On this webpage are resources that will help you in your quest for information.

If you are an investigative journalist and would like to "network" with other such journalists and reporters, please send either published spec ed articles or links to such articles, a short bio and your contact information (phone + email) to Pete Wright and he will send you contact info for others listed in our database.

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The Education Writers Association has an extensive resource directory. On July 15, 2014 the EWA hosted a comprehensive webinar about FERPA by Frank LoMonte of Student Press Law Center titled "Data Privacy Rules and Ruses." The PowerPoint outline and WebEx webinar are available to members for downloading from their website.

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Below are resources supplied by Emily Le Coz, investigative special education reporter for The Clarion-Ledger newspaper in Jackson, MS.

For "Historical State-Level IDEA Data Files" please go to:
http://tadnet.public.tadnet.org/pages/712

For data from the U.S. Dept of Education - "ED Data Express: Data about Elementary & Secondary Schools in the U.S." Please go to:
http://eddataexpress.ed.gov/state-tables-main.cfm

Education Access and Equity Data collected by the Office of Civil Rights from our Nation's Public Schools. Titled - Civil Rights Data Collection. Please go to:
http://ocrdata.ed.gov/

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education. Please go to:
http://nces.ed.gov/

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Below is a link to an article published by the National Council on Disability, authored by Pete Wright, and submitted to the U. S. Supreme Court for use in a 2005 special education case.

"Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Burden of Proof: On Parents or Schools?" provides a history of special education, special education law, and a discussion of several cases relevant to the "Burden of Proof" in special education disputes. Please go to: https://www.wrightslaw.com/ncd/wright.burdenproof.pdf

In 2000, NCD published "Back to School on Civil Rights" which detailed the lack of enforcement relating to the special education law and recommendation that enforcement be vested with the U.S. Dept. of Justice. Very few of their recommendations have been followed. To downlaod the 387 page monograph, please go to: www.ncd.gov/rawmedia_repository/7bfb3c01_5c95_4d33_94b7_b80171d0b1bc?document.pdf

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This newly created page is evolving from day to day. Please check back frequently.

Last revised: 07/29/2014