This paper shares observations concerning special educators' encounters with the legal system and offers considerations for deciding on a school system's response to legal action against it. School systems are encouraged to take a proactive stance and to mediate, communicate, collaborate, remediate, document, calculate, contemplate, investigate,…

This review of case law on aversive interventions for students with disabilities identifies legal boundaries and protections for students in five categories: electric shock, noxious substances, corporal punishment, restraints, and timeout. It finds that, despite the emergence of positive interventions, qualified support for aversive interventions…

Explores two aspects of financial dilemmas in postsecondary education and disability law: who pays for funding of students' auxiliary aids and for how long. Suggests that in the 1998 Rehabilitation Act Amendments, Congress implicitly acknowledged that agencies may sometimes be unable to offer students a full range of vocational services,…

The issue of special needs and the English Language Learner is a complex and complicated one. It involves all of the issues that education for children with special needs has, such as legal issues, psychological issues, parental involvement issues, and the involvement of general education classroom teachers. These issues are intertwined with those…

The purpose of this document is to provide charter school authorizers with targeted technical assistance related to special education in charter schools. Charter school laws are unique to each state, and they provide a wide range of policies and practices for the hundred of authorizers chartering schools nationally. As a result, providing…

The article examines the legal problems associated with standardized testing instruments and their use and the legal imperative for using curriculum-based measures in special education evaluation systems. (Author/CL)

Examines briefly important concepts in the discipline of students with disabilities. Explains the principles developed through case law, which can provide guidance to administrators struggling with questions regarding the discipline of such students. Notes that the same principles may hold for the student at risk for school failure. (SR)

Interviews in eight school districts in six states were conducted to examine the consequences of using civil justice procedures to allocate instructional services (as in P.L. 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act). The study sought to determine consequences of P.L. 94-142 in three areas: (1) the effects on the legal system; (2)…

The proceedings of a 1985 House of Representatives hearing to amend Section 615 of the Education of the Handicapped Act are presented. The hearing focused on questions of paying for attorneys fees in special education due process decisions. Statements are presented by representatives of policy makers, parents, and professional associations…

The manual provides an overview of issues associated with policies and practices in behavior management techniques. Legal, ethical, and programmatic issues are addressed in the first chapter which reviews pertinent court cases and focuses on the implications of punishment for behavior change. Section 2 contains suggestions for developing,…

Recommendations are made by the Illinois Council for Exceptional Children regarding minimal competency testing (MCT) for handicapped children. The position endorses the use of the individualized education program (IEP) as the most appropriate device to insure an appropriate education for handicapped children. Legal issues involving discrimination…

Although a 1975 Supreme Court ruling upheld students' suspension or expulsion from school, these punishments may not apply to handicapped students, who are guaranteed a free, appropriate education under the Education for All Handicapped Children Act. Article discusses implications of "Honig v. Doe" (1988), a Supreme Court decision…

Since the passage of PL 94-142 in 1976 (providing for handicapped students' free transportation to and from school) and an influx of disabled students, the pupil transportation industry has been reexamining its safety measures. A newly formed national committee is working on equipment and impact speed safety criteria. (MLH)

Three interpretations of the "otherwise qualified" clause in the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 are provided, and alternative theories of relief from discrimination for the disabled are discussed. The possibility of constitutional review under this clause is examined. Journal available from 249 Sullivan St., New York, NY 10012. (MSE)

The author reviews cases involving suspension and expulsion from school of handicapped students. The role of procedural safeguards is considered. Differences between approaches of the office of Civil Rights and the Bureau of Education for the Handicapped are examined. (CL)