New White Paper: The 5 Legal Pitfalls District Leaders Must Avoid This Year

It is more important than ever for district leaders to understand the legislation around special education. To help administrators avoid legal pitfalls related to special education, we recently held a webinar with Charles Weatherly of the Weatherly Law Firm. If you missed our SPED Ahead webinar, “The Five Legal Pitfalls District Leaders Must Avoid,” don’t fear. We are sharing these pitfalls in the new white paper, The Five Legal Pitfalls District Leaders Must Avoid This Year.

1. Insufficient Training Related to Special Services for Autism With the increase in identification of students with autism, there has been a significant increase in the amount of autism-related legal cases.
2. Insensitivity to Bullying and Harassment To avoid legal issues regarding bullying incidents for both general and special education students, Weatherly stresses the importance of staff training regarding bullying.
3. Procedural Violations with IDEA To avoid making simple, but impactful mistakes during the IEP development process, it is essential that school districts consult with state departments of education for guidance.
4. Inflexible Implementation of RtI Response to Intervention (RtI) programs that have rigid implementation models make it hard for students with disabilities to get the services they need, which can cause an uproar from parents and possible lawsuits.
5. The ‘Black Hole’ of IDEA Reauthorization IDEA was due for reauthorization in 2012, but will most likely not be addressed until this year. In the meantime, it is essential that all of those involved with special education are familiar with the stances their respective states and national associations are taking on the issue.

 
 
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