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At Wrightslaw, our goals are to help you gain the information and skills you need navigate the confusing world of special education.
Highlights:
Special thanks from Pete & Pam Wright; Psychologists object
to advice about evaluations from independent evaluators; expert witnesses
& psycho-educational reports; parent advocacy - what you should do
and not do; why not the best - lessons about FAPE; online guide to special
education rights & responsibilities; Wrightslaw programs in Indianapolis,
Hartford, Virginia Beach, Oklahoma City; NCLB seminars; free pub about
NCLB.
The
Special Ed Advocate newsletter is free - please forward this
issue or the subscription
link to your friends and coworkers so they can learn about special
education law and advocacy too. We appreciate your help!
Wrightslaw is ranked #1 in education
law, special
education law, and special
education advocacy. (Alexa rankings)
1. Message from Pete and Pam Wright
A special thanks to Cynthia Pitts, Assistant Superintendent of Middlesex County Virginia Public Schools, who invited Pete to do a training program for teachers about special education law today - and who purchased copies of Wrightslaw: Special Education Law for each teacher who attended the program. Ms. Pitts knew her teachers needed this training and she worked hard to make the program a reality. Pete had a great time!
2. Psychologists Object to Advice About Independent Evaluators
A few weeks ago, we offered parents this advice: "Get a comprehensive evaluation of your child by an independent evaluator in the private sector - this evaluation will give you a roadmap for the future. Choose an evaluator who is independent of the school district and who is willing to work with the school staff."
Several school psychologists objected to this advice. One wrote:
"Your advice for parents to obtain comprehensive evaluation from independent providers, not from those of us who work for the school system, is too biased. You cannot guarantee that an outside evaluation will be more comprehensive than that provided by people who care about students."
Change the
facts. Assume you have a medical problem - severe back pain. You consult
with a doctor who recommends surgery. Would you accept this doctor's opinion?
Would you seek a second opinion? What would you think if the doctor tried
to make you feel guilty because you insisted on a second opinion?
If
you question the need to get a comprehensive evaluation by an independent
evaluator, read The
Blame Game: Are School Problems the Kids' Fault? about the power of
school culture on findings in school psychologists' evaluations. Next,
read Teachers
Say School Assessments Fail to Give Relevant Information.
We stand by our advice.
3. Expert Witnesses & Psycho-Educational Reports
Attorneys and advocates will be interested in these articles about experts and how to prepare psycho-educational reports that pass muster in special education due process hearings.
Factors to Consider When Selecting an Expert by Rosemary N. Palmer, Esq.Using an Expert as An Effective Resource by Jennifer L. Bollero, Esq. Preparation of a Psycho-educational Evaluation Report by Margaret Kay, Ed.D.
4. Parent Advocacy: What You Should Do . . . and Not Do
As we begin
a new school year, parent attorney Leslie Margolis of the Maryland
Disability Law Center has
some good advice for parents of kids with disabilities. Read What
You Should Do . . . and Not Do to learn five things you should do
(and four things you should not do) Read
article
Learn more about special
education advocacy
5. Why Not the Best? - Lessons about FAPE
Many parents ask how to get the BEST program for their child or a program that maximizes the child's potential. Is your child entitled to the best program? To a program that maximizes the child's potential?
For
answers to these questions, read Loving
Parents Want What's Best: Lessons about FAPE.
The legal concept of “FAPE” is shorthand for “free,
appropriate public education.” The legal
definition of FAPE is in the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act of 1997 (IDEA) at 20 U. S.
C. § 1401(8) (Wrightslaw:
Special Education Law, page 27) and the Code of Federal
Regulations at 34 C.F.R. § 300.13 (Wrightslaw:
Special Education Law, page 142).
6. Online Guide To Special Education Rights & Responsibilities
If
you have a child with a disability who receives special education
services, your child should "have available to them a free
appropriate public education that emphasizes special education
and related services designed to meet their unique needs
and prepare them for employment and independent living."
(20 U.S.C. § 1400(d))
The Individuals with Disabilities Act defines special education
as "specially designed instruction, at no cost to parents,
to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability."
(20 U.S.C. § 1410(25))
To answer your questions about FAPE, LRE, IEPs, and IDEA, we built
an "online guide to special education" with links to
articles, cases, and other resources. To learn more about special
education rights and responsibilities, you will want to visit
these pages:
Individualized
Educational Programs (IEPs)
"The
Wrightslaw Special Education Law Seminar in Michigan was a tremendously
rewarding experience and will forever change our practice." - Bryan
I. Eder, Esq., Chudnof & Eder,
PLC
Pete
and Pam Wright are scheduled to do special education legal and advocacy
programs in four regions of the country this Fall.
Midwest:
Indianapolis,
IN (September 17)
Northeast: Hartford, CT (September 21-22)
Mid-Atlantic: Virginia Beach, VA (November 12-13)
South Central: Oklahoma City, OK (December 4) FREE to Oklahoma parents & educational caregivers
Wrightslaw
legal advocacy programs focus on four areas: special education law, rights
and responsibilities; tests
and measurements to measure progress & regression; SMART IEPs; and
advocacy tactics & strategies.
Participants at these training programs will receive two books, Wrightslaw:
Special Education Law and Wrightslaw:
From Emotions to Advocacy, as part of their registration (Value:
$59.90).
If
you are interested in bringing Pete and Pam Wright to your community,
please read FAQs about
Seminars. (We are scheduling programs for 2005 and 2006.)
No Child Left Behind Seminars
& Training
If you are interested in training on No
Child Left Behind, please contact Suzanne
Heath, co-author of Wrightslaw:
No Child Left Behind. Sue writes about creative advocacy strategies
in her column, Doing
Your Homework, which appears in The
Special Ed Advocate Newsletter and on Wrightslaw.com.
Learn more
One obstacle in advocating for a child with a disability is finding the time to do research. We spend hours collecting information so you can spend your time learning, not searching.
When you visit our Free Pubs page, you can download free publications about IEPs, special education, transition planning, reading, children's mental health, discipline and behavior, harassment, high-stakes testing, retention and social promotion, and No Child Left Behind. We continually add new publications, so the contents of the Free Pubs page changes often. Here is a new publication you may be interested in:
No
Child Left Behind and Students with Learning Disabilities: Opportunities
and Obstacles - Parent advocate and special education expert
Candace
Cortiella addresses questions about NCLB of interest to
parents of kids with LD, and provides a checklist of NCLB-related
actions that parents can take on behalf of their children.
Find
Free Pubs on dozens of topics.
9. Subscription & Contact Info
The
Special Ed Advocate is a free online newsletter about special education
legal and advocacy issues, cases, and tactics and strategies. Subscribers
receive "alerts" about new cases, events, and special offers
on Wrightslaw books.
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| IDEA Reauthorization | Newsletter Archives |
Contact Info
Pete and
Pam Wright
Wrightslaw & The Special Ed Advocate
P. O. Box 1008
Deltaville, VA 23043
Website: https://www.wrightslaw.com
Email: newsletter@wrightslaw.com
