The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (hereafter IDEIA) was signed into law by President George W. Bush on December 3, 2004. The law reauthorized and made important changes to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). On August 3, 2006, the U.S. Department of Education released the Regulations…

June 22, 2007, was the 25th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Board of Education of the Hendrick Hudson Central School District v. Rowley (hereafter Rowley; 1982). In Rowley, the Supreme Court interpreted congressional intent in requiring that public schools provide a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to students with…

This article addresses issues surrounding judicial involvement in mandating educational methodologies. It reviews court rulings affecting services for students with autism, hearing impairments and communication disorders, visual impairments, and learning disabilities, and concludes judicial review has been relatively limited and confined to…

The amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Act of 1997 (IDEA '97) established a number of expectations regarding how the behavioral needs of students with disabilities would be met and how they should be disciplined. These expectations included alternative behavioral assessment strategies (e.g., functional behavioral assessments,…

This article first reviews the primary requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), then examines four recent U.S. Supreme Court cases that helped clarify who is entitled to its protection. The cases are Murphy vs. United Parcel Services, Inc.; Albertsons, Inc. vs. Kirkingburg (1999); Olmstead, Georgia Department of Human Resources…

Information is presented on the types of accommodations or services appropriate for students qualifying under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Services include curricular, compensatory, policy-level, environmental, organizational, health, grading, and behavioral accommodations. A sample general education accommodation plan is…

Addresses various remedies that courts have assigned when schools fail to comply with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Covers traditional remedies such as reimbursement for residential placements, related services, and legal fees, with an added emphasis on the increasingly used remedy of compensatory education and the potential for…

This article reviews and analyzes the functional behavioral assessment (FBA) requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 1997 and its regulations. It explores school district obligations under the law, including the need for training faculty to conduct FBAs, adhere to the procedures of IDEA, and provide quality…

Analysis of survey responses of 37 directors of special education revealed that states are complying with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (1997 amendments) in developing disciplinary policies and monitoring procedures, in providing training and technical assistance concerning discipline to school districts, and in developing…

Discusses implications of the 1997 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments for local policy and practice. Secondary principals should understand new requirements for locating and evaluating eligible students with disabilities, including disabled students in state and districtwide assessment programs, involving regular teachers in…

Manifestation determination is a mandated provision for deciding whether a student's misbehavior is related to his disability and, consequently, whether cessation of services is allowed. This article critiques this provision by reviewing relevant case law and legislation, examining the mandate's social context, and questioning the validity of…

This article reviews case law regarding the recovery of attorney's fees for counsel services prior to holding a special education hearing within the legal parameters of Public Law 99-372, the Handicapped Children's Protection Act of 1986. Implications suggest that schools should establish mechanisms to avoid costly legal involvements and states…

A survey of 101 directors of teacher training programs for working with students with emotional and behavioral disorders (E/BD) found encouraging practices such as offering E/BD programming at the graduate level; however, there were some areas such as special education law and multicultural issues that received little attention. (Author/CR)

Discusses issues related to implementing the new discipline provisions in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997. Litigation that led to the new provisions is described, along with issues relating to conducting functional assessments, making a manifestation determination, generating interim placements, and cessation of…

This article examines the issue of student-on-student sexual harassment in legislation and litigation to determine the effects of the law on school districts. School districts are urged to fashion a student-on-student sexual harassment policy, provide inservice training, investigate complaints of harassment, and take action to resolve sexual…