Special Education and the Law
A Guide for Practitioners
- Allan G. Osborne, Jr. - Snug Harbor Community School (Retired), Quincy, Massachusetts
- Charles J. Russo - University of Dayton, USA
Forewords by Richard D. Lavoie and Suzanne Eckes
Educators face major challenges when addressing the needs of students with disabilities. This includes understanding a complex legal field: special education law. Special Education and the Law, Fourth Edition: A Guide for Practitioners is the ultimate for busy educators. Osborne and Russo, past presidents of the Educational Law Association, are experts in translating legalese into language that educators can understand. They have created a resource that examines legislation and interprets the statutes and their regulations in a reader-friendly format. Major topics include rights of access to public education, procedural due process, placement requirements, delivery of related services, discipline of students with disabilities, and remedies for failure to adhere to the law. With a preventative approach to litigation that separates it from other publications, this book features:
- Updates on legal developments from the almost-1000 federal and state cases decided since publication of the third edition in 2014
- Coverage of IDEA, ADA, FAPE, 504, discipline, IEPs, LRE, parental considerations, public vs. private school considerations, and attorney fees
- A focus on federal and state interpretations
With its user-friendly format, this resource will help educators focus on their core competency: providing exemplary education to students with special needs.
Osborne and Russo provide a relevant, useful guide for practitioners working with students with disabilities and their families. The book is “busy-teacher” friendly, providing comprehensive information in an easy-to-read format.
A well written resource for anyone involved in the Special Education process. This resource is one that should be referred to often when working with parents, schools, advocates, and courts.
It is vitally important that teachers and building level administrators be versed in education law since it is often their actions that create litigation and consequent case law. This is particularly true in special education where statutory and procedural mandates are changing and complex. Drs. Osborne and Russo's 4th edition of Special Education and the Law presents a straight forward and easy to understand reference as well as an enjoyable read of essential knowledge and legal background for practitioners that should be required reading in all schools of education and administration.
Special education law is among the most complex legal fields because it requires precise educational plans for each individual child, collaborative interaction between school officials and parents, and involves extensive statutory, regulatory, and judicial mandates. Nonetheless, Allan Osborne and Charlie Russo make the complex simple while ensuring that the reader understands the subtleties of the law. The fourth edition, which includes updates on two landmark Supreme Court cases, should be an essential part of any school official’s library.