Administrative Special Education Due Process Hearings

This course focuses on the Administrative Hearing process for resolving disputes between parents of children with disabilities and school districts. The principles and steps to prepare for such hearings are similar to those for other administrative hearings conducted by regulatory agencies, such as Social Security disability claims, Medicare appeals, and employment or labor disputes.

Since 1978, the presenter has been litigating on behalf of parents and children with disabilities, including a 1993 U.S. Supreme Court victory. His landmark “Carter” case changed the litigation process and set the stage for parents of children to recover private school tuition, tutoring, and other expenses from school districts. In this training, he will share unique tips on presenting evidence, preparing exhibits, and preparing witnesses.

Attorneys will learn about the importance of creating a simple, easy-to-understand “theme of the case” using the school’s evidence to prove that the child was damaged by the school district. Attendees will learn how to use the 5 W’s + H + E, i.e., Who, What, When, Where, Why, How, and Explain. Attorneys will also learn how to use their cross-examination to “testify on behalf of their client.” In these disputes, emotions are often highly charged and can easily sabotage a good case. Expert witnesses may be required, and case preparation should include an eye toward creating the “Joint Appendix.” A seemingly simple due process administrative hearing may not be resolved until the U.S. Court of Appeals issues a ruling.

This program is designed for attorneys at all levels. Attorneys new to practicing law or new to principles of litigation and trial practice will benefit from this training, as will their paralegals and even lay advocates who help parents. Experienced litigation attorneys will also learn new tips about case preparation, management, and preparation of your witness for techniques to handle abusive cross-examination from opposing counsel.

Learning Objectives:

1. Understand the rights of a child with a disability to receive a “Free Appropriate Public Education,” known as FAPE.
2. Defuse and depolarize the intense emotional dynamics. Parents often feel betrayed by the school district and seek revenge. Such feelings may destroy their case.
3. Use the school district’s own files, evaluations, IEPs, and progress reports to prove that the child did not receive FAPE and was damaged by the school’s program.
4. Create a simple, easy-to-understand “Theme of the Case” from the extensive documents and exhibits generated about the child.
5. Discover, locate, and use documents that were altered by the school district.
6. Recognize how to turn the parents, often referred to as “the mother from hell” by school districts, into a merged personality of Mother Teresa, Peter Falk, and Columbo, so that the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) feels empathy for the parents and child.
7. Prepare a case so that the parents need not testify, and the documents and paper trail prove the case.