This book is intended to provide educators with quick but authoritative answers to special education law and to provide attorneys with preliminary information prior to more extended explorations of special education law and practice. The book is organized in a question-and-answer format. Although dealing primarily with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), it also considers education-related aspects of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Answers are based on cited statutes, regulations, court decisions, state educational agency due process hearings, administrative review decisions, and administrative interpretations of the Department of Education. Changes in this edition take into account Part B regulations implementing the 1997 IDEA amendments and recent judicial decisions. Following a list of all the questions, detailed answers are provided in 13 chapters which address: (1) eligibility; (2) evaluations; (3) free appropriate public education; (4) Individualized Education Programs; (5) placement; (6) related services; (7) procedural safeguards; (8) due process hearings and appeals, mediation, and complaint procedures; (9) financial responsibility; (10) private school students; (11) discipline; (12) judicial actions and remedies; and (13) attorneys' fees. Also included are tables of regulations with statute cross-references and cases. (Contains references.) (DB)