Special Education Law Symposium

June 18 – June 23, 2017

Lehigh University’s intensive one-week institute provides a practical analysis of legislation, regulations, and court decisions relating to the education of students with disabilities.  The symposium is designed for special education coordinators and teachers, principals, psychologists, parent advocates, charter school personnel, attorneys (on both sides), hearing officers, state education agency personnel, and other individuals interested in a thorough exploration of the special education legal landscape.

The program offers two parallel tracks, one for basic that offers in-depth foundation knowledge about the IDEA and Section 504: eligibility, FAPE, LRE, student discipline, and remedies.  The other track is for advanced participants, offering brand new “hot topics,” such as child find nuances, pending Supreme Court cases, the behavioral legal alphabet soup, Section 504 update, and settlement strategies.

Included in the symposium is a separable two-day (June 22-23) training for school district Section 504 coordinators, including the latest litigated Section 504 disputes, an in-depth comparison of the IDEA and Section 504, and a “nuts and bolts” how-to session about how to appropriately and effectively implement Section 504.

The experienced program faculty features attorneys Laura Anthony (Ohio), Maria Blaeuer (Maryland), Laura Gillis (Massachusetts), Michele Kule-Korgood (New York), Isabel Machado (New Jersey), Deborah Mattison (Alabama), Michael Stafford (Delaware), Jennifer Valverdi (New Jersey), Mark Weber (Illinois), and—from Pennsylvania—Jeffrey Champagne, William Culleton, Andrew Faust, Hollie John, Dennis McAndrews, Brooke Say, Gabrielle Sereni, and Dr. Perry Zirkel.  Additionally, the 504 Institute features long-time Section 504 coordinator Lisa Hardcastle (Texas).

The symposium begins on Sunday evening with a dinner and keynote lecture, and it concludes on Friday with Dr. Zirkel’s National Case Law Update and Crystal Ball.

The Symposium is offered with the options of graduate or continuing education credit for week-long participants. Shorter, including daily, registrations are also available.  For full information, see go.lehigh.edu/spedlaw. For any questions, email or call Shannon Weber or Donna Johnson at specialedlaw@lehigh.edu or (610) 758-5557.