Overview

Sarah L. Garcia is the Office Managing Partner of Lozano Smith's San Luis Obispo Office. Ms. Garcia specializes in Special Education and Student law.

Experience

Her representation has included prevailing on behalf of school district clients as both Petitioner and Respondent before OAH and supporting those cases through successful appeals at the Ninth Circuit. Representative cases on which Ms. Garcia prevailed included issues related to least restrictive environment, the district's right to assess, deaf education, appropriateness of IEP goals, appropriateness of District assessments, behavior support, inclusion, requests for private schools and private services, and the appropriateness of related services offered including ABA, speech therapy, occupational therapy, and assistive technology support.

Prior to joining Lozano Smith, Ms. Garcia worked as Special Counsel in the San Francisco area where she represented school districts in due process hearings, expulsion proceedings, special education mediations, and on-site OCR investigations.

Presenter Experience

Ms. Garcia has presented at the ACSA Special Education Symposium on a variety of topics including Deaf Education, Serving Students in the Least Restrictive Environment, and Language Access. Additionally, she was the keynote speaker for the first ever Stanislaus County Autism Conference. She presents annually at Lozano Smith's Special Education Legal Consortium and regularly for districts and SELPAs.

Education

Ms. Garcia teaches a School Law course in the Mills College graduate program.

AB 2508: Reimagining Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services in Schools

By: Sarah Garcia, Kaitlyn Tucker- 10/28/2022

Student Not Entitled to Receive Medical ABA Therapy on Campus from Private Provider

By: Sarah Garcia, Roxana Khan- 02/14/2022

UPDATE: Parentally-Placed Private School Students Are Not Entitled to IEP Unless They Request One

By: Sarah Garcia, Roxana Khan, Karina Demirchyan- 01/24/2022

AB 309 & SB 224: Addressing Student Mental Health in The Wake of COVID-19

By: Sarah Garcia, Kaitlyn Tucker- 10/27/2021

COVID-19 Presents New Challenges for Complying with Child Find Obligations

By: Sarah Garcia- 09/23/2021

Governor Signs Two Bills Affecting High School Students, Vetoes a Third

By: Sarah Garcia- 10/22/2020

SB 98, COVID-19 and Special Education: What's Next?

By: Sarah Garcia, Jennifer Baldassari- 07/16/2020

Special Considerations for Students with Exceptional Needs Related to School Closures Due to COVID-19

By: Sarah Garcia- 04/13/2020

Ninth Circuit Upholds Decision To Expel Student For Creating A "Hit List" And Solidifies Standard For Student Discipline For Off-Campus Expression.

By: Sarah Garcia- 06/28/2019

New Laws Grant Diplomas To Terminally Ill And Students That Have Departed California

By: Sarah Garcia- 01/08/2019

Pregnant and Parenting Pupils Afforded New Accommodations Beginning January 1, 2019

By: Sarah Garcia- 12/27/2018

Episode 61 Responding to Student Behavior and Student Discipline in the Special Education Context

By: Sarah Garcia, Kaitlyn Tucker- 04/20/2023

In this Lozano Smith Podcast episode, host Sloan Simmons talks with Lozano Smith special education Partner Sarah Garcia and special education attorney Kaitlyn Tucker about the nuances and options when responding to student behavior, including imposition of student discipline and other options, in the special education context.

Restraints - How the Law Guides Some of the Most Challenging Classroom Decisions

By: Sarah Garcia, Roxana Khan- 04/16/2019

In a wide ranging discussion on a sensitive and challenging topic, Devon Lincoln discusses the law regarding the use of restraints in school with special education attorneys Sarah Garcia and Roxana Khan. The attorneys discuss real world experiences, the law that applies in this area, and how staff and administrators can best approach these difficult issues.