California Special Education Law 101: Overview, IDEA, and impact of Covid-19

Krista J. Martinelli | IEP Collaborative, Inc.

In late 2018, Krista completed her term as a local elected official and returned to the legal profession as a Special Education Attorney. She is a mother to 4 beautiful children and has over 20 years of experience in legal and government affairs. With a talented Board, she launched IEP Collaborative, Inc. in January 2019 to secure access to inclusive and challenging educational programming for California students with disabilities.
Krista’s service is inspired by her oldest son’s academic and social accomplishments. In 2009, she began learning about and tracking his rights under IDEA and has since applied a collaborative advocacy approach to positively impact his IEP. For over 12 years, she has collaborated with educators on inclusive education policies.

Krista’s personal experience with Special Education concerns, combined with nearly 10 years of experience as a litigator, followed by 11 years of service as a local elected official, uniquely prepared her for special education advocacy and litigation. As a Senior Associate at Brobeck, Phleger and Harrison and Pillsbury Winthrop in both Silicon Valley and San Francisco she practiced before government regulatory bodies and litigated in state and federal courts. Krista’s most recent experience as the elected City Clerk in the City of South San Francisco sharpened her policy analysis, community building and advocacy skills.

Krista also served on the League of California Cities’ Administrative Policy Committee lobbying before the State legislature. Her dedication to open communication compliments her litigation and legislative advocacy skills and is essential to her efforts to build collaborative relationships between teachers, school administrators, and parents throughout all phases of the IEP process. Krista holds a B.S. with honors in Human Development and Family Studies from Cornell University, NY (1995) and a J.D. from the University of California Hastings College of the Law, CA (1998).

Eli R. Economou | Economou Law Group, Inc.

Eli Economou is the CEO and managing partner of the Economou Law Group, specializing in education law and estate planning in southern California since 2013. He has been practicing education law since 2009. Mr. Economou has worked exclusively for parents and students in all manners of educational representation, including qualification, appropriate placement and services, disciplinary matters, and federal appeals.

F. Richard Ruderman | Ruderman & Knox, LLP Attorneys at Law

F. Richard Ruderman brings more than 38 years of experience in law and education to his practice representing children in special education matters. He is a partner with Ruderman & Knox, LLP. Credentialed in both secondary math and social studies, Mr. Ruderman was a public school teacher for eight years. He left teaching to enter law school, and after graduation practiced education law on behalf of public agencies for two years. Mr. Ruderman has focused exclusively on special education law for more than thirty years, first as a hearing officer for the California Special Education Hearing Office and then in private practice.

As a California Hearing Officer, he adjudicated special education cases for approximately 5 years and as a private attorney, he has represented hundreds of children and their families. He has conducted numerous presentations for attorneys, parent advocates, and public agencies and has participated in training special education hearing officers. Mr. Ruderman received his B.A. degree from the University of California at Berkeley and his J.D. degree from the University of San Francisco, where he received the American Jurisprudence Award in Administrative Law.

Session I: Establishing the Framework of Special Education Law | 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
1. Overview of Laws That Govern Special Education | 11:00 am – 11:20 am
2. Review of FAPE Standard Case Law | 11:20 am – 11:40 am
3. Introduction to Section 504 | 11:40 am – 12:00 pm

Break | 12:00 pm – 12:10 pm

Session II: Section 504 Implementation; SpEd Plan Development and Education impacts in California in The Covid-19 Era: What You Need to Know | 12:10 pm – 1:10 pm
1. Information Required to Document a Disability | 12:10 pm – 12:20 pm
2. Evaluation and Placement/Notice | 12:20 pm – 12:30 pm
3. Americans With Disabilities Act and Section 504 Plan Eligibility | 12:30 pm – 12:40 pm
4. 504 plan Development | 12:40 pm – 12:50 pm
5. Summary of COVID-19 Developments & Special Education Law, including Impact on Section 504 and IDEA | 12:50 pm – 1:10 pm

Lunch Break | 1:10 pm – 1:40 pm

Session III: Unraveling the Requirements of The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (Idea) | 1:40 pm – 2:40 pm
1. IDEA requirements in a chronological order | 1:40 pm – 2:00 pm
2. From initial assessment and qualification to IEP requirements | 2:00 pm – 2:20 pm
3. Challenging IEP and assessments to due process procedures | 2:20 pm – 2:40 pm

Break | 2:40 pm – 2:50 pm

Session IV: Successfully Handling Disciplinary Actions for Special Needs Students | 2:50 pm – 3:50 pm
1. We will approach a typical disciplinary situation for a child qualified to receive special education services | 2:50 pm – 3:10 pm
2. What is required and what is typically provided by school districts | 3:10 pm – 3:30 pm
3. We will also address the situation in which a child is NOT qualified but it is believed they should be | 3:30 pm – 3:50 pm

Break | 3:50 pm – 4:00 pm

Session V: Representing Children with Special Needs and Their Parents | 4:00 pm – 6:10 pm
1. The Intake Process | 4:00 pm – 5:05 pm
2. Fee Agreement and scope of representation | 4:05 pm – 4:15 pm
3. Records requests | 4:15 pm – 4:20 pm
4. Informal resolution without filing a complaint | 4:20 pm – 4:30 pm
5. Assessments | 4:30 pm – 4:35 pm
6. IEP meetings | 4:35 pm – 4:45 pm
7. Placement issues, including least restrictive environment | 4:45 pm – 4:50 pm
8. Notice of unilateral placement by parents | 4:50 pm – 5:00 pm

Break | 5:00 pm – 5:10 pm

9. Drafting the due process complaint | 5:10 pm – 5:20 pm
10. Independent assessments | 5:20 pm – 5:25 pm
11. Mediation| 5:25 pm – 5:35 pm
12. Settlement Communications | 5:35 pm – 5:40 pm
13. Preparing for the hearing | 5:40 pm – 5:50 pm
14. Prehearing Conferences | 5:50 pm – 5:55 pm
15. Hearing | 5:55 pm – 6:05 pm
16. Appeals | 6:05 pm – 6:10 pm