The purposes of evaluation, as shown in its definition in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act's (IDEA) regulations (2019, § 300.15), concern eligibility and free appropriate public education (FAPE). For the initial evaluation, the focus of the IDEA legislation is to determine whether the child is eligible and, if so, the nature and…

This article highlights the trends in state laws and judicial rulings specific to identification of and interventions for students with dyslexia.

This article provide an analysis of the relevant court decisions from the end of 2016 to the end of 2019 specific to the IDEA [Individuals with Disabilities Education Act] child find obligation. Questions investigated concerned trends with regard to frequency, distribution, and outcomes as well as whether particular factors (such as response to…

Although varying among and within the states, the percentage of students with 504 plans is steadily and significantly increasing as a national average. Although the professional literature addresses the legal standards for eligibility for 504 plans, it has not provided up-to-date information to practitioners as to the legal standard for the…

This article provides a current, comprehensive, and concise overview of the law specific to students with dyslexia in K-12 schools. It consists of (a) an overview of the applicable legal framework, which includes the federal foundation in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, (b) a compact…

From leading authorities, this indispensable work is now in a revised and expanded second edition, presenting state-of-the-art tools and procedures for practitioners. The book shows how to use response to intervention (RTI) to evaluate K-12 students for specific learning disabilities (SLD). The second edition gives increased attention to…

As a trusted link between district personnel, students, and their families, school psychologists often have questions about whether their communications are privileged like those of other professionals. In some jurisdictions, state statutes and common, or case, law recognize privileged communications for certain specified paired roles, including…

Teachers and parents often find special education law complex and confusing. As one step for a basic foundation in special education law, a previous "TEACHING Exceptional Children" article (Zirkel, 2005) provided a snapshot of the "top five case concepts" based on 10 decisions from the Supreme Court. Each of these decisions…

Depending on their experience, local special education directors may be familiar with the complaint procedures (CP) avenue that the IDEA requires each state education agency (SEA) to provide. Yet most special education professors and many parents of students with disabilities have negligible knowledge about this avenue of decisional dispute…

This article provides a tabular analysis of court rulings where public school principals challenged the adverse employment actions of involuntary transfer, suspension, demotion, nonrenewal, constructive termination, and termination during the period 1998-2012. The primary findings were that (a) the judicial outcomes were markedly in favor of the…

This article reports on a case that resulted in a published court decision which illustrates a dilemma at the intersection of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). On first impression, the finding that teachers were operating based on professional principle seems to validate their actions.…

Principals and other educators often have perceptions about key issues in school law that are remarkably wrong. When that is the case, they help reinforce those prevailing perceptions by sharing them with teachers, parents, and other administrators, and by contributing to misguided practices and policies. Where do educators get such…

A comprehensive search identified 31 state statutes and regulations specific to functional behavioral assessments (FBA) and behavior intervention plans (BIP) in the special education context. A systematic tabulation of the state law provisions that exceed the rather narrow foundation requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act…

This article presents an explanation of the eligibility criteria for K-12 students under Section 504 and its sister statute, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The explanation shows the evolving application of Section 504 to students in terms of three phases: awareness, constriction, and expansion. The latest phase, expansion, started with…

In September 2008, while the national spotlight was on the economic crisis, the Iraq war, and the presidential election, Congress passed by acclamation, and President Bush signed without fanfare, the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments (ADAA). Effective Jan. 1, 2009, the ADAA not only significantly reversed major judicial interpretations of…