An Updated Primer of Special Education Law

Overview & Synopsis

Teachers and parents often find special education law complex and confusing. As one step for a basic foundation in special education law, a previous "TEACHING Exceptional Children" article (Zirkel, 2005) provided a snapshot of the "top five case concepts" based on 10 decisions from the Supreme Court. Each of these decisions interpreted either (a) the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA; 2017) or (b) the overlapping pair of civil rights acts prohibiting disability discrimination: Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (2017) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA; 2017). In light of the considerable developments under the IDEA and Section 504 and the ADA in the preK-12 context in the intervening 15 years, this update extends the coverage and addresses the 10 core concepts based on not only the cumulative Supreme Court decisions but also the 2004 IDEA amendments and, to a lesser extent, the 2006 IDEA regulations and lower court case law. These 10 core concepts start with the practical sequence of IDEA issues from child find and eligibility to remedies for prevailing parents and end with the overlapping coverage of Section 504 and the ADA and the relevant specialized steps of the adjudicative process.