32 | AUGUST 19 • 2021 

EDUCATION

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Special Ed Proponent
Chaya Leah Tinman

For more than 30 years, another popular 
school advocacy choice for the Jewish com-
munity was Chaya Leah “Ilene” Tinman of 
Southfield. 
Back in the early 1990s, Tinman found her 
child’s special needs were not being met in 
the school system and took it upon herself 
to discover the legalities involved, learned to 
rephrase what she wanted and get her son 
what he was legally entitled to. 
Tinman knew how unequipped she’d felt 
at first and decided to help other parents 
who have children struggling in school. 
Word spread quick-
ly. Throughout her 
decades as a school 
advocate, she sat in 
on hundreds of REED 
and IEP meetings and 
helped hundreds of 
kids receive appropri-
ate supports in school. 
Most times she was 
able to help secure 
an IEP or 504 plan for 
students. “Even years later, parents still stop 
me when they see me to give me an update 
on their kid, telling me their child’s success 
is all because of me,” Tinman said. “It’s an 
incredible feeling to know I made such a dif-
ference and helped change so many lives.
Many other times, despite her best efforts, 
a child was denied an IEP and helping then 
felt like a “long drawn-out battle.” In those 
cases, the families ultimately either took their 
kids to a higher authority or threw up their 
hands in defeat and gave up the fight. 
“It’s always so painful to know a child is not 
getting what he needs in order to succeed in 
school,” Tinman said.
In June 2020, Tinman joined the staff at 
Jewish Family Service, bringing her skills, 
knowledge and years of experience into her 
new role of director of Youth and School 
Based Services, where she works directly 
with the Jewish day schools in Detroit. When 
parents call her these days, she helps by 
guiding them to local resources. She also still 
advocates for students in public schools. 

— Rochel Burstyn

Chaya Leah Tinman

different back in the 1970s when Lipsitt 
was a student. Her younger sister, Lori, 
had learning disabilities and an auditory 
processing disorder and was bounced 
between second and first grade numer-
ous times, often without warning and 
without her parent’s prior knowledge. 
“Experiences like that always result in 
negative feelings that can last a lifetime,
” 
Lipsitt said. “My mother knew things 
were warped, but she didn’t know how 
to navigate the system. I became Lori’s 
voice … just like I later became the 
voice for many children with special 
needs in school.
”
Lipsitt has always felt pulled toward 
civil rights movements and helping oth-
ers. Her family is used to seeing Lipsitt 
feeding people on the streets and buying 
homeless people warm coats for the 
winter.

HELP YOUR CHILD
Children are eligible for an IEP if they 
qualify for special ed. There are 13 
areas of eligibility: autism spectrum 
disorder, cognitive impairment, physical 
impairment, deaf-blind, severe multiple 
impairment, early childhood develop-
mental delay, specific learning disability, 
speech and language impairment, vision 
impairment, hearing impairment, trau-
matic brain injury, emotional impair-
ment and otherwise health impaired. 
When children do not fall into any of 
those categories, they may be entitled to 
a 504 plan, which also offers customized 
accommodations and special education 
services.
To initiate the process for an IEP
, “
A 
parent needs to write a letter stating that 
they want their child to be evaluated for 
special ed services. It could be emailed 
to the principal, Department of Special 
Ed or the school psychologist — it 
doesn’t really matter who,
” Lipsitt said. 

“What’s most important is the date on 
that letter, because legally, they have 10 
school days to respond to that written 
request.
”
The first meeting is called the Review 
of Existing Evaluation and Data (REED) 
 
 
where the parent, school psychologist, 
principal and support staff will review 
how the student is doing in school and 
determine how the child needs to be 
evaluated. 
At the REED, the IEP meeting will 
be scheduled. The goal is to identify the 
child’s strengths and concerns, go over 
assessment scores, and figure out the 
accommodations, goals and objectives 
and special education program and 
related services which will best help the 
child access his education and school 
environment. 
If a child is found ineligible for an IEP
, 
parents have a right to request an inde-
pendent educational evaluation (IEE), 
where the child will be evaluated by a 
neutral party — at the school district’s 
expense. 
“
Again,
” Lipsitt warned. “This request 
has to be in writing. Everything has to be 
in writing.
”
Local parent Kelly Sessel first hired 
Lipsitt when her daughter Ariel Fink, 
now 25, was not succeeding in middle 
school. The school was not helping her 
until Lipsitt started turning up at school 
meetings as Ariel’s advocate.
“Marcie knows everything inside 
and out,
” Sessel said. “She fought for 
our daughter and did a wonderful job. 
Ariel ended up getting everything she 
deserved.
”
Ariel’s IEP gave her small classes, 
extra time for testing, and even said 
someone should read her the informa-
tion, instead of having to read it herself. 
“
Ariel ended up graduating in 2014 
with a 3.6 average; she would not have 

“MARCIE KNOWS EVERYTHING INSIDE AND 
OUT. SHE FOUGHT FOR OUR DAUGHTER 
AND DID A WONDERFUL JOB.”

— PARENT KELLY SESSEL

