Special Education and the Law

Allan G. Osborne, Jr. is the retired principal of the Snug Harbor Community School in Quincy, Massachusetts, a nationally recognized Blue Ribbon School of Excellence. During his 34 years in public education, he served as a special education teacher, a director of special education, an assistant principal, and a principal. He has also served as an adjunct professor of special education and education law at several colleges, including Bridgewater State University and American International University. Osborne earned an EdD in educational leadership from Boston College and an MEd in special education from Fitchburg State College (now Fitchburg State University) in Massachusetts. He received a BA in psychology from the University of Massachusetts. Osborne has authored or coauthored numerous peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, monographs, and textbooks on legal issues in education, along with textbooks on other aspects of education. Although he writes and presents in several areas of educational law, he specializes in legal and policy issues in special education. He is the coauthor, with Charles J. Russo, of five texts published by Corwin, a SAGE company. A past president of the Education Law Association (ELA), Osborne has been an attendee and presenter at most ELA conferences since 1991. He has also written a chapter now titled "Students With Disabilities" for the Yearbook of Education Law, published by ELA, since 1990. He is on the editorial advisory committee of West’s Education Law Reporter and is coeditor of the "Education Law Into Practice" section of that journal, which is sponsored by ELA. He is also on the editorial boards of several other education journals. In recognition of his contributions to the field of education law, Osborne was presented with the McGhehey Award by ELA in 2008, the highest award given by the organization. He is also the recipient of the City of Quincy Human Rights Award, the Financial Executives Institute of Massachusetts Principals Award, the Junior Achievement of Massachusetts Principals Award, and several community service awards. Charles J. Russo, JD, EdD, is the Joseph Panzer Chair in Education in the School of Education and Allied Professions and adjunct professor in the School of Law at the University of Dayton. He was the 1998–1999 president of the Education Law Association and 2002 recipient of its McGhehey (Achievement) Award. He has authored or coauthored more than 200 articles in peer-reviewed journals; has authored, coauthored, edited, or coedited 40 books; and has in excess of 800 publications. Russo also speaks extensively on issues in education law in the United States and abroad. Along with having spoken in 33 states and 25 nations on 6 continents, Russo has taught summer courses in England, Spain, and Thailand; he also has served as a visiting professor at Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane and the University of Newcastle, Australia; the University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina; South East European University, Macedonia; the Potchefstroom Campus of North-West University in Potchefstroom, South Africa; the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; and the University of São Paulo, Brazil. He regularly serves as a visiting professor at the Potchefstroom Campus of North-West University. Before joining the faculty at the University of Dayton as professor and chair of the Department of Educational Administration in July 1996, Russo taught at the University of Kentucky in Lexington from August 1992 to July 1996 and at Fordham University in his native New York City from September 1989 to July 1992. He taught high school for 8½ years before and after graduation from law school. He received a BA (classical civilization) in 1972, a JD in 1983, and an EdD (educational administration and supervision) in 1989 from St. John’s University in New York City. He also received a master of divinity degree from the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington, New York, in 1978, as well as a PhD Honoris Causa from the Potchefstroom Campus of North-West University, South Africa, in May 2004 for his contributions to the field of education law.

Foreword by Richard D. Lavoie
Preface
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
Chapter 1. Special Education Law: An Introduction
Sources of Law
History of the Equal Educational Opportunity Movement
Legislative Mandates
Frequently Asked Questions
Recommendations
Endnotes
Chapter 2. Rights to a Free Appropriate Public Education
Free Appropriate Public Education
Least Restrictive Environment
Entitlement to Services
Child Find
Students in Private Schools
Frequently Asked Questions
Recommendations
Endnotes
Chapter 3. Related Services, Assistive Technology, and Transition Services
Related Services
Assistive Technology
Transition Services
Frequently Asked Questions
Recommendations
Endnotes
Chapter 4. Parent and Student Rights
Parental Rights
Student Records and Privacy
Frequently Asked Questions
Recommendations
Endnotes
Chapter 5. Due Process Procedures for Evaluation, Development of IEPs, and Placement
Evaluation Procedures
Developing Individualized Education Programs
Change in Placement
Frequently Asked Questions
Recommendations
Endnotes
Chapter 6. Student Discipline
Pre-1997 Case Law
The 1997 and 2004 IDEA Amendments
Frequently Asked Questions
Recommendations
Endnotes
Chapter 7. Dispute Resolution
Mediation
Resolution Sessions
Due Process Hearings
Judicial Review
Statutes of Limitations
Cases Under Other Statutes
Frequently Asked Questions
Recommendations
Endnotes
Chapter 8. Remedies for Failure to Provide a Free Appropriate Public Education
Tuition Reimbursement
Compensatory Educational Services
Attorney Fees and Costs
Damages
Frequently Asked Questions
Recommendations
Endnotes
Chapter 9. Section 504 and the Americans with Disabilities Act
Eligibility for Protections Under Section 504 and the ADA
Discrimination in Education Prohibited
Otherwise Qualified Students With Disabilities
Providing Reasonable Accommodations
Testing and Evaluation
Participation in Athletics and Extracurricular Activities
Section 504 Service Plans
Defenses to Charges of Noncompliance
Frequently Asked Questions
Recommendations
Endnotes
Chapter 10. Conflict Management: IDEA Compliance
Preventative Law
Dispute Resolution
Conclusion
Endnotes
Resource A. Glossary
Resource B. Department of Special Education Websites, by State
Resource C. Useful Special Education Websites
Resource D. Useful Education Law Websites
Index