Getting Comfortable with Special Education Law: A Framework for Working with Children with Disabilities.

Overview & Synopsis

Designed for special and regular education teachers, principals, directors, and others, this text provides information on special education law and children with disabilities who are of public school age. It provides a conceptual foundation for the explosion over the past 25 years of federal laws affecting children with disabilities and is intended to help practitioners become informed about their particular roles and the roles of others in educating children with disabilities. Specific chapters address: (1) special education law and how to read it; (2) the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA); (3) Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; (4) the Americans with Disabilities Act; (5) disability evaluation, contagious diseases, appropriate education, placement, discipline, and due process under Section 504; and (6) eligibility, evaluation, Individualized Education Programs, due process, student records and privacy issues, appropriate education, related services, inclusion, placement, and discipline of students with disabilities under IDEA. The last chapter discusses remedies under IDEA. Appendices include U.S. Supreme Court decisions concerning services under IDEA and selected Internet sites with information on special education and disabilities. A glossary of legal terms and an index of cited court cases are also included. (Chapters include references.) (CR)