Wrightslaw
The Special Ed Advocate Newsletter

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

In this issue of The Special Ed Advocate, we look at specific learning disabilities, discrepancy and response to intervention models, and answer your requests for help.

Subscribers on December 6, 2005: 47,746

The Special Ed Advocate newsletter is free - we hope you will 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

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1. What You Need to Know About IDEA 2004: Learning Disabilities, Discrepancy & Response to Intervention (RTI) Models

Did you know that more than half of all children in special education programs are identified with specific learning disabilities? For years, experts have questioned the use of discrepancy models to identify children with learning disabilities.

Almost all children can learn if taught appropriately. Many children do not get appropriate instruction because their teachers are not adequately prepared. Some experts claim that most children identified with specific learning disabilities are actually "victims of poor teaching."

When Congress reauthorized IDEA, they listened to these experts. IDEA 2004 includes changes in how children with specific learning disabilities may be identified. How did the law change? Is IDEA 2004 the death knell for discrepancy models?

We attempt to answer these questions in IDEA 2004: Specific Learning Disabilities - Discrepancy and Response to Intervention Models.

Read more articles in the What You Need to Know About IDEA 2004 series.

Learn more about IDEA 2004.

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3. When Will the Federal Special Ed Regulations Be Available?

"Can you tell me when the federal special education regulations will be available?"

Good question! The Department of Education has not completed work on the federal special education regulations. When they do, they will send the regs to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval.

OMB has 90 days to review the regulations. OMB can approve the regs or request that the Department of Education make changes to them.

When OMB approves the regs, they will be published in the Federal Register. It is unlikely that this process will be completed before March 2006, at the earliest.

When IDEA was reauthorized in 1997, 19 months passed before the federal special education regulations were published. IDEA 2004 was reauthorized 12 months ago, in December 2004. We will send a Wrightslaw Alert to subscribers when the federal regulations are published.

Wrightslaw: Special Education Law, 2nd Edition will include the federal special ed regulations and the recent Supreme Court decision in Schaffer v. Weast.

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4. Help at the Yellow Pages for Kids

"Help! I am having problems with the school - I need an advocate!"

"Help! I need to get an evaluation of my child - where can I find a good evaluator?"

To answer your requests for help, we built Yellow Pages for Kids with Disabilities for every state and territory.

Your state Yellow Pages includes listings for psychologists, educational diagnosticians, therapists, health care providers, academic tutors, special education schools, advocates, attorneys, support and study groups, and others who provide services to parents and children.

If you are looking for help, visit the Yellow Pages for Kids with Disabilities!

Help Others - Distribute Flyers for the Yellow Pages

Millions of parents are frightened, isolated, and seeking help. Reach out. Give them a hand. Let them know about the Yellow Pages for Kids.

How? Distribute flyers for your state Yellow Pages.

Where? At schools, day care centers, public libraries, doctors' and psychologists' offices, community centers, clinics, tutoring centers, and hospitals.

If you provide services to children with disabilities and their families, please make flyers available to your clients.

Tip: Ask your school, public library, day care center, and support group to post your state flyer on their bulletin boards and websites.