This participant's manual is part of a training program sponsored by IL NET, a national training and technical assistance project working to strengthen the independent living movement. It is intended to teach participants what the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) law and regulations require, how to do transition planning and the development of an Individualized Education Program (IEP), what the right to learn really means and its relevance to individual state regulations, how maximum integration can take place, and how disability rights advocates can affect change in the education system. The manual includes: (1) selected provisions of IDEA amendments of 1997; (2) topic briefs for parents and their advocates that address eligibility, disability related laws, related services, the free appropriate public education requirement, IEPs, student placement, notice and consent, students who are limited English speaking, homeless children, peer disability harassment, and educational records; (3) students with disabilities and the right to due process in school discipline; (4) including students with disabilities in standards based education reform; (5) information on nondiscrimination in programs and activities; (6) requirements of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy law; and (7) parent training and information centers and community groups in the United States. (CR)