Frances Shefter

Frances Shefter is an Education Attorney and Advocate who is committed to helping her clients have a stress-free IEP experience. Before attending law school, Frances was a teacher for nine years. She has a B.S. in Early Childhood Education from Towson University and a M.S. in Special Education from Florida International University. For seven years she taught regular and special education and for two years she ran the Special Education Department. In these positions she attended and ran several Individualized Education Plan meetings and Child Study Team meetings, did observations and developed behavior modification plans, attended and ran manifestation hearings, monitored implementation of IEPs, 504s and behavior modification plans, and administered and helped to interpret various evaluations. These experiences have given her inside knowledge that is invaluable to assisting parents and guardians in seeking a Free Appropriate Public Education for their child. Frances is currently admitted to practice law in Maryland, the District of Columbia and Florida (inactive). She started her legal career in Florida practicing family law. However, she always knew that her heart was in special education. Shortly after moving back to the DMV area, she opened her law firm to help serve families of children with special needs. Her background puts her in a unique position at any IEP table. She is the only person at the table that can say she has been in almost every position that makes up the team. She has been the regular education teacher, the special education teacher, the LEA designee, the attorney and the mom. This enables her to communicate with the rest of the team in a more persuasive manner.