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This website is a reliable source for parents, educators, and other advocates to obtain information. Discusses things such as special education laws and has links to articles, blogs, and cases.

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Peter W.D. Wright, Esq. and Pamela Darr Wright, MA, MSW

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Wrightslaw provides free access to articles, cases, resources and training about special education law and advocacy.

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This website includes all things Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The website has the laws, reports, and resources concerning the IDEA.

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Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

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Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

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The U.S. Department of Education’s Individuals with Disabilities Education Act website brings together department and grantee IDEA information and resources. The IDEA makes available a free appropriate public education to and ensures special education and related services to eligible children with disabilities.

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This website has data and reports, student support, parent corner and much more. The educator's section of this website is also helpful to learn about professional development.

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North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Exceptional Children Division website contains resources for parents, teachers, and administrators.

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This website is the 'catch all' for rights of students and families of special education. They have tabs for attorneys, family conversations, and news.

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What Parents Need to Know About Special Education Rights

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Special education law covers a broad continuum of students. This article walks you through the basics of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

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This website has many resources teachers can use in the classroom. However, there are also very helpful resources concerning human rights and special education.

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Browse our library of Human Rights teaching resources to find the right materials for your classroom. Create your free account today!

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Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975

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Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975

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Website: HG.Org
Date: 1995-2021
Purpose: This website has an overview of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 Law.
5 Key Takeaways:
- In order to trigger the protections of IDEA, a child must have a disability that results in the need for special education and related services
- The evaluation must assess all areas related to the child's suspected disability or disabilities
- If a parent disagrees with the evaluation, they can request an independent educational evaluation (IEE).
- The IEP, or Individualized Education Program, is the guiding document for the special education and related services an eligible child will receive.
- The IDEA requires that a child with a disability receive special education and related services in the least restrictive environment or LRE.

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The purpose of the law is to ensure a "free appropriate public education" to all children with disabilities in the "least restrictive environment."

In order to trigger the protections of IDEA, a child must have a disability that results in the need for special education and related services. Eligibility is determined when a child is referred by a teacher, school personnel or a parent for an evaluation.

The evaluation must assess all areas related to the child's suspected disability or disabilities, and may include a physical examination, psychological and psychiatric evaluation and testing, hearing or vision testing, and other appropriate evaluations.

The goal of the evaluation is to determine whether or not the child has a disability that requires the provision of special education and related services. If a parent disagrees with the evaluation, they can request an independent educational evaluation (IEE).

If the child is determined eligible, then an IEP meeting is scheduled. The IEP, or Individualized Education Program, is the guiding document for the special education and related services an eligible child will receive. At the meeting, the parents, together with several education professionals including a regular education teacher, special education teacher, a representative of the school, an individual who can interpret evaluation results, and others with specialized knowledge or expertise as necessary. The child with a disability may also participate in the IEP meeting.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the IEP will be developed. It is required to contain the child's present levels of academic achievement and functional performance; the special education and related services that will be provided; supplementary aids and services that are needed; modifications and accommodations that will be provided. It includes extracurricular activities and nonacademic activities in addition to academic learning activities. A key component of the IEP is how much time the child will spend separated from his or her nondisabled peers.

The IDEA requires that a child with a disability receive special education and related services in the least restrictive environment or LRE. The basic premise of LRE is that children with disabilities will be educated alongside children without disabilities to the maximum extent appropriate. It also requires that the child with a disability be educated in their home school, unless the IEP requires a different placement as the least restrictive environment for that child.

It is important to remember the "individual" part of the Individualized Education Program, which means that a school can't place all children with disabilities in a separate, segregated classroom. The individual needs of each student must be assessed and a plan written and implemented to address those individual needs.

In order to effectively benefit from the special education and related services provided, a child with a disability may need modifications and accommodations. Some examples of modifications are changing the way a child is tested, i.e. giving an oral exam instead of a written one, or giving extra time to take an exam. Accommodations are things like augmentative communication devices, specialized computer software, Braille, sign language interpreters or captioning, allowing a service animal to accompany the child, etc.

If parents disagree with the placement decision, or the contents or implementation of the IEP, there are procedural safeguards in place. Parents can choose informal resolution like an IEP review, as well as the more formal procedures of mediation or a due process hearing. They can also file a state complaint.

Mediation is a facilitated meeting between the parties where the mediator tries to help the parties reach an agreement. Mediation is voluntary and confidential.

Parents can also file a due process hearing request. While each state's procedures vary, the basic requirements are that a due process complaint is filed, a resolution meeting is convened within 15 days, the hearing takes place and a decision is issued within 45 days. The hearing officer's decision is final; the only recourse is to appeal to the appropriate state or federal court.

Parents may decide to file a complaint with the State Education Agency (SEA), which is required to investigate the complaint and issue a written decision within a certain time frame.

Though the IDEA is federal law, each state has its own set of regulations and procedures, so consult an attorney or advocate in your state for more information
Provided by HG.org

Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this publication at the time it was written. It is not intended to provide legal advice or suggest a guaranteed outcome as individual situations will differ and the law may have changed since publication. Readers considering legal action should consult with an experienced lawyer to understand current laws and.how they may affect a case.

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The purpose of the law is to ensure a "free appropriate public education" to all children with disabilities in the "least restrictive environment." In order to trigger the protections of IDEA, a child must have a disability that results in the need for special education and related services.

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This website has parent guides in different languages. It also discusses safeguards.

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Educational Rights means that every child in this country who has a disability - no matter the nature of the disability - has the right to a public education at no cost to their families.
The federal law that gives children with disabilities from birth to age 21 the right to a free and appropriate education is called the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Under this law, an appropriate education means that educational services must be individually designed to meet a child's unique needs in the least restrictive environment (LRE). This is written in a child's Individualized Education Plan (IEP).

IDEA Dispute Resolution Parent Guides

The Center for Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Special Education provides IDEA Dispute Resolution Parent Guides available in English, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese (Simplified), Hmong, Korean, Russian, Vietnamese, Burmese, Portuguese, Japanese, and Somali.

Procedural Safeguards Notice

Schools provide families with a document called the "Procedural Safeguards Notice" that describe the rights that families have in the special education process. This document is lengthy but includes important information. There are several resources available to help families understand the contents of this document and their rights that you can access on this page.

Resource from the Office for Dispute Resolution

The above resource provides links to an audio recording of the Procedural Safeguard Notice (PSN) broken into IX sections.

I. General Information

II. Confidentiality Information

III. State Complaint Procedures

IV. Due Process Complaint Procedures

V. Hearing on Due Process Complaint

VI. Mediation

VII. The Child's Placement Pending Mediation and Due Process

VIII. What if My Child is Excluded from School Because of Discipline Issues

IX. What Special Education Services are Available for My Child, if Parentally Placed in a Private School?

ConsultLine, Office for Dispute Resolution

1-800-879-2301 (Toll-Free)
ConsultLine is a toll-free information help line for families and advocates of children with disabilities who have questions or concerns about the education of a school-aged child. ConsultLine specialists answer questions and provide information about special education, gifted education, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. More information about ConsultLine here.
You can reach the ConsultLine at the following telephone numbers: 1-800-879-2301 (in Pennsylvania) and 717-901-2146 (outside of Pennsylvania).

In collaboration with HUNE, the Spanish HelpLine Plus is available for callers who would like to speak with a specialist in Spanish.

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Educational Rights means that every child in this country who has a disability - no matter the nature of the disability - has the right to a public education at no cost to their families. The federal law that gives children with disabilities from birth to age 21 the right to a free and appropriate education is called the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

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This article is about making appropriate placement decisions for a child under the IDEA. The best placement for a child is in the least restrictive environment which looks different for every child.

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Making Legally Sound Placement Decisions

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In this document I discuss the purpose of the IDEA as well as the federal website with access to more information. In this paper I also discuss my top takeaways and the date at which the law was passed.

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This document goes in depth into what a 504 is as well as lists the federal website in which you can access further information. Additionally, I listed the most important takeaways from Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act.

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In this document I explain in depth what the ESSA is. I also link the federal website which has more information on the law and additional takeaways. This law was made to ensure that all students are receiving a quality education by holding schools accountable for achievement.

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In this document I discuss the main purpose for the Americans with Disabilities Act. The main idea of this law is to ensure that people with disabilities have access to everything that mainstream Americans have access to.

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This document discusses ways to decide on SMART goals for IEPs. This involves picking goals that are attainable, measurable, etc. This is important for monitoring student progress.

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Child Find is the entire range of activities including public awareness, identification, referral, eligibility determination, and enrollment. This is importance since the enhancement of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (now, IDEA).

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This Resource is extremely helpful for both parents and educators. It allows for parents to have quick access to a guide with all of their rights concerning section 504. Section 504 applies to children who do not receive special education services as well so this is a relevant source for ALL parents who are concerned about their child's learning environment or methods of receiving instruction.

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ParentEducator Resource Guide to Section 504

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A Parents' Guide to Special Education in North Carolina

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A Parents' Guide to Special Education in North Carolina

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My favorite aspect of this resource is the "frequently asked questions." This has a multitude of questions asked and answered concerning a child's special education services eligibility.

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This is an excellent video to watch as it goes into an in-depth discussion about a supreme court ruling that sought to provide students with disabilities more learning opportunities. This is a game changer for the classroom.

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Is this Supreme Court ruling a game changer for special education?

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The Supreme Court recently ruled unanimously in favor of providing more educational opportunities for students with disabilities, a move that could set the bar higher for more than six million students. Lisa Stark of Education Week joins John Yang to discuss the court’s ruling and what it means for…

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I really like this resource because it includes a number of documents that can be used to support the IEP process. Specifically, ways the IEP can help the child achieve grade-level standards.

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This resource in great because it provides discussion between different people (Pam + Victoria), while giving subtle tips on how parents and teachers may feel during the process of including kids and supporting their individual needs.

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Victoria writes:

I am incensed! As a consultant to a preschool program, I supervise students who provide language therapy to a group of children. Some of these children have disabilities. We use innocuous books and fun activities.

Today I learned that some parents of the non-disabled children have complained and don't want their children in this group. If the group ends, our kids will not be able to have language with their non-disabled peers. I am really angry! What can I do about this?

Pam answers:

Before you go on the warpath, step into the parents' shoes and answer these questions:

What are their assumptions?

What are their beliefs?

What are their hopes? What do they want?

What are their fears?

When you answer these questions, you will be less incensed. You may also have the key to solving the problem.
If I wanted to play devil's advocate, I might say:

"I just learned that my child was placed in a group with disabled children. The people running this group are students - they say they are using "innocuous books" and "fun activities. Since they are students, I assume they are not very knowledgeable."

" I believe my child is a young genius. I hope he will be the next Bill Gates."

"I am afraid that you want to use my child in a social engineering project that was probably dreamed up by Hillary Clinton and her cohorts."

" I do not want my child to read "innocuous books." I do not want my child to spend school time in "fun activities."

" I want my child will receive a more rigorous education than she/he would receive in public school - that is why I am paying to send my child to this expensive private school."

If I wanted my child to read "innocuous books" and engage in "fun activities" I would send my child to public school."

" I am AFRAID of the impact these disabled children will have on my child."

Victoria, do not allow yourself to be a lightning rod for conflict.

If the parents take a position and you take a position, this situation will not end well.

Talk to these parents. Ask questions and listen - they will share their fears and concerns with you. Find answers to the questions I posed.

If you take these steps, you may be able to solve the problem, instead of taking a position which will escalate conflict and cause unnecessary pain on all sides.

In your job, you teach others. This situation gives you a chance to teach your students about the power of emotions and beliefs. People who work in education need to understand and appreciate these emotions. Good luck!

Update from Victoria:

Your advice about not reacting immediately was excellent. One of the reasons I work here is because I realized that I could have a larger impact in a college training program, both with students and in the community.

Initially I saw my "soapbox" as the area of autism and Asperger's, but I have gone beyond this into inclusion issues in general. I think those of us on this side of the fence have a responsibility to educate others. But we must remember to start where the "educatees" are.

Pam responds:

From my perspective (and I'm a therapist, not an attorney), your dilemma may be more common as large numbers of children with disabilities move into regular ed classes.

Parents are likely to divide into groups, according to what they see as their children's interests.

What happens when "regular ed" parents are told that their kids cannot receive help because "We have to spend so much money on special ed kids?" Many regular ed parents resent special ed kids - at best.

"Special ed" parents are divided into different camps and often do not see eye to eye.

One camp wants their children to be fully included or mainstreamed. These children often have more severe disabilities - i.e. mental retardation, autism. These parents hope that if their child is included, he/she is more likely to be accepted by nondisabled kids (and less likely to be victimized because many people are afraid of those who are different.) These parents also want their children to learn social skills. They assume / hope / believe this learning is more likely to occur in a general ed environment (although I have seen no evidence that "incidental learning" of social skills works for most kids with disabilities).

The other camp includes parents of kids with "high incidence" disabilities (i.e., learning disabilities, speech language problems, ADD/ADHD). Most of these parents want their children to learn academic skills and receive remediation (intensive educational services in very small homogeneous groups or one-to-one). Since children with disabilities are less likely to master academic skills in large general ed classes, these parents are less concerned about inclusion and more concerned about learning and educational benefit.

Personal Experiences Affect Beliefs, Hopes, Fears

You mention that your child has Asperger's Sydrome. No doubt this experience has affected your beliefs, hopes, and fears about children with disabilities, especially children who are similar to your child.

Parents of nondisabled children are the same. Their beliefs, hopes, and fears for their children l cause them to take positions and advocate for what they believe to be their children's interests.

If these parents believe that disabled children are getting a bigger piece of the pie, and that their children are being harmed, they will try to change the rules of the game.

What's the answer?

We must remember that as parents (of children with and without disabilities), we have many things in common.

We want our children to learn. We want our children to be accepted by others. We want our children to be treated fairly.

Sometimes (or often) we are overwhelmed by our responsibilities as parents.

We are emotional. We are afraid. We need help.

We must ask questions and listen to the answers.

We must resist the impulse to blame, judge and find fault.

We must work to keep lines of communication open.

Good luck!

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wrightslaw special education law iep autism adhd needs learning disabilities advocacy 504 resources add dyslexia needs no child left behind act regulations services nclb idea ld peter pamela wright

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Advocacy - FAQs - How Can I Protect Our Children's Rights to Inclusion? - Wrightslaw

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Victoria writes: I am incensed! As a consultant to a preschool program, I supervise students who provide language therapy to a group of children. Some of these children have disabilities. We use innocuous books and fun activities. Today I learned that some parents of the non-disabled children have complained and don't want their children in this group.

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This article discusses the regulations regarding an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE). These can be recommended by a parent and done by the appropriately qualified evaluator.

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Advocating for Students with Special Needs

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Advocating for Students with Special Needs

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I cannot talk about this resource ENOUGH! This specific website helped me immensely when interviewing for a special education position in Pittsburgh. Through this website I was able to read in-depth about the IEP process and learn further about section 504. This specific resource linked above is a deep discussion about why we need to advocate for students with special education needs and what that looks like.

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How to Find a Special Education Advocate

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Are you looking for a special education advocate? Find out how to find the right special needs advocate to guide you.

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IDEA Research Resources + Current Knowledge

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IDEA Research Resources + Current Knowledge

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I like this very basic link because it brings you to a plethora of helpful links. Included on this website is an IDEA research tab as well as technical reports. This website is also updated frequently and has current knowledge pertaining to all things IDEA.

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IDEA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving student learning in higher education through analytics, resources, and advice.

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How to Bring Out the Best in Special Education Students

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How to Bring Out the Best in Special Education Students

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I have added many resources to this blog and wanted to put in some variety. Therefore, I added this resource with the opinions and suggestions of Thomas Armstrong on how to best work with students in special education. In the article he discusses in-depth how we can utilize tools to bring out the best in each unique student.

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Recently, a former music teacher told me about a 1st grade student with Asperger's syndrome who, on their first encounter, announced in no uncertain terms: "I hate music!" Over the next two years, the student used abusive language, had meltdowns, and was physically aggressive toward his peers. Finally, the teacher scheduled some individual time with him and discovered that he believed he was terrible at music and couldn't sing. She let him play some of the instruments in her room and then showed him the music composition software program GarageBand on her Mac. It turned out that he was fascinated with computers and quickly figured out how to compose a song.

The next week, the teacher shared his song with the class and from that time on things began to change. He still struggled with his behavior, but over the next two years, she explained, "he played instruments in our concerts, joined the choir, had several solos, was in the musical. ... [He] gave his heart and soul to music and continued to compose and mix music at home. He told his mother that whenever he was having a bad day, he would 'go into his music' and there he would find peace and calm." This story illustrates how important it is to find out as much as possible about the strengths and abilities of students with special needs.

As a former special education teacher, I can't count the number of times my students would come up to me and say, "Mr. A., when can I get out of this retarded class?" I began to understand that kids with special needs have two strikes against them. First, they have the disorder itself, and all the challenges it poses. But second, they have to spend a good deal of their time in school dealing with things they're bad at. What we need to do is change this situation around so that right from the start, students with special needs are told about all the things they're good at, and are engaged in activities that are based on those strengths.

Here are seven ways that you can activate the strengths of your students with special needs, whether you run a full-inclusion classroom, a self-contained special ed classroom, or anything in between:

* Discover your students' strengths. Before they even come into your classroom, find out about your students' strengths and abilities by talking with previous teachers and looking at cumulative files (focusing on the highest grades and test scores and any positive comments from teachers). Then, fill out a strength-based inventory for each student-and have parents fill one out as well. I have a 165-item strengths inventory in my book Neurodiversity in the Classroom, and there are others out there, too. Also, ask your special-needs students what they're interested in, what they feel like they're good at, and what they'd most like to study. If time is an issue, focus on the students who are the squeaky wheels and have the greatest needs.

* Provide positive role models with disabilities. Students with special needs need to learn about individuals with disabilities who have become successful in life. This way, they can hopefully come to the conclusion that "If they can do it, so can I!" Some examples of such individuals include: Noble Prize winning geneticist Carol Greider (learning disabilities), film director Steven Spielberg (ADHD), and animal scientist Temple Grandin (autistic spectrum disorder). Create a curriculum unit entitled, "People with Disabilities Who Changed the World," and make sure that typically developing students also take part in the lessons.

* Develop strength-based learning strategies. Once you know your students' special strengths, design strategies that utilize those abilities. If a student is great at drawing but has trouble reading, let her illustrate her vocabulary words. If a student shows gifts in knitting but doesn't understand place value, have him design a fabric art piece by knitting rows of 10. There are thousands of ideas and projects that can be created by combining a student's strengths with a learning deficit.

* Use assistive technologies and Universal Design for Learning tools. Learn about apps that capitalize on the gifts of your students with special needs. Provide a student who is a great orator but can't write very well with a speech-to-text program such as Dragon Naturally Speaking, so that he can speak into the computer and produce writing that way. For a student with autism who loves to use an iPad but has difficulty communicating, teach her how to use an alternative augmentative communication app like Proloquo2Go, so that with the touch of a few buttons she can have a synthesized voice speak for her.

* Maximize the Power of your students' social networks. So much of learning involves being in relationships with others, and many students with special needs have particular difficulty establishing positive social connections. Create a graphic representation of a student's peer network, identifying both strong and weak relationships. Then, pair the student with classmates that he has the most positive relationships with using peer-teaching, cross-age tutoring, Best Buddies, or other social-learning approaches.

* Help students envision positive future careers. Most students with special needs have either no images of themselves as working adults in the future, or have primarily negative ones. Encourage these students by helping them make links between their strengths and the requirements of specific jobs or careers. So, for example, a student with ADHD who loves adrenaline-producing experiences might thrive in a high-stimulation job like firefighting. A student with learning disabilities who has a penchant for art might do very well working as a graphic artist.

* Create positive modifications in the learning environment. Think about how you can create changes in your classroom that dovetail with the particular strengths of your students with special needs. Provide a student with ADHD who learns best by moving, for example, with a stability ball that he can jiggle on while doing his classwork. For a student with Down Syndrome who loves to humorously mimic others, build a simple puppet theater where he can act out math word problems in front of the class and get positive feedback.

A movement is emerging in education called " neurodiversity," which suggests that we view our students with special needs in terms of "diversity" rather than "disability." By embracing this more positive perspective, and coupling it with differentiation strategies that build on students' strengths, we can help ensure that our students with special needs achieve success both in the classroom and out in the real world.

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7 Ways to Bring Out the Best in Special-Needs Students (Opinion)

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Recently, a former music teacher told me about a 1st grade student with Asperger's syndrome who, on their first encounter, announced in no uncertain terms: "I hate music!" Over the next two years, the student used abusive language, had meltdowns, and was physically aggressive toward his peers.