Ashlyn likes school again! Foundation-funded law students secure her right to a quality public education.

Falling further and further behind in school, second-grader Ashlyn Sikes' confidence hit rock bottom. As a kindergartener, this happy girl couldn't wait for the weekend to end so she could go to school with her big sister.

Now, she dreaded school.

Every morning she cried and came up with another complaint, angling to stay home: "I have a headache," or "I have a stomachache."

Adam and Amy Sikes of Tallahassee anguished about their youngest daughter, as they watched her struggle with speech, fine motor skills, reading, short-term memory, and attention span--performing "below grade level" on all core subjects.

"She cried because she was overwhelmed. She was trying to catch up," said Amy Sikes, detailing how she pleaded in vain with school officials to hold her daughter back in school instead of promoting her and creating a wider gulf she couldn't span.

"Finally, finally, I got what I needed for her. Now, she loves school. She cried on the last day of school, because she didn't want to leave her teacher," Amy Sikes said.

"My daughter is no longer being left behind," added Adam Sikes. "She enjoys school again. Her confidence is returning. She is smiling again. Ashlyn is learning that she can succeed."

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

What happened to dramatically change this 8-year-old's view of school, as she now heads to the third grade?

If you ask Adam and Amy Sikes, the key was persistent advocacy from four law students at the Florida State University College of Law's Public Interest Law Center, funded by The Florida Bar Foundation's Children's Legal Services grant program.

Beginning in November 2010 to February 2011, the law students' representation made all the difference in securing a signed Individual Education Plan guaranteeing special needs services for Ashlyn that two caring parents could not achieve for their daughter for more than two years.

"This is a typical case of a child not receiving the legally mandated services," said Professor Paolo Annino at the center that handles 60 ongoing cases, a third of them dealing with special education issues.

"It required the students to go to the meetings and show them what the law was. As I teach in class, in the American legal system, always follow the money. Watergate got it right there. They were dragging their feet on getting the evaluations this little girl needed," he said.

Stonewalling Turns to Action

In the fall, Valentina Villalobos and Vanessa Ritter were assigned to Ashlyn's case.

"The...