Law Commons^™

Brief Of Amici Curiae Food Allergy Research & Education, & Council Of Parent Attorneys And Advocates In Support Of Plaintiff-Appellants And Urging Reversal, T.F., A Minor By His Parents And D.F. And T.S.F., On Their Own Behalf V. Fox Chapel Area School District, Marc Charmatz, Caroline Jackson

Court Briefs

No abstract provided.

Idea And Alternative Dispute Resolution: A Primer, Charles J. Russo, Allan G. Osborne Jr.

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) procedures are the cornerstone of the provisions in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) that mandate the timely resolution of disagreements between parents and school officials.

ADR procedures are in the form of mediation and resolution sessions that are held before culminating in due process hearings. The sessions are designed to be speedier, less costly, and less adversarial than litigation. Subject to infrequent exceptions, disagreements can be subject to judicial review only after parents and education officials have exhausted the administrative remedies under the IDEA. The provisions establish time frames that parties must meet before …

Growing Ideas - Caring For Young Children - Business Matters, University Of Maine Center For Community Inclusion And Disability Studies

Early Childhood Resources

Caregivers or business owners? Family child care providers are both. Paying attention to the business aspects of running a family child care home is an important component to having the income and working environment needed for program success.

Growing Ideas - Building Belonging: Providing Guidance For Social Skill Development, University Of Maine Center For Community Inclusion And Disability Studies

Early Childhood Resources

As young children with and without disabilities grow, they are learning how to develop relationships with others and to be members of a community. All children need support to learn and achieve these important life skills. The process adults use to teach and support this learning is known as guidance. Effective guidance assumes the following conditions: Respect, understanding, and appreciation for every child’s unique qualities; Knowledge that children’s mistaken behaviors provide learning opportunities; An encouraging community where every child belongs and feels safe; and a developmentally appropriate, culturally responsive setting.

Growing Ideas - Partnering With An Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant, University Of Maine Center For Community Inclusion And Disability Studies

Early Childhood Resources

Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (ECMHC) is a collaborative relationship between a mental health consultant and families, care and education professionals, and/or early care and education teachers. ECMHC strives to improve the ability of families, teachers, and care and education professionals to promote, sustain and restore healthy social and emotional development for all children. Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation approaches challenging situations with children from a problem solving perspective. ECMHC is not a therapeutic intervention: it occurs in the children's natural settings - child care, home, and school.

Growing Ideas - Admissions Policies And Practices That Build Inclusive Child Care Communities (For Providers), University Of Maine Center For Community Inclusion And Disability Studies

Early Childhood Resources

Quality inclusive child care settings include children with disabilities and health, behavioral or mental health concerns. Admissions policies that clearly state eligibility criteria, practices, program and parent and/or guardian responsibilities, can help families evaluate if the program will be a good match for their child. Providers may want to obtain legal advice to be sure their policy and procedures align with relevant federal and state laws and regulations.

Growing Ideas - Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation, University Of Maine Center For Community Inclusion And Disability Studies

Early Childhood Resources

Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (ECMHC) is a collaborative relationship between a mental health consultant and family members, child care providers, early care and education teachers, and/ or child development professionals. ECMHC strives to improve the ability of families, teachers, and caregivers to promote, sustain and restore healthy social and emotional development for all children. It supports building and maintaining healthy working relationships between care and education professionals and families.

Growing Ideas - Admissions Policies And Practices That Build Inclusive Child Care Communities (For Parents And Guardians), University Of Maine Center For Community Inclusion And Disability Studies

Early Childhood Resources

All children, including children with disabilities, benefit when quality inclusive child care settings provide an equal opportunity to participate. Admissions policies and practices that reflect this inclusive philosophy can help parents and guardians evaluate whether the program will be a good match for their child.

Growing Ideas - Laws That Support Early Childhood Education For All, University Of Maine Center For Community Inclusion And Disability Studies

Early Childhood Resources

State and federal laws protect the rights of children with disabilities. These laws support the inclusion of children with disabilities in care and education settings. Care and education professionals should be familiar with these laws.

Growing Ideas - Inclusive Early Childhood Education, University Of Maine Center For Community Inclusion And Disability Studies

Early Childhood Resources

Inclusive early childhood programs are built upon a foundation of developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) and consider individualized approaches that benefit all children. Inclusive programs welcome ALL children, including children with disabilities, and provide opportunities for each child in the group to participate, learn, and truly belong. Care and education professionals consider the needs of all children when planning, implementing, and evaluating the program.

Growing Ideas - Friends & Feelings: Social-Emotional Development In Young Children, University Of Maine Center For Community Inclusion And Disability Studies

Early Childhood Resources

Social-emotional development involves the ability to form close, secure relationships and to experience, regulate, and express emotions. Social-emotional growth is affected by a variety of factors, such as an individual’s unique biology and temperament, as well as life experiences. “Social” refers to how individuals interact with others. “Emotional” refers to how individuals feel about themselves, others, and the world.

In Defense Of Idea Due Process, Mark Weber

College of Law Faculty

Due Process hearing rights under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act are under attack. A major professional group and several academic commentators charge that the hearings system advantages middle class parents, that it is expensive, that it is futile, and that it is unmanageable. Some critics would abandon individual rights to a hearing and review in favor of bureaucratic enforcement or administrative mechanisms that do not include the right to an individual hearing before a neutral decision maker. This Article defends the right to a due process hearing. It contends that some criticisms of hearing rights are simply erroneous, and …

Still Unconstitutional: Our Nation's Experiment With State-Sponsored Sex Segregation In Education, David S. Cohen, Nancy Levit

Faculty Works

Since federal regulations authorized single-sex education in 2006, there has been an explosion of single-sex schools and classes. Although the Supreme Court has not ruled, three federal court decisions have addressed the constitutionality of single-sex classes, and the issue will percolate toward Supreme Court review soon. The arguments are that parents should have choices and “diversity” of educational options, that “brain research” shows that boys and girls are so biologically different to need sex-specific educational environments, that educational outcomes are better, and single-sex learning environments allows boys and girls to break through gender stereotypes. This article dissects these arguments within …

Where Schools Close In Chicago, Randall K. Johnson

Faculty Works

It is often assumed that schools close, disproportionately, in disadvantaged parts of Chicago. The assumption, however, has yet to be substantiated by research. As a result, this article tests the assumption in order to explain where schools close in Chicago. It does so by introducing a new Chicago Public School (CPS) closings dataset. The dataset sheds some light on the phenomenon by identifying 130 schools that closed, twenty-seven ZIP codes that experienced CPS closings and three demographic characteristics of these ZIP codes. In the process, this dataset helps to explain how CPS closings relate to race, income and location.

Partnerships In Employment Brief: Engaging Families Of Youth With Intellectual Disabilities In Systems Change Efforts, Sean Roy

All Institute for Community Inclusion Publications

This brief will highlight the reasons why parents and families are essential partners in any systems change effort. It will describe the importance of the family’s perspective, and how their experiences should be used to shape policy recommendations. It will offer strategies on how to engage parents and families in systems change efforts, and how to promote family involvement to state-level partners.

Has Time Expired For Time-Out Rooms?, Charles J. Russo

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

An issue that continues to raise serious concerns for education leaders surrounds the treatment of students with disabilities who behave unacceptably. In Honig v. Doe (1988), the Supreme Court acknowledged that in such cases, among the procedures available to educators is “the use of study carrels, timeouts, detention, or the restriction of privileges” (p. 325). Time-out rooms—typically small rooms where students who misbehave are sent until they can safely regain their composure—continue to be used in most jurisdictions, subject to state oversight via statutes and regulations (U.S. Department of Education 2010).

Assistive Technology And Students With Disabilities, Charles J. Russo, Allan G. Osborne Jr.

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

As part of providing a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to students with disabilities, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires school boards to offer assistive technology when necessary to ensure that students receive the educational benefits to which they are entitled.

As important as related services such as assistive technology (AT) are, the Supreme Court noted that school boards must provide such help only to the extent that it is necessary for students with disabilities to benefit from the programming identified in their individualized education plans (Irving Independent School District v. Tatro 1984). Although the related services mandate …

Feeding Students? Examining Views Of Parents, Students And Teachers On The World Food Program’S School Feeding Initiatives In Chamwino District In Tanzania, Benjamin Ngaji Oganga

Master's Capstone Projects

School feeding programs have become a worldwide phenomenon and an agenda pushed by the International Development Agencies such as the World Food Program (WFP) with the assumption that it may contribute towards addressing barriers to poor students’ enrollment and retention in primary schools in developing countries. The assumption is that, because of hunger and low income, parents are mostly likely not motivated to send their children to school; and on the other hand, children too may not effectively concentrate in learning and therefore are likely to drop out of schools. Different studies have shown the effectiveness of the school-feeding program …

"All Areas Of Suspected Disability", Mark Weber

College of Law Faculty

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires school districts to assess children “in all areas of suspected disability.” It further provides that each child’s individualized education program (IEP) must contain measurable annual goals designed to “meet each of the child’s . . . educational needs that result from the child’s disability,” and a statement of special education and related services that will be provided for the child “to advance appropriately toward attaining annual goals.” Courts have strictly enforced these requirements in the last several years, remedying violations of IDEA when school districts fail to assess in all areas of …

"All Areas Of Suspected Disability", Mark Weber

College of Law Faculty

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires school districts to assess children “in all areas of suspected disability.” It further provides that each child’s individualized education program (IEP) must contain measurable annual goals designed to “meet each of the child’s . . . educational needs that result from the child’s disability,” and a statement of special education and related services that will be provided for the child “to advance appropriately toward attaining annual goals.” Courts have strictly enforced these requirements in the last several years, remedying violations of IDEA when school districts fail to assess in all areas of …

Discrimination Inward And Upward: Lessons On Law And Social Inequality From The Troubling Case Of Women Coaches, Deborah L. Brake

Articles

In the Title IX success story, women’s opportunities in coaching jobs have not kept pace with the striking gains made by female athletes. Women’s share of jobs coaching female athletes has declined substantially in the years since the law was enacted, moving from more than 90% to below 43% today. As a case study, the situation of women coaches contains important lessons about the ability of discrimination law to promote social equality. This article highlights one feature of bias against women coaches — gender bias by female athletes — as a counter-paradigm that presents a challenge to the dominant frame …

Partnerships In Employment: Benchmarking Toolkit, Jean Winsor, Alberto Migliore

All Institute for Community Inclusion Publications

Policy shifts over the past 20 years have created an agenda that calls for a sustained commitment to integrated employment for individuals with disabilities. But despite these clear intentions, unemployment of individuals with disabilities continues to be a major public policy issue.

For people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), the disparity in labor market participation grows. Data suggest only 14.7% of individuals who receive supports from state IDD agencies work in either individual or group integrated employment, and 19% of individuals who receive day services from a state IDD agency participate in a service designed to support integrated employment …

Description Of Supported Employment Practices, Cross-System Partnerships, And Funding Models Of Four Types Of State Agencies And Community Rehabilitation Providers, Kelly Haines, Joseph Marrone, John Halliday, Michael Tashjian, Martha Klemm, Susan Stoddard, Susan M. Foley

All Institute for Community Inclusion Publications

In 2005, the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) awarded the VR Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) to the Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI) at the University of Massachusetts Boston and its partners, InfoUse in Berkeley, California and the Center for the Advancement and Study of Disability Policy. In 2010, NIDRR provided supplemental funds to the ICI so that the VR-RRTC could include a focus on the provision of supported employment (SE) services. This SE research would focus on vocational rehabilitation (VR)agency partnerships with other state entities, and sources and models for long-term funding (extended services). The …

Common-Law Interpretation Of Appropriate Education: The Road Not Taken In Rowley, Mark Weber

College of Law Faculty

Thirty years old in 2012, Board of Education v. Rowley is the case that established a some-benefit or floor-of-opportunity standard for the services public school districts must provide to children who have disabilities. But the some-benefit approach is by no means the only one the Court could have adopted. It could have endorsed the view of the lower courts that each child with a disability must be given the opportunity to achieve his or her potential commensurate with the opportunity offered other children. Or it could have adopted a standard based on achievement of the child’s full potential or the …

An Analysis Of Disability-Related Provisions In The 2008 Higher Education Opportunity Act (Heoa): What Universities And Policy Makers Should Know, Alan Kurtz

Education

The purpose of this October 2011 policy brief is to provide state agencies, postsecondary institutions, and policy makers with an overview of changes in the 2008 Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) affecting the access to education of postsecondary students with disabilities and the way teacher education programs at Institutions of Higher Learning (IHEs) prepare general and special educators to teach students with disabilities. Specifically, this analysis reviews disability-related terminology new to this revision of the HEOA, access to instructional materials for students with print disabilities, changes in access to financial aid for students with intellectual disabilities, model demonstration projects both …

Special Education, Poverty, And The Limits Of Private Enforcement, Eloise Pasachoff

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This Article examines the appropriate balance between public and private enforcement of statutes seeking to distribute resources or social services to a socioeconomically diverse set of beneficiaries through a case study of the federal special education law, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). It focuses particularly on the extent to which the Act’s enforcement regime sufficiently enforces the law for the poor. The Article responds to the frequent contention that private enforcement of statutory regimes is necessary to compensate for the shortcomings of public enforcement. Public enforcement, the story goes, is inefficient and relies on underfunded, captured, or impotent …

Special Education From The (Damp) Ground Up: Children With Disabilities In A Charter School-Dependent Educational System, Mark Weber

College of Law Faculty

Hurricane Katrina created the need and the opportunity to reconstitute the New Orleans public school system. Educational reformers took advantage of the destruction of existing institutions to build a new system based on educational choice and dependent on charter schools to provide the choices. The disaster also created the need and opportunity to rebuild the system of special education in the city, but education for children with disabilities appears to have been an afterthought. Reports have surfaced of children being steered away from charter schools or inadequately served there. This paper asks what principles should guide reformers in establishing education …

Stereotype Threat: A Case Of Overclaim Syndrome?, Amy L. Wax

All Faculty Scholarship

The theory of Stereotype Threat (ST) predicts that, when widely accepted stereotypes allege a group’s intellectual inferiority, fears of confirming these stereotypes cause individuals in the group to underperform relative to their true ability and knowledge. There are now hundreds of published studies purporting to document an impact for ST on the performance of women and racial minorities in a range of situations. This article reviews the literature on stereotype threat, focusing especially on studies investigating the influence of ST in the context of gender. It concludes that there is currently no justification for concluding that ST explains women’s underperformance …

Data Note: Postsecondary Education And Employment Outcomes For Youth With Intellectual Disabilities, Alberto Migliore, John Butterworth

Data Note Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

Completion of postsecondary education is commonly associated with better employment outcomes for the general population. There is increasing interest in postsecondary education as an opportunity for individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID). One role that vocational rehabilitation (VR) serves is to support postsecondary education in accordance with their Individualized Plan for Employment (IPE).

It's A Blessing, Douglas E. Abrams

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.