Education and Disability Clinic: Resources

This Nutshell presents a very timely overview of legal topics relating to special education services for students in K-12 education. Topics covered include: historical background, Section 504 coverage, IDEA coverage, child find, evaluations, IEPs, disciplinary issues, due process hearings, and state administrative complaints. The chapters include model forms, sample evaluations and IEPs. It also includes discussion of the Supreme Court's two recent decisions from the 2016-17 term. Finally, it provides examples from a variety of state practices to give the reader an excellent sense of the interaction between state and federal regulations in this complex area of the law.

An electronic book downloadable by USD users. Includes an appendix with sample letters that parents may use when requesting due process hearings, records, and evaluations, or when placing a child unilaterally into a private school.

Analyzes and defines key elements of special education law in language appropriate for both lawyers and non-lawyers. Available for use only in the legal clinic.

Tremendous changes have occurred over the past decade in the provision of services to students with disabilities. Federal mandates continue to define requirements for a free appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment. Additionally, there has been an increase in the number of lawsuits filed against school districts regarding the provision of educational services for students with disabilities. Case studies are a helpful way to understand these difficult issues. The case studies presented here are actual students eligible for special education and related services. The case studies are represented not to tell districts and parents that this is the only way questions about special education law can be answered, but to provide likely answers along with commentary for analysis. The cases were developed to help new (and experienced) special education leaders and supervisors survive the pressures of working with students with disabilities while working to provide appropriate services and prevent litigation.