lawyer

#Special education laws

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

8:30 10:00 AM

First General Session

Year in Review: Select Cases Guidance Letters

Tuesday Morning Workshops

Art Cernosia, Attorney at Law/Education Consultant, Williston, Vermont

This session will provide an overview and analysis of the latest and significant decisions issued by the United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit interpreting the IDEA. The Ninth Circuit covers the following states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.

Julie Weatherly, Attorney at Law/Owner, Resolutions in Special Education, Inc. Mobile, Alabama

The U.S. Supreme Court has referred to the IEP as the “modus operandi” for the provision of FAPE to students with disabilities.  In accordance with the Court’s two-pronged test for determining whether an IEP is appropriate, due process hearing officers and courts will look to both the procedural and substantive components of the IEP.  This presentation will examine many common pitfalls that IEP Teams should avoid in order to ensure that IEPs developed and implemented are legally defensible.

Dave Richards, Attorney at Law, Richards Lindsay Martin, LLP, Austin, Texas

The success of the IDEA is premised on a cooperative relationship between parents of students with disabilities and the schools that owe the FAPE duty. As parents and schools bring different motivations and skill sets to the relationship, the IDEA statute and regulations seek to distribute rights and duties to encourage the partners to effectively work together. In this lively session, veteran school lawyer Dave Richards will look at key pieces of the procedural safeguards and illustrate through cases and examples how a successful partnership between parent and school can be fostered by compliance with the rules and mutual respect for the purpose behind the rules.

Jose Martin, Attorney at Law, Richards Lindsay Martin, LLP, Austin, Texas

Since the Supreme Court issued its opinion in the Rowley case, it has been clear that schools choose educational methodologies to be used in implementing IDEA students’ IEPs. This choice comes with responsibility, however, as the schools’ chosen methodologies must enable a student to benefit from their IEP. This session addresses schools’ right to choose methodologies, and illustrates the concept with caselaw reviews that examine the limits of that right, including in the controversial area of methodologies for students with autism spectrum disorders.

Eric Hartwig, Administrator/Psychologist, Marathon County Special Education, Wausau, Wisconsin

The dual system of general and special education has created confusing and conflicting discussions at the level of philosophy, policy, and curriculum. Many educational professionals perceive a dilemma created by conflicting mandates and are confronted with the challenge to assure access to the general curriculum, while at the same time providing instruction that is responsive to highly individualized needs.Response to Intervention (RtI) now often referred to as Multi-Tiered Systems of Support is an integrated approach to academic and behavioral concerns that is steeped in general education. Much of the success of this process hinges on the ability and willingness of general education teachers to implement interventions reliably and effectively. This session will focus on the integrity and efficacy of the instructional priorities and process, particularly as it relates to learning disabilities.

Jan Tomsky, Attorney at Law, Fagen Friedman Fulfrost, Oakland, California

What constitutes a pattern of short-term removals resulting in a change of placement? Do in-school suspensions and bus suspensions count as a day of removal? What options are available to schools when a student with a disability commits a serious crime? This presentation takes you on a legally driven but practical-based tour through the thorniest of special education discipline issues, answering those questions and many more by explaining the essential rules and providing factual, feasible and functional solutions to the discipline topics that pose the most difficulties for special education administrators and staff.