Wrightslaw
Special Ed Advocate

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

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Subscribers on June 8, 2006: 47,082

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1. Coming Soon? IDEA 2004 Regulations Under Review

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2. What You Need to Know About IDEA 2004

After IDEA 2004 was reauthorized, we wrote a series of What You Need to Know about IDEA 2004 articles. You may want to review some of these articles .

Remember: the purpose of regulations is to clarify and explain the law. Regulations do not take away rights guaranteed by the law.

IDEA 2004: What You Need to Know About IEPs, Highly Qualified Teachers & Research Based Instruction - Learn about new language in IDEA 2004 that is designed to ensure that children with disabilities are taught by highly qualified teachers and receive research based instruction. This article includes requirements for personnel training, IEPs, and scientifically based instruction.

IDEA 2004: What You Need to Know About Specific Learning Disabilities: Discrepancy v. Response to Intervention Models - Congress changed the law about how to identify children with specific learning disabilities. In this article, we look at response to intervention or response to instruction (RTI) models, discrepancy models, and how the changes in IDEA 2004 may affect millions of children who have been identified with specific learning disabilities.

IDEA 2004: What You Need to Know About IEPs - 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”?

IDEA 2004: What You Need to Know About IEP Team Members & IEP Meeting Attendance - Learn about IEP team members and IEP team attendance, when team members may be excused from an IEP meeting, and what parents and the school district must do before a team member may be excused.

IDEA 2004: What You Need to Know About Section 1412 - State Eligibility (Catch-All Statute) - State Eligibility (the Catch-All Statute) includes free appropriate public education; child find; least restrictive environment; equitable services for children in private schools; tuition reimbursement for unilateral placements; assessments, alternative assessments, accommodations guidelines, and more.

IDEA 2004: New School District Attorneys' Fees Provision by Jess Butler, Esq.
IDEA 2004 allows school districts to seek attorneys' fees from parents or their attorneys under specific circumstances. Courts have held that defendants must meet very tough standards before they can recover fees. This article explains what these restrictions may mean for parents and counsel.

IDEA 2004: What You Need to Know About Requirements for Highly Qualified Special Ed Teachers - Learn about new requirements for special ed teachers; limits of what teachers who are not highly qualified may do; how teachers can demonstrate their competence.

More articles about IDEA 2004

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3. IDEA 2004 Publications, Reports, Resources

Many legal, educational and disability organizations have published reports about the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA 2004).

To see how different organizations - the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, National Association of School Psychologists (NASP), National Association of Protection & Advocacy Systems, Congressional Research Service, Council of Exceptional Children, Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) - view IDEA 2004, please visit the IDEA 2004 Publications & Resources Page.

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4. Summer Schedule: Wrightslaw Programs in FL, GA, TX, KY, PA

Wrightslaw offers a variety of special education law and advocacy programs taught by experts in the field of special education law and advocacy, including four free programs in Florida (but you must act fast)!

The Summer 2006 schedule includes these programs:

June 14: Rehoboth Beach, DE - Special Ed Law & Advocacy Training with Pete and Pam Wright at the Boardwalk Plaza Hotel; sponsored by The Arc of Delaware. SOLD OUT!

July 11, 2006 - Tallahassee (Leon County Dept of Health) - What You Don't Know About IDEA 2004 CAN Hurt You; sponsored by Florida Developmental Disabilities Council (FDDC) - Free!

July 13, 2006 - Tampa (Shriners Hospital) - What You Don't Know About IDEA 2004 CAN Hurt You; sponsored by Florida Developmental Disabilities Council (FDDC) - Free!

July 15, 2006 - Miami (Wayside Baptist Church) - What You Don't Know About IDEA 2004 CAN Hurt You; sponsored by Florida Developmental Disabilities Council (FDDC) - Free!

July 17, 2006 - Ft. Lauderdale (NSU/NOVA) - What You Don't Know About IDEA 2004 CAN Hurt You; sponsored by Florida Developmental Disabilities Council (FDDC) - Free !

July 19: Atlanta, GA - Special Education Law & Advocacy Training at the National Fragile X Foundation’s 10th International Fragile X Conference. Speakers: Pete and Pam Wright

August 3: Austin, TX - Special Education Law & Advocacy Training sponsored by Texas Parent to Parent, Speakers: Wayne Steedman and Pat Howey

August 4: Louisville, KY - Special Education Law & Advocacy Training sponsored by KY-SPIN & Community Parent Resource Center .Speakers: Pete and Pam Wright

August 15: Philadelphia, PA - Special Education Law & Advocacy Training sponsored by the North Penn Special Education Council. Speakers: Pete and Pam Wright

2006-2007 Schedule l Program Descriptions

Online Training Countdown! Progress report from Pete & Pam (we are learning how to do polls, surveys, send out invitations and reminders, and designing a new template)

We are scheduling programs for 2007. If you are interested in bringing a Wrightslaw program to your community, please read Conference Information.