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At Wrightslaw,
our goals are to help you gain the information and skills you need to
navigate the changing world of special education.
Highlights: Pam answers a teacher's
questions about turning parents against special ed teachers; school nurse
does the right thing, is vindicated in retaliation case; decision in McGreevy
v. Stroup, et. al., pre-pub offer on Wrightslaw: IDEA 2004
ends July 15; IDEA 2004 hearings in San Antonio & Washington, DC;
how to provide a comment on IDEA 2004 regs; IDEA 2004 resources; Wrightslaw
comes to Hawai'i (July 29-31).
The Special
Ed Advocate newsletter is free - please forward
this issue or the subscription
link to your friends and colleagues so they can learn about special
education law and advocacy too. We appreciate your help!
Download this issue. All
newsletters published in 2005
1. Question of the Week: Why Do You Teach Parents to be Against Special Ed Teachers?
"In many of your articles, you do not support special ed teachers. In fact, you instruct parents on how to be against special ed teachers and school administrators."
"It's hard to understand why anyone would go into this field, when teaching kids gets in the way of paperwork. It's easy to understand why sped teachers leave the profession."
Is this teacher correct? Do we teach parents to be "against" special ed teachers? Do we support special ed teachers? What is our mission?
Why should anyone go into special education? What qualities do good special education teachers share? What may be troubling this teacher? What strategies can she employ to resolve her problem?
Pam answers questions about support of special educators (and sets the record straight) in Why Do You Teach Parents to be Against Special Ed Teachers.
More Frequently Asked Questions
2. Doing the Right Thing: School Nurse Vindicated in Retaliation Case
Linda
McGreevy is a licensed professional nurse, a pediatric nurse practitioner,
and a certified school nurse.
She holds a school nurse certificate from Millersville University, a Masters
of Education from Penn State University, a certified nurse practitioner
degree from the College of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and Rutgers,
and a Bachelor of Science Nursing Degree from Fairleigh Dickenson University.
She is also qualified to be a school principal.
Between 1994 and 1999, Linda McGreevy received outstanding employment
ratings, scoring 75 or higher out of a possible 80 points. Under the District's
categories of ratings, 75-80 is considered "excellent," the
highest possible category.
In 1999, her evaluations suddenly dropped to unsatisfactory levels. What caused this exceptional employee's fall from grace? Read Doing the Right Thing: School Nurse Vindicated in Retaliation Case.
Learn
more about trends in Teacher
Litigation and Retaliation
3. New Decision in School Retaliation Case: McGreevy v. Stroup, et. al.
In Linda
McGreevy v. Stroup,
Tsosie, Soltis, Bermudian Springs Sch. District,
the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that Linda McGreevy had
a right to advocate on behalf of the disabled students, a right to object
to pesticide spraying by an unlicensed individual, and a right to clarify
where she worked (and didn't work).
The
Court held that the principal, assistant principal and superintendent
who retaliated against Ms. McGreevy were not entitled to qualified immunity
in their official capacities; that they may also be liable in their individual
(personal) capacities; that because the superintendent was the final policymaker,
by supporting retaliatory performance ratings, the District became liable.
The decision in McGreevy
v. Stroup, et. al. includes a comprehensive analysis of freedom of
speech rights for public employees; how these rights are affected in "matters
of public concern;" the balancing of interests between the employee's
right to speak and the employer's interest in "efficiency and maintaining
discipline in the workplace."
More special ed caselaw.
4. Prepub Offer on Wrightslaw: IDEA 2004 Ends Friday, July 15
Wrightslaw: IDEA 2004 is available as an e-book, a print book, or both.
E-book
(162 pages, 8 1/2" x 11", $9.95). Available now. When you purchase
the e-book (PDF format), you can download it within minutes. You can read
it on your computer or print it out on your printer. There is no shipping
or sales tax for e-books.
Print publication (168 pages, 8 1/2" x 11", perfect
bound, $14.95 plus shipping). Ship date: 2nd week of August.
E-book
& Print Combo: Get Wrightslaw:
IDEA 2004 as
an e-book immediately and the print edition in August ($19.95)
People who order the E-book & Print Combo ($19.95) between Tuesday, June 28 and Friday, July 15 receive a "$10 Off Coupon" that may be applied to the purchase of Wrightslaw: Special Education Law, 2nd Edition. (To be published after the final special education regulations are published in Winter 2005/6)
Learn more about the prepublication offer.
5. Last Public Hearings on IDEA 2004 Regulations: San Antonio & Washington, D.C.
The Department of Education has held public hearings in several cities to receive comments about the proposed IDEA 2004 regulations. The last public meetings will be held in San Antonio (July 7) and Washington, DC (July 12).
San Antonio
Education Service Center, Region 20
1314 Hines Avenue
San Antonio, TX 78208
Thursday, July 7, 2005, 1:00-4:00 pm, 5:00-7:00 pm
Washington,
DC
Gallaudet University
Kellogg Conference Center
800 Florida Ave, N.E.
Washington, DC 20002
Tuesday, July 12, 2005, 1:00-4:00 pm, 5:00-7:00 pm
We plan to
attend the meeting in Washington, DC on July 12. We hope to see you there!
6. Pete's Advice: How to Provide a Comment on Proposed Regs
If you intend to provide a comment on the proposed IDEA 2004 regs (in a meeting or in writing), you need to be prepared. Read the specific section in IDEA 2004 and the proposed regulation very carefully.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004: Overview, Explanation and Comparison of IDEA 2004 & IDEA 97 describes substantive changes to the five key statutes of IDEA 2004 by section and subsection. Text added to IDEA 2004 is in italics. Text deleted from IDEA 97 has been
URL: https://www.wrightslaw.com/idea/idea.2004.all.pdf
The proposed IDEA 2004 regulations (reformatted with subsections indented under main sections, outlined, easy to read). URL: https://www.wrightslaw.com/idea/law/idea.regs.propose.pdf
The Explanations
and Commentary for IDEA 2004 Regulations (also reformatted) includes
the Dept of Ed's comments and explanations about their rationale for changes.
See pages 1 and 2 for Information about how to submit a comment
(i.e., issues, deadlines, addresses, how to to send, etc.).
URL: https://www.wrightslaw.com/idea/law/idea.regs.explain.pdf
Note: If you cannot open these files,
go to www.adobe.com and download the
newest version of Adobe Reader software onto your computer (it's free).
7. IDEA 2004
The authorization of any new law brings questions and different interpretations. IDEA 2004 at Wrightslaw will help you find answers to your questions. How the site is currently organized:
8. Wrightslaw Coming to Hawai'i (July 29-31, 2005)
Pete and Pam Wright are coming to Hilo Hawaii July for two events.
Hilo,
HI - July 29, 2005 - LDA Conference (Keynote Speakers & Presenters)
Hilo, HI - July
30-31, 2005 - Boot Camp
New
Programs: IDEA 2004 & Effective Advocacy
We are developing new training programs on IDEA 2004 and effective
advocacy. We will provide more information about these programs and
when they will be available within the next week or two.
Programs l Speakers l FAQs l Schedule
The
Special Ed Advocate is a free online newsletter about special education
legal and advocacy issues, cases, and tactics and strategies. Subscribers
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Contact
Info
Pete
and Pam Wright
Wrightslaw & The Special Ed Advocate
P. O. Box 1008
Deltaville, VA 23043
Website: https://www.wrightslaw.com
Email: newsletter@wrightslaw.com
