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At Wrightslaw, our goals are to help you gain the information and skills you need navigate the changing, challenging world of special education.

Highlights: How IEPs will change under IDEA 2004; Rule 11 & attorneys fees; download full text of IDEA 2004 compared with IDEA-97; Holiday Special - prices cut, free shipping; independent educational evaluations; what you should know about evaluations; Wrightslaw programs in OK, FL, NJ, OH, NY, MO. Download this newsletter.

Quote of the Week: When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.

Wrightslaw is ranked #1 in education law, special education law, and special education advocacy. (2004 Alexa rankings)

We are writing a series of articles to help you get up and running on IDEA-2004. In the last issue of The Special Ed Advocate, we focused on the purposes of the law and transition. This week, we look at IEPs, highly qualified personnel, research based instructional programs, and attorneys fees.

How will IEPs change under IDEA 2004?

In IDEA 2004, Congress added new language that parents, educators, advocates, and attorneys can use to help ensure that children with disabilities receive research-based instruction and are taught by highly qualified teachers. Learn about new requirements for IEPs, personnel training, and scientifically based instruction in "How Will IEPs Change Under IDEA 2004?"

Learn more about research based instruction.

Learn more about IEPs.

As you read the new statute, keep in mind that Congress intended to align the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) with the No Child Left Behind Act, the federal general education law. The full text of the No Child Left Behind Act is in Wrightslaw: No Child Left Behind.

We will continue to publish articles about specific issues (i.e., highly qualified teacher requirements, IEPs, IEP meetings) over the next weeks and months.

This document is available as one complete PDF file (190 pages) or as 8 documents. Permission to copy is granted provided that it is unedited and attributed to COPAA. Learn how to download.

Learn about the Council of Parent Attorneys & Advocates.

Wrightslaw publications make great gifts. When you send a book to a friend, family member, teacher, colleague or advocate, they will receive your gift in a special holiday box. Learn more.

Wrightslaw: Special Education Law $29.95 $24.95 plus free shipping - Save $9.95

Wrightslaw: From Emotions to Advocacy - The Special Education Survival Guide $29.95 $24.95 plus free shipping - Save $9.95

Wrightslaw: No Child Left Behind $29.95 $24.95 plus free shipping - Save $9.95

Personal Message: Pete and Pam Wright will autograph your book and/or write a personal message to your recipient. More holiday specials.

When Congress enacted the IDEA, they included “procedural safeguards” to protect the rights of children with disabilities and their parents and to ensure that children receive a free appropriate education. These “safeguards” include the opportunity to examine the child's records, to have advance notice before any significant actions are taken, the right to pursue mediation and litigation, and the right to obtain an independent educational evaluation.

Parents and school personnel are often confused about what independent educational evaluations (IEE) and how these evaluations are to be used.

In Independent Educational Evaluations, parent attorney Wayne Steedman addresses what constitutes an IEE, the value of an IEE, what the law requires, and who is financially responsible for an IEE. Read article.

Learn more about procedural safeguards.

Parent attorney Bob Crabtree writes, "As a parent, you must make sure that all areas of possible need are assessed as quickly as possible. While some parents would rather not allow their school system to evaluate their child, a refusal to cooperate at this stage of the process can backfire . . . "

In What You Should Know About Evaluations, you will learn about:

* Your Rights
* Your Never-ending Role
* Due Process
* Selecting an Independent Evaluator

Learn more about evaluations & tests and evaluations.

Wrightslaw Special Education Law and Advocacy Training Programs focus on four areas: special education laws, rights & responsibilities; how to use the bell curve to measure progress & regression; SMART IEPs; and tactics & strategies for effective advocacy.

Schedule: Winter 2005

Edmond Oklahoma: December 4, 2005 - FREE to parents and educational caregivers

Orlando, FL: January 21-22, 2005 (Mini Boot Camp)

Cherry Hill, NJ: February 18-19, 2005 (Boot Camp!)

Cincinnati, OH - Mini Boot Camp - February 23-24, 2005 - SOLD OUT!

Long Island, NY - LIACSN, Inc. - March 4-5, 2005 (Mini Boot Camp)

Kansas City, MO - Paseo Academy - March 29, 2005

All participants in these programs will receive two books, Wrightslaw: Special Education Law and Wrightslaw: From Emotions to Advocacy, with their registration (Value: $59.90).

If you are interested in bringing a Wrightslaw program to your community, please read FAQs about Seminars. (We are scheduling programs for 2006.)

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.

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