Law and Advocacy

Parent Training and Information Centers in the United States:   Every state in the U.S. has a federally-funded center to help parents become better advocates for their children. If you're looking for advocacy help, this is THE place to begin your search!

Oregon Parents United

State Education Law Resources   compiled by the Council of Parents Attorneys and Advocates. (COPAA).

Special Education and the Law

The Special Ed Advocate  Special education attorney Peter Wright created this web site to give parents, educators and other professionals the information they need to effectively advocate for special needs children. You'll find articles on special education advocacy topics, the text of special education statutes and regulations, and summaries of new special education court decisions. Mr. Wright has also put together an "Advocacy Package" of information to answer many legal questions that parents ask about special education.

Previously published articles by the Wrights include:

• Understanding Tests and Measurements for the Parent and Advocate
  
  
• Representing the Special Education Child: A Manual for the Attorney and Lay Advocate
  
  
• Educational Problems: It's the Kids' Fault
  
  
• Your Child's IEP: Practical and Legal Guidance for Parents
  

In February, 1999 Mr. Wright served as a guest "Ask the Expert" on LD Online.Questions posed to him and his answers are archived under Peter W.D. Wright, Esq. on Learning Disabilities and the Law Message Index.

Special Education Advocacy Resources by Reed Martin, Esq.

Denial of Eligibility Because of Gifted Intellectual Ability and/or Lack of Failure: Advocacy Memo from the Learning Disabilities Association of America.

Gifted But Learning Disabled: A Puzzling Paradox (ERIC Digest E479).

Legal Advocacy Sources: Provides links to legal resources for advocacy assistance to the disability community at large--not just education.

Comparison of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Section 504, and the American with Disabilities Act by Matthew D. Cohen, Esq.

Section 504 and IDEA: Basic Similarities and Differences, by S. James Rosenfeld, Esq.

Council for Exceptional Children :

Summary of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Amendments of 1997:

Text of the 1997 Act and Regulations

OSERS (Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services) information on the 1997 IDEA amendments Here you can find:

• A Summary of Key Changes to the IDEA Made by the Bill
  
  
• Questions and Answers about the 1997 Amendments
  
  
• Text of the law itself, downloadable in various word processing formats.
  
  
• IDEA'97 Amendments Final Regulations
  

Attorneys Who Represent Children With Disabilities  from EdLaw, Inc.

News Digests from NICHCY (National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities)

• Education of Children & Youth With Special Needs: What Do the Laws Say?
  
  
• Related Services for School-Aged Children with Disabilities

• Questions & Answers about the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
  

• 1997 Amendments to the IDEA 
  
  
• Assessing Children for the Presence of a Disability
  

Including Students with Disabilities in General Education Classrooms--ERIC Digest 521: The IDEA requires that children with disabilities be placed, to the maximum extent appropriate, in regular classrooms. This article provides practical examples of of accommodating special education students in the regular classroom.

Americans with Disabilities Act Document Center

Education Law Materials--Legal Information Institute (Cornell Law School)