Product Detail

1. Review key elements of special education law.
2. Identify common errors in evaluation, IEP development and placement decision-making.
3. Understand the extent and limits of the parent participation requirement.
4. Review developing decisional law in New Hampshire – hearing officers, U.S. District Court and First Circuit, and recent changes to the New Hampshire rules.
5. Examine application of the concept of least restrictive environment in placement decision-making.
6. Consider the importance of documentation of progress and compliance.
7. Review meaning of the elements of a free and appropriate public education (“FA PE”).
8. Outline hallmarks of strong IEPs.
9. Discuss the role of general educators in special education.

Special Education Law in New Hampshire Child Find, Evaluations and Re-evaluations

• Child find duties
• Referral and duty to evaluate
• Evaluation timelines
• Evaluators
• Parent participation
• Evaluation report
• Eligibility determinations

Individualized Education Program (IEP)

• Substantive and procedural FA PE
• Development, review and revision of IEPs
• Timelines
• IEP Team members
• Parental participation
• Required IEP elements; common errors
• Transition services
• IE Ps for students placed by public agencies in private or non-LEA placements
• D istribution, implementation, and monitoring of IEP
• Importance of tracking and documenting progress
• Lack of parental consent
• Extended school year services
• Assessing public and private insurance

Placement of Children With Disabilities

• Least restrictive environment
• Continuum of educational placements
• Placement decisions

Parentally-Placed Children with Disabilities

• When FA PE at issue
• When FA PE not at Issue
• Children receiving home education

Requirements for LEA Programs for Children with Disabilities

• IEP compliance
• Behavioral interventions; emergency procedures; use of aversives
• Mandatory medication prohibition
• Personnel standards
• Length of school day and year

Procedural Safeguards

• Prior written notice
• Written parental consent
• Refusal or revocation of consent
• Failure to respond to consent request
• Independent educational evaluations
• D ue Process and other proceedings to resolve complaints
• A dministrative complaint; Alternative Dispute Resolution – facilitated IEP meetings; neutral conferences; mediation
• Expedited hearings

Discipline of children with disabilities

• Discipline procedures
• Provision of services (FA PE) during removals
• Disciplinary information

Patti Page, is an owner of the Burlington law firm of Stitzel, Page & Fletcher, P.C., where her practice exclusively involves representation of school districts, with a concentration on special education, disabilities and nondiscrimination law, school discipline and confidentiality issues. She received her B.A. degree, summa cum laude, from Tufts University and her J.D. from Stanford University. Ms. Page has taught post-graduate special education and education law courses at Castleton State College, Lyndon State College, and the University of Vermont, and has been a presenter on special education, Section 504 and education law topics for the Vermont Council of Special Education Administrators, the Vermont Principals’ Association, and for numerous supervisory unions and privately-sponsored workshops.

Speaker Disclosures:

Financial: Patti Page is the owner of Stitzel, Page & Fletcher, PC. She receives a speaking honorarium from VCSEA. Ms. Page receives a speaking honorarium from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.

Non-financial: Patti Page is a member of the American Bar Association; Vermont Bar Association; and Vermont Council of Special Education Administrators.

For U.S. and Canadian customers, a CE test is available for $9.99 USD per participant. International CE rates may vary; please contact our Customer Service at 1-800-844-8260 for more details.

Listed below are the continuing education credit(s) currently available for this non-interactive self-study package. Please note, your state licensing board dictates whether self study is an acceptable form of continuing education. Please refer to your state rules and regulations.

Certificates of Successful Completion may be emailed, faxed or mailed to participants completing the post-test/evaluation and paying the CE fee.

**Materials that are included in this course may include interventions and modalities that are beyond the authorized practice of mental health professionals. As a licensed professional, you are responsible for reviewing the scope of practice, including activities that are defined in law as beyond the boundaries of practice in accordance with and in compliance with your professions standards.

All members of the PESI, Inc. planning committee have provided disclosures of financial relationships with ineligible organizations and any relevant non-financial relationships prior to planning content for this activity. None of the committee members had relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies or other potentially biasing relationships to disclose to learners. For speaker disclosures, please see the faculty biography.

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Counselors
This intermediate self-study activity consists of 6.0 clock hours of continuing education instruction. Credit requirements and approvals vary per state board regulations. Please save the course outline, the certificate of completion you receive from the activity and contact your state board or organization to determine specific filing requirements.

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Educators/Teachers
This course consists of 6.0 self-study clock hours. Credit requirements and approvals vary per state board regulations. Please save the course outline, the certificate of completion you receive from this self-study activity and contact your state board or organization to determine specific filing requirements.

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Nurses, Nurse Practitioners, and Clinical Nurse Specialists
This intermediate activity consists of 6.0 clock hours of continuing education instruction. Credit requirements and approvals vary per state board regulations. Please contact your licensing board to determine if they accept programs or providers approved by other national or state licensing boards. A certificate of attendance will be awarded at the end of the program to participants who are in full attendance and who complete the program evaluation.

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Psychologists
This self-study activity consists of 6.0 clock hours of continuing education instruction. Credit requirements and approvals vary per state board regulations. Please save the course outline and the certificate of completion you receive from this self-study activity. Contact us for more information on your state board or organization specific filing requirements.

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Speech-Language Pathologists & Audiologists
This course contains 6.0 hours of self-study continuing education. It was not offered for ASHA CEUs. Please retain your certificate of completion. If audited for ASHA Certification Maintenance, you can submit this certificate of completion at that time. For state licensure, teacher certification renewal, or other credential renewal, contact those agencies for information about your reporting responsibilities and requirements.

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Social Workers
PESI, Inc., #1062, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. PESI, Inc. maintains responsibility for this self-study course. ACE provider approval period: January 27, 2017 - January 27, 2020. Social Workers completing this course receive 6.0 Clinical Practice continuing education credits. Course Level: Intermediate. Full attendance is required; no partial credits will be offered for partial attendance. A certificate of attendance will be awarded at the end of the program to social workers who complete the program evaluation.

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Other Professions
This self-study activity qualifies for 6.0 clock hours of instructional content as required by many national, state and local licensing boards and professional organizations. Retain your certificate of completion and contact your board or organization for specific filing requirements.

Disclaimer: **Information obtained in this course should be used within your scope of practice.
**It is your ethical responsibility to report accurate hours to your licensing board.
**All self-study participants must complete and pass (80% or better) a post-test and evaluation prior to receiving a certificate of completion. If you require a copy of the test/evaluation for CE purposes, please print at the time you take the test. Or you may call our customer service department and a copy of your test/evaluation will be emailed to you. Please allow 30-45 days.

General Education Teachers, Special Education Teachers, School Administrators, School Psychologists, Speech-Language Pathologists, Licensed Psychologists, Counselors, Social Workers, School Nurses, Related Service Providers, Other Helping Professionals that work with Children