This book is designed to provide educators with comprehensive information about special education law, especially the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Chapter 1 briefly reviews the history of special education. In Chapter 2 the specific rights of students to special education and related services are detailed. Chapter 3 outlines the procedural rights students with disabilities and their parents have under IDEA regarding the identification of the student's disabilities and the development of individualized education programs. The dispute resolution process under IDEA is explained in the fourth chapter. Chapter 5 focuses on placement decisions and identifies the components of an appropriate education and factors that must be considered when making placement decisions. Chapter 6 reviews the supportive services that qualify as related services under IDEA and the circumstances under which they must be provided. The special procedures required when school officials discipline special education students are discussed in the seventh chapter. Chapter 8 identifies the remedies available to parents when a school district fails to comply with the law. Other issues that have been litigated under IDEA are briefly discussed in Chapter 9. The final chapter considers how Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act affect students. An epilogue stresses ways that administrators can prevent legal problems. (Individual chapters contain endnotes.) (DB)