IEPs and Placement (an In-Depth Review): How to Avoid Common Substantive and Procedural Legal Errors

PD: Sp Ed IP | This program is completed

1117 Williston Rd South Burlington, VT 05403 United States

TBD

Sp Ed Administrators, "Front Line" Sp Ed Educators, Case Managers

3/21/2019-3/22/2019

8:30 AM-3:30 PM EDT on Th Fri

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$380.00

Special educators often feel they are in a maze of “dos” and “don’ts”. The IDEA, state statutes, and related rules and regulations -- as well as legal decisions and policy guidance interpreting them -- raise questions about best ways to create and implement IEPs and make placement decisions. Citing recent examples from real life, case law, and regulatory guidance, this workshop will identify key recurring practical and legal challenges faced by IEP teams and explore how to avoid legal pitfalls.

Over the course of the two-day workshop, participants will learn:
- Key IEP requirements that are often overlooked or under-used
- How to use IEP procedures so that they are both educationally effective and designed to ensure the IEP is legally defensible if challenged
- Where teams go wrong in creating IEPs and choosing placements for students who show disruptive and/or unsafe behaviors due to lack of self-regulation skills
- The legal factors an IEP team is required to consider when deciding whether to move a student to a more restrictive environment
- How to comply with parental participation mandates efficiently and effectively
- How to ensure that 1:1 “support” is used only where/when it is essential and that IEPs include a path to less restrictive types of support
- How to avoid IEP implementation problems and to mitigate impact of lapses
- How to design a Prior Written Notice when creating/revising an IEP and/or offering or refusing a placement or service
- When and why it is wise to revisit an IEP between annual meetings
- The relationship of bullying issues to IEP development and implementation
- The dangers of “informal” placements
- How to assemble a lawful IEP team and use “experts” effectively in IEP creation/implementation procedures
- Ways to involve other agencies appropriately through the Act 264 process
- And more!

  • This is a 2 day workshop. Participants must attend both days.
  • This offering has been approved for 12 hours of general continuing legal education credits through the VT Office of Attorney Licensing.
Page, Patti

After stints as a litigator on Wall Street and in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Patti’s practice has concentrated in the area of school law, with an emphasis on special education and general education law, and on compliance with disabilities and non-discrimination laws. She works with school clients to find practical solutions to potential substantive and procedural legal issues, to resolve contentious matters promptly and effectively, and to litigate matters where resolution is not possible. Patti has taught education law and/or special education law courses through many Vermont institutions, and she has been a speaker on a range of school law topics.