Rural school leaders encounter an array of complex issues that require legal counsel. Student discipline, contract disputes, employee conduct, special education, and a host of other topics require school boards and superintendents to utilize school attorneys. This descriptive phenomenological study explored the daily experiences of ten school…

This article outlines parents' struggle to secure adequate educational resources for their child(ren) with special educational needs within the Irish State system. The authors challenge the view that legislation facilitates practical advances that are meaningful to individual families. This small-scale exploratory study reports the findings from…

Of the three formal dispute resolution procedures provided by the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act of 2004(IDEA), due process hearings are the most costly in terms of time, fiscal resources, and impact on relationships between school personnel and parents. This study examined 258 due process hearings held over the past 8 years in…

A major expense associated with litigating disputes under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is the right of parents who succeed in suits against their school boards to recover attorney fees. Yet until recently, boards were generally unable to recover attorney fees from parents even when they succeeded in demonstrating that…

This White Paper project was undertaken to address the Learning Disabilities Association of America (LDA) concerns regarding the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) of 2004 statutory and regulatory requirements for the identification of Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD), and the subsequent U. S. Department of…

Too often, parents of children with disabilities come with negative expectations about the intentions of the teachers and administrators who are proposing an education plan for their son or daughter. In preparation, they arm themselves with advocates, lawyers, and a myriad of outside evaluations in preparation for the "battle" ahead. In…

Five years ago, the "Journal of Special Education Leadership" (JSEL) dedicated a special issue to "Critical Issues in Urban Special Education" and offered insights into the challenges of special education leadership in urban school districts. These perspectives focused on access to the curriculum, school-wide behavior supports,…

Addresses how plaintiffs in disability cases can obtain attorneys' fees for their litigation efforts. Parents are not expected to have to bear expenses such as attorneys' fees to obtain the free appropriate education for a child with disabilities. (50 footnotes) (MLF)

In this article, the author states that by granting review of the third case in two years involving the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the U.S. Supreme Court has signaled a renewed interest in resolving legal conflicts arising under the federal law that governs services provided to nearly 6.7 million school children in special…

The District of Columbia passed appropriation acts for fiscal years 1999, 2000, and 2001 to limit the amount of appropriated funds that could be paid to an attorney representing a prevailing party in an action brought against District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). A study…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 2004 has placed a renewed emphasis on the importance of the regular classroom, the regular classroom teacher and the general curriculum as the primary focus of special education. This book contains over 100 topics that deal with real issues and concerns regarding the regular classroom and…