Wrightslaw

1. 25th Anniversary of IDEA: Implementation Report

Twenty five years ago, Public Law 94-142 was signed into law by President Ford. Public Law 94-142 was the predecessor to the IDEA. Last week, on the 25 anniversary of the IDEA, the U. S. Department of Education submitted  the Annual Report about Implementation of the IDEA to Congress.

If you are a parent, educator, or advocate for children with disabilities, you are a special education "stakeholder." You need to understand the law and how it is enforced.

We urge you to download and study this Annual Report. We also urge you to download and read "Back to School on Civil Rights" (published by the National Council on Disability earlier this year), about the failure to implement the IDEA. (links follow).

This Report to Congress is divided into four areas: 

1. Context / Environment: Importance of Minority Institutions; Prenatal Exposure to Alcohol & Nicotine & Implications for Special ed.

2. Student Characteristics: Infants & Toddlers; Preschoolers; Students Aged 6-21; Students with Co-ocurring Disabilities; Students with Orthopedic Impairments

3. School Programs & Services: Educational Environment; Positive Behavioral Supports; Technology

4. Results: Early Intervention; High School Graduation; State Improvement & Monitoring

The "table of contents" page with links to these sections is at the Wrightslaw site.

The "table of contents" page for "Back to School on Civil Rights" is also at the Wrightslaw site.

For an interesting article about the IDEA, get "IDEA 25: The Progress and Problems" from Education Week

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2. Due Process Hearings: New Hampshire Judge Speaks Out

Due Process Hearings may run from days to several weeks. Long hearings waste time and resources. Are long hearings necessary? Who benefits from long hearings? Why can't hearings be held within 45 days? How can hearings be streamlined?

In a case against New Hampshire, a U. S. District Court Judge expressed serious concerns about long hearings in that state. You may find his observations interesting. The Judge offered several practical solutions to the long hearing problem.

We learned about this case after a New Hampshire advocate sent us the 147 page transcript of oral argument. We scanned part of the transcript and converted it to pdf. The quality of this file is marginal; some lines were cut from the photocopy.

The file is large (951 k). Here is a strategy that you can use to access this file. Go to the main directory

This directory lists many files. Scroll down to the file that begins with "NH" (for New Hampshire) that is in pdf. The file name is: NHtranscriptbarbadoro.pdf

Right click to "save target as" on your hard drive, then open the file from your computer. If you open the file online, it will take several minutes to load and open. You must have Adobe Reader installed to access this file. 

LONG HEARINGS

A few years ago, Pete was involved in a North Carolina case. The school board attorneys said the case would take three weeks to litigate. Pete said he would put his case on in a day and a half, max! School board counsel said it couldn't be done. Pete finished in a day and a half. The hearing lasted 5 1/2 days. Pete prevailed.

Click here to read the decision in this case

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3. New Slide Show Now Available In Powerpoint

Two days ago, we advised subscribers about the new "Tests & Measurements Slide Show." Some people could not access the file and asked if the Slide Show was available as a PowerPoint presentation. We converted the Slide Show into a PowerPoint format and added it to the site. Here are new links to the Tests and Measurements Slide Show:

Download Slide Show as PowerPoint Presentation (204 kb):

View Slide Show in html: 

https://www.wrightslaw.com/advoc/articles/slideindex.htm

https://www.wrightslaw.com/advoc/articles/slideindex_files/frame.htm

Tests and Measurements article (#1 download at Wrightslaw)

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4. Over $60 In Resources For $30. -- And Free Shipping

"Over $60. in valuable resources for $29.95 -- and shipping is free." With the new FREE STUFF OFFER, you get these resources:

* SMART IEPS Monograph (20+ pages)
* IEPs: Legal References (35 pages)
* Wrightslaw: CD-ROM 

Click here to read the information on the Free Stuff Offer