Wrightslaw

At Wrightslaw, our mission is to help you gain the information and skills you need to navigate the changing world of special education.

As children return to school and summer memories fade, it's time to find out what you missed during the busy summer. In this issue of The Special Ed Advocate, we'll help you catch up on important news about IDEA 2004 and a record 6.7 million settlement. You'll learn about our Fall training schedule - and a very special offer.

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Download this issue. All newsletters published in 2005

In June, the U. S. Department of Education issued the proposed IDEA regulations - 652 pages! We wanted to make the regulations less cumbersome, less intimidating, easier to print, read and study, so we reformatted the proposed regulations into two documents:

IDEA 2004 Regulations: Proposed - 97 pages in pdf
https://www.wrightslaw.com/idea/law/idea.regs.propose.pdf

IDEA 2004 Regulations: Explanations and Commentary - 65 pages in pdf
https://www.wrightslaw.com/idea/law/idea.regs.explain.pdf

The public comment period ended in early September. The U. S. Department of Education will review thousands of comments before making changes to the proposed regulations.

Final Regulations?
When will the feds publish the final regulations? We don't know. We've heard rumors that the Department plans to publish the regulations this winter, probably in early 2006. If you subscribe to The Special Ed Advocate, you'll receive a Wrightslaw Alert when the regulations are published!

On July 1, 2005, IDEA 2004 went into effect. The authorization of any law brings differing interpretations and questions. IDEA 2004 is no exception.

In 10 Tips: How to Use IDEA 2004 to Improve Your Child's Special Education, parent attorney Wayne Steedman explains how IDEA 2004 created a higher standard for a free, appropriate public education and how you can use No Child Left Behind to obtain a better IEP for your child.

Learn how to include research based methodology in your child's IEP and how to ensure that IEP goals are specific and measurable.

Wayne also teaches you about pitfalls to avoid - how to ensure that your child's teachers attend IEP meetings and how to avoid the infamous three-year IEP. He offers advice about how to resolve disputes - and what to do if you cannot resolve your dispute.

To learn how you can be a better advocate for your child - and avoid those pitfalls - read 10 Tips: How to Use IDEA 2004 to Improve Your Child's Special Education.

10 Tips is also available as a printer-friendly pdf document: https://www.wrightslaw.com/idea/art/10.tips.steedman.pdf

On August 18, Harbor House Law Press published Wrightslaw: IDEA 2004. The book includes the full text of Parts A and B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA 2004) with commentary, analysis, interpretation, and cross-references.

Wrightslaw: IDEA 2004 also includes several appendices, a glossary of acronyms, abbreviations and terms, and a bibliography of resources.

Print publication - $14.95 plus shipping (168 pages, 8 1/2" x 11", perfect bound)

E-book - $9.95 (no shipping or sales tax on e-books) A digital e-book (162 pages, 8 1/2" x 11" in PDF) that you can download within minutes. You can read it on your computer or print it out on your printer. Learn more about e-books.

E-book & Print Combo - $19.95 plus shipping. Receive Wrightslaw: IDEA 2004 as an e-book immediately. The print edition will be shipped to you by U. S. Priority Mail within 2-3 days.

50% Discount on Bulk Orders: Order a box of 20 (or 40, 60, 80, 100) copies of Wrightslaw: IDEA 2004 for $149.50 plus shipping - that's less than $7.50 per book.

How did IEPs change under IDEA 2004? What does the law say about developing, reviewing and revising IEPs? Who may be excused from IEP meetings, when, how? When can the child's IEP be changed without an IEP meeting?

What services must be provided when a child transfers to a district in the same state? A different state? What are “multi-year IEPs”?

We answer these questions (and more) in IDEA 2004: What You Need to Know About IEPs & IEP Meetings.

Note: This article is taken from Wrightslaw: IDEA 2004 by Peter W. D. Wright and Pamela Darr Wright.

Pete and Pam Wright will present Putting the Pieces Together: Special Education Law and Advocacy Training in Hartford on October 14 & 15, 2005. The program is sponsored by the Learning Disabilities Association of Connecticut.

In this high energy 12-hour course, we will use the two texts included in the registration fee. The curriculum includes: IDEA 2004; using tests and measurements to track programs; IEPs & IEP Teams; No Child Left Behind; tactics and strategies for effective advocacy. Learn more

Please download and distribute the conference brochure and registration form.

More Fall Programs

In August, the Manhattan Beach Unified School District and the California Department of Education agreed to pay more than $6.7 million to a child with a disability and his parents for their failure to appropriately educate the child for more than five years.

Steve Wyner, a partner with the law firm Wyner & Tiffany who negotiated the settlement, said, "This lawsuit could have been avoided and millions of dollars could have been saved had the Manhattan Beach USD and the CDE simply complied with clearly established statutes and regulations."

Read Federal Judge Approves Record 6.7 Million Settlement

Read special education caselaw

Wrightslaw: Special Education Law includes the full text of the the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 1997, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, FERPA, implementing regulations, decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court, and extensive commentary and explanations by Pete Wright. This book does not include IDEA 2004.

Wrightslaw: Special Education Law is a useful reference to the IDEA 97 statute. You can also download The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004: Overview, Explanation and Comparison of IDEA 2004 & IDEA 97 by Peter W. D. Wright, Esq. The monograph describes the substantive changes to the five key statutes of IDEA 2004 by section and subsection.

Why? Because Wrightslaw: Special Education Law contains the old law, we took the book out of print a few months ago. Copies have been returned by bookstores so we have a limited quantity. We are making the book available for $3.95.

Wrightslaw: Special Education Law l Order the book