RESUME

Maxine Checchi                               New York location:  900 South Avenue, Suite 67             

Maxine@checchilaw.com                                                    Staten Island, NY 10314      

                                                               New Jersey location: 20 Commerce Drive, Suite 135                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

                                                                                                           Cranford, NJ 07016                                                                                                                                                                             

Ph: 917-267-2476 

Checchi Law, LLC  

Started in June 2019, Checchi Law was initially formed to provide consultation outside of NYC. From that beginning, my law firm began to grow and now provides representation to clients in NY and NJ in special education matters, including but not limited to, disputes over services, twice-exceptional, tuition reimbursement, IEP related advocacy, evaluation disputes, proactive advocacy to obtain services under IDEA or Section 504; suspension and civil rights violations in education. In addition, throughout the United States, I provide expert testimony to assist in claims against school districts and consult with school districts on cases. In 2022, I retired from the NYC Department of Education to focus on my law practice full time. 

EXPERIENCE

Deputy Senior Executive Director, Special Education Services and Evaluation: March 2021- June 2022 (retired)· 

• Responsible for overseeing  the ten NYC Committees on Special Education (CSEs), Committees on Preschool Special Education (CPSEs), Charter School Evaluations and IEP Process for New York City; Oversight of Central Based Support Team (CBST) for students in need of private school, across five boroughs. 
• Lead partnership with my department and Division of Early Childhood to facilitate inclusive recommendations for preschoolers with IEPs: 3K-PreK 
• Compliance officer for the Committees on Special Education, ensuring children are appropriately evaluated and provided with IEP recommendations that meet  their needs under IDEA
• Provided high level support for Special Education Office Leadership 
• Engaged and partnered with NY State Education Department on implementation of state guidance, review of monthly data on services and timelines, respond to all inquiries by the state, and strategize on systems improvement
• Engaged with local unions – UFT (teacher) and CSA (supervisory) on union-related concerns
• Partnered with not-for-profit organizations, such as Advocates for Children supporting shared initiatives in special education
• Partnered with NYCDOE Charter Office to expand and support children with disabilities attending charter schools
• Oversight of CSE-related Impartial Hearing Process, with a focus on collaboration and resolution of due process complaints

Director of Special Projects and Strategic Initiatives: May 2019 – March 2021

• Provided procedural and NYS regulatory guidance to Committees on Special Education (CSE) Chairpersons, Placement Officers, and Supervisors of School 

                   Psychologists on complex or escalated cases 

• Supported Executive Director on high impact issues and special project initiatives throughout NYC
• Supported CSE litigators in impartial hearing and resolution process related questions
• Extensive collaboration with external stakeholders such as Advocates for Children, Legal Aid Society, Administration for Children’s Services (ACS)

IEP Advisor: January 2016 to May 2019

• Clinical advisor to Impartial Hearing Representation Office (IHRO) in representation of DOE in Due Process Hearings
• Oversight of eligibility determinations for students entitled to “Nickerson Letters” (vouchers to attend state-approved non-public schools) when the DOE failed to provide recommended small class placements in a timely manner
• Advisory support on educationally complex cases for public school district offices across NYC, to special education administrators, and supervisors of psychologists located in district/field offices 
• Key point of contact on policy implementation for the Special Education Office responding to district offices, supervisors of psychologists, special education directors and external stakeholders including advocates, parents, not-for-profits and attorneys on collaborative resolution of complex cases
• Cross-functional collaboration and presentation of professional development across offices to support the DOE’s neediest students (“District 75”) including Supervisors of School Psychologists, Accessibility,  CBST, Office of Related Services, Center for Assistive Technology
• Oversight of Surrogate Parent initiative, support procedural review for supervisors of psychologists; lead the work of updating the manual on surrogate parent policies and responsibilities for NYCDOE
• Lead work of overseeing Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) Practices, spearheading training on NYS part 200.5 regulations that clarify requirements on districts responding to IEE requests

Presentations: 2016-2022

o Beyond Access Series (January 2021)– Resolving special educational disagreements through mediation 

o Beyond Access Series – Family Support Presentations During School Closure (Fall 2020)

   Presentations with multidisciplinary team on Academic Regression, Supporting Social-Emotional Challenges, Comprehensive Data Driven Assessments (CDDAs)

o Through the Lens of the IEP Team (2019 and 2022)

   Presentation to NYC DOE attorneys employed by Special Education Unit (SEU)

o Surrogate Parent Appointment and Decision Making (multiple presentations from 2019-2022) (co-presented with Advocates for Children/Legal Aid)

    Presented to Chairpersons, Supervisors to School Psychologists D.1-32, Placement Officers and NYC DOE school psychologists, social workers, teachers (multiple 

    presentations)

o Understanding the IEP Process (multiple presentations from 2016 - 2019)

   Presented to Parent Coordinators, Administrative Trials Unit, Office of School Health, Psychologists-in-Training, Impartial Hearing Representation Office.

o Independent Educational Evaluations – NYS Regulations Part 200.5 (multiple presentations 2016-2019)

   Presented to Supervisors of School Psychologists, Speech and Language Supervisors, and Office of Contractual and Related Services

Supervisor of School Psychologists: 9/2007 to 1/2016 K-12, District 31, Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan:  Oversight of school psychologists and social workers who worked on School Based Support Teams (SBST) for multiple districts  throughout NYC; provided clinical and policy guidance to IEP teams working for public schools: Elementary through High School; Oversight of the "Turning 5" preschool evaluation process for students entering Kindergarten with preschool IEPs. 

School Psychologist / Impartial Hearing Representative, concurrent assignments: 9/1999 to 6/2007: 

• Impartial Hearing District Representative: representing DOE at Impartial Hearings
• Performed psychoeducational evaluations of students under Child Find, or for students who were already classified as Students with Disabilities; worked in both school settings, and Committee on Special Education offices; case managed and worked as part of School Based Support Team; conducted IEP meetings. 

Teacher of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL): 9/1989 to 6/1993: Taught immigrant students English across multiple content areas in 6th, 7th, 8th grades

ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE

Adjunct Professor: Yeshiva University, Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology (formerly under Wurzweiler School of Social Work): (2021-present) 

• Legal Issues in Special Education: teach masters level class for students obtaining teaching licenses in Early Childhood Special Education

LICENSURE: Legal Admissions dand NYC credentials via NYS Education Department

New York State Bar – Admitted, 2018

New Jersey State Bar – Admitted, 2018 

New York State School District Administration (SDA)

New York State Certification in School Psychology

New York State Certification as Teacher of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)

­­

EDUCATION­ 

New York Law School, New York, NY

   JD, May 2017 – Admitted to 2nd  

   Department, Appellate Division, NYS;   

   2018 Admitted to New Jersey 

   Internship: Richmond County District   

   Attorney’s Office, Summer 2014 

City University of New York, Staten Island, NY                                                 

   6th Year Certificate in School 

   Administration/Leadership, December 2005

Long Island University, Brooklyn, New York

   MS, Education, School Psychology

State University of New York, Stony Brook, NY 

   BA, in Liberal Arts: Psychology and Linguistics

MEMBERSHIPS (Current - 2022-23)

NYS Bar Association 

NJ State Bar Association (School Law Section) 

Richmond County Bar Association

COPAA – Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates 

NASP – National Association of School Psychologists

COMMUNITY SERVICE: Temple Israel Reform Congregation, Staten Island: Board Membership (2020-21)

Pro Bono

Volunteer Lawyers for Justice of New Jersey 

Louie’s Legacy Animal Rescue