because it really allowed me to provide the right kind of
questions parents need to ask themselves so they can get used to thinking more like a lawyer.

Q: Why did you feel you had to write this book? 

This book was necessary because many books were on the market giving case law summaries but none were on the market giving real analytical questions to show parents how they can use the legal decisions for their situation. This was important to me because every time I speak at a parent workshop, parents always want to know how can a legal case be used in their situation. I recognized very early on that parents needed a better toolkit. Also, research was conducted that showed
approximately 55% of parents represent themselves in litigation against a school district, while 100% of school districts are represented by an attorney.

Since only about 10% of the unrepresented parents won their cases, this seemed to be a necessary book to write.

Q: Now, some fun questions - What deep dark secret would you like to share with us? 

None

Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

Mozambique. I plan to go there in two years when I turn 40. White sand, clear water, and blue skies. Only other thing I will need is a drink (or more).

Q: Are you a morning person or a night person? 

Morning. My eyes goes down with the sun.

Q: Are there any members in your family who also like to write? 

No, which is probably why they’re so intrigued by my enjoyment of writing.

Q: As a child, were you a dreamer? 

Yes! I used to daydream all the time about all kinds of things to do and places to go. I still do but now I put it on a vision board.

Q: Last but not least, the magic genie has granted you one wish. What would
that be? 

To be anywhere I needed to be with a snap of my fingers. That way, I don’t have to worry about traffic, flights, or anything else.

Q: Thank you so much for this interview! Do you have any final words? 

Dream big and plan well.