January 8 , 2008

ISSN: 1538-3202

Issue: 418
Subscribers: 55,635

In This Issue:

Progress Report for 2007

Sponsorship Opportunities at Wrightslaw

Top 10 Articles

Top 10 Topics

Top 10 Cases

ISO Smart Kids with LD Youth Achievement Award

More Resources from Wrightslaw

	Advocacy Library
	Law Library
	Topics From A to Z
	IDEA 2004
	No Child Left Behind
	Fetaweb.com

Special Education Law & Advocacy Training

Contact Info

Pete and Pam Wright
Wrightslaw & The Special Ed Advocate
P. O. Box 1008
Deltaville, VA 23043

Copyright © 2007, Peter W. D. Wright and Pamela Darr Wright. All rights reserved. Please do NOT reprint or host on your website without explicit permission.

We want to thank you for your emails and letters, your stories of success and support, and your enthusiastic response to our books and training programs.

At Wrightslaw, our mission is to help you gain the knowledge and skills you need to navigate the confusing, changing world of special education. You helped make 2007 our best year ever and we look forward to celebrating our 10th Year in 2008.

Together, we can continue to make a difference for nearly 7 million children with disabilities and their families.

Thank you!
Pam & Pete Wright

In this issue of the Special Ed Advocate, you will find links to the Top 10 articles, topics, and cases in 2007. So much to read - and so little time. We've listed the "Top 10s" to help you find important information quickly and easily.

Sign up free today!  l Read previous issues

In 2007, more than 2.6 million people visited Wrightslaw. You downloaded more than 8 million files (47 million hits).

Wrightslaw
Summary of Site Activity

Total Visitors: 2.67 million
Total Page Views: 8.02 million
Total Hits: 47.0 million

View 2007 User Summary (in pdf)

Busiest Months: October and November
Slowest Months: January and February

Wrightslaw Yellow Pages for Kids
Summary of Site Activity

2007
1,355,139 Accesses

The Yellow Pages for Kids Offers New Opportunity for Sponsorships

In 2007, we had requests from companies and organizations who wanted to purchase premium advertising space on our websites. In December, we announced that a limited number of sponsorships would be available for 2008.

Find out about this new opportunity for service providers in 2008. Place your ad today while space is available. The Yellow Pages for Kids is a premier source of reliable referral information and is already tailored specifically to the advertising needs of advocates, attorneys and service providers.

New Wrightslaw Special Education Law and Advocacy Webex Training Series

In September, we launched the first program from the Wrightslaw Webex Training Center, Special Education Law and Advocacy, for parents, educators, service providers, advocates, and attorneys.

This multimedia program includes all the content of the full-day (6 hour) program from Wrightslaw Special Education Law and Advocacy training programs - and more. These programs have been presented nationwide. This year we were pleased to offer the web-based training for those of you who have always wanted to participate in a training conference, but were not able to attend.

In this new power packed 6.5 hour program, you hear instructors Pete Wright and Pam Wright in action and see hundreds of Powerpoint slides they use in these programs - at your convenience, in your home or office.

Two sessions in the program are on the law; two are on knowledge and skills for effective advocacy. The focus of the program is:

• special education law, rights and responsibilities
• tests and measurements to measure progress and regression
• SMART IEPS
• introduction to tactics and strategies for effective advocacy

Wrightslaw Webex Training can be purchased in two formats: Immediate download for $39.95 or CD-ROM for $49.95 and in combination with the textbooks, if you do not already have them.

You can train your entire staff without leaving the office. This training is perfect for parent and advocacy group training. It can be purchased in bulk for a special discount price.

Order Online l Order by phone, fax or mail

• How to Use Tests and Measurements to Measure and Monitor Your Child's Progress
• How to Use the Bell Curve to Understand Your Child's Disability
• How to Organize Your Child's Special Education File

back to the top

1. Tests and Measurements for the Parent, Teacher, Advocate and Attorney by Pete and Pam Wright (Note: This has been the top ranked article every year since 1998)

2. Functional Behavioral Assessments: What? Why? How? Who? by Stephen Starin, Ph.D.

3. What You Need to Know About IDEA 2004: IEPs for Children with Behavior Problems by Pat Howey

4.Year 2006 Tax Benefits for Parents of Children with Disabilities
by Michael A. O'Connor, Esq.

5. IDEA 2004 Roadmap to the IEP: IEP Meetings, Content, Review & Revision, Placements, Transition & Transfers

6. Discussion of Section 504, the ADA, and the IDEA

7. Who is Eligible for Protections Under Section 504 . . .
but Not Under IDEA?

8. 10 Tips: How to Use IDEA 2004 and NCLB to Improve Education for Children with Disabilities by Wayne Steedman

9. Questions and Answers on Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) Requirements of the IDEA

10. Your Child's IEP: Practical and Legal Guidance for Parents

Special Education Law & Advocacy Articles l What You Need to Know About IDEA 2004

back to the top

1. Section 504 and Discrimination

3. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 2004)

4. IDEA 2004 Statute and Regulations

5. Individualized Education Programs (IEPs)

6. Behavior Problems and Discipline

7. No Child Left Behind

8. Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD/ADHD)

9. Least Restrictive Environment/Inclusion

10. Advocacy

Topics from A-Z l Sitemap

back to the top

1. Board of Ed. of Hendrick Hudson Central School Dist. v. Amy Rowley, 458 U.S. 176 (1982) - First decision in a special education case by the U. S. Supreme Court; defined "free appropriate public education."

2. Honig v. Doe, 484 U.S. 305 (1988) - Decision by U. S. Supreme Court in discipline case on behalf of emotionally disturbed children who had academic and social problems.

3. Winkelman v. Parma City School District (No. 05-983) (2007) - Supreme Court rules that parents may represent their children's interests in special education cases, and are not required to hire a lawyer before going to court. The Court held that parents have legal rights under the IDEA and can pursue IDEA claims on their own behalf, although they are not licensed attorneys.

4. J.L. and M.L., and their minor daughter, K.L. v. Mercer Island (WA) School District - In finding that the standards for a free appropriate public education described by the Supreme Court decision in Board of Ed. of Hendrick Hudson Central School District v. Rowley are no longer relevant, the Court cited changes in recent IDEA reauthorizations that are so significant "that any citation to pre-1997 case law on special education is suspect."

5. Board of Education of City of New York v. Tom F (2007). The question before the Court was whether parents of a child who has never received special education and related services from the public school district can obtain reimbursement for a unilateral private placement. The United States Supreme Court issued a split decision (4-4) in this case. Justice Kennedy, author of the pro-parent decision in Winkelman v. Parma, recused himself. The favorable decision on behalf of the parents and child stands for families who live in the Second Circuit - Connecticut, New York, and Vermont.

6. Schaffer v. Weast, 546 U. S. __ (2005) - Supreme Court held that the burden of proof in a due process hearing that challenges an IEP is placed upon the party seeking relief.

7. Burlington Sch. Committee v. Mass. Bd. of Ed., 471 U. S. 359 (1985) - Decision from Supreme Court clarifies procedural safeguards, parental role in educational decision-making, tuition reimbursement, child's placement during disputes.

8. Florence Co. Sch Dist Four v. Shannon Carter, 510 U.S. 7, (1993) - If the public school does not provide a child with an appropriate education and the child receives an appropriate education in a private placement selected by the parents, the parents are entitled to be reimbursed for the child's special education.

9. Reusch v. Fountain (MD) - One of the first cases about extended school year (ESY).

10. Jarron Draper v. Atlanta Independent School System (N.D. GA 2007) - School district misdiagnosed a dyslexic boy as mentally retarded, placed him in self-contained program for years where he did not learn to read. School district failed to complete three-year reevaluation, as required by law. The Court ordered the school system to provide J.D. with compensatory education at private special education school for four years or until he graduates with a regular high school diploma.

back to the top

At the Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities Annual Benefit in May, we met Cassidy Kahn of New York and Jesse Kline of Maryland, the first-ever dual winners of the 2007 Youth Achievement Awards.

Cassidy is an AAU All-America competitive diver. Jesse is doing field research for Global Vision International in the Galapagos Islands and the Amazon.

Do you know a Cassidy or a Jesse?

Nominations are open for the Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities Youth Achievement Award. This year's $1,000 award will be given to a student with learning disabilities or ADHD who has demonstrated initiative, talent and determination that resulted in a notable accomplishment in any field. Honorable Mentions will also be awarded.

Learn about this Award and download an application from the Smart Kids with LD website.

Deadline! Applications must be submitted by January 31, 2008.

back to the top

Great Products From Wrightslaw