Spring 2016 Special Education Legal Issues Forum

On Monday, May 13, 2016, attorneys Michael P. McKeon and Mark J. Sommaruga of the Pullman & Comley School Law section hosted the spring 2016 Special Education Legal Issues Forum. This interactive seminar focused on the legal climate affecting Connecticut school districts, as well as additional professional hot topics.

The agenda included:

Legal Developments and Practical Effects 

• The General Assembly Speaks
• The Current State of Seclusion and Restraint
• OSEP Strikes Again - "Letter to Andel" and Unannounced Parent Attorneys at PPT Meetings
• Visual Impairments, Internet Access, and OCR 
• Excess-Cost Grants - The New Calculus
• Recent Cases

Trends, Considerations, Reminders, and Practices 

• Parent Observations - Prohibiting, Permitting, Limiting
• Not All Mediations are the Same - When Districts Pay More
• Paraprofessionals and the PPT Process
• When NOT to Convene a Manifestation Determination
• Predetermination - Procedural Violation or Common Sense?
• Annual Reviews and Non-Cooperative Parents
• Reconciling ESY with LRE

Evaluations

• Hospitalizations + No Evaluations = Child Find Valuations
• IEE Criteria - What Should They Include?
• Timelines

Student Records and Communications

• FERPA and FOIA Considerations
• Privilege - What Student Communications Cannot be Shared with Parents
• Protocols - Shred, Shred, Shred
• If It Is In Writing, Parents Can Obtain It

Section 504

• Transgender Students
• Food Allergies
• Bullying