Jessica Limbacher

Jessica has more than a decade of experience in special education law.  She began her special education practice as a Staff Attorney at Volunteer Lawyers for Justice (VLJ), which provides free legal services to low-income families on a variety of legal issues (including special education, bullying, and school discipline) and is located in Newark, New Jersey.  

 

Jessica managed VLJ's Children's Representation Program for seven years and represented families at IEP meetings, mediation, settlement conferences, and due process hearings, as well as truancy matters, suspension and expulsion proceedings, and residency appeals. In addition to handling her own caseload, she supervised and supported volunteer attorneys representing clients pro bono. Jessica also organized and presented at know-your-rights seminars for parents and continuing legal education training for attorneys on topics related to school law. Jessica co-authored “New Jersey's Move Toward Inclusion,” published in New Jersey Lawyer Magazine. She also served as a member of the New Jersey Special Education Practitioners and the New Jersey State Bar Association School Law Committee, and as co-chair of the New York County Lawyers Association Education Law Committee.

At Batchis & Nestle, Jessica has continued to represent families in the cooperative process of obtaining appropriate programming and placement for their children including through the IEP process and informal meetings and is highly skilled at obtaining programming to meet each student’s unique needs.  In those few cases where the collaborative process fails to provide appropriate programming, Jessica applies her significant experience with the IDEA’s dispute resolution process including the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Office of Dispute Resolution’s (ODR) procedures and has successfully used mediation and due process hearings to obtain tuition reimbursement, compensatory education and to maintain pendency for students who are eligible for special education under each of the IDEA disability categories, including Autism, Deafness, Hearing Impairment, Intellectual Disability, Multiple Disabilities, Speech/Language Impairment, Other Health Impairment, Emotional Disturbance, and Specific Learning Disability.  

​

Jessica has tried several cases to decision and has resolved dozens more after complaint and before final decision.  See e.g., ODR # 24533-20-21 (Vision Academy Charter School); ODR# 24322-20-21(Octorara Area School District). 

 

Jessica lives in Montgomery County with her husband, two kids, and rescue dog.