Foundations of Special Education and Legal/Ethical Issues
This domain covers the legal architecture surrounding every decision a special educator makes, plus the ethical standards that apply when law and practice conflict. Items typically ask you to identify the correct procedural step, distinguish one law from another, or choose the response a professional is obligated to make.
The federal core
- IDEA (2004) funds special education for eligible children ages 3–21 and guarantees FAPE in the LRE. Its pillars: zero reject/child find, nondiscriminatory evaluation, the IEP, LRE, procedural safeguards, and parent participation.
- Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (1973) bars disability discrimination in federally funded programs. Eligibility is broader-any impairment substantially limiting a major life activity-and the result is a 504 accommodation plan, not an IEP.
- ADA Title II extends nondiscrimination duties to public entities. FERPA governs access to and confidentiality of education records.
- Evaluation requires informed written parental consent. Parents may revoke consent for services at any time, and the district may not use mediation or due process to override that refusal.
Georgia-specific rules
- State Board Rule 160-4-7-.05 lists eligibility categories; significant developmental delay covers ages 3 through 9.
- Georgia requires documentation of response to scientific, research-based intervention before identifying a specific learning disability.
- GNETS provides intensive therapeutic programming when emotional/behavioral needs exceed local capacity.
- The age of majority in Georgia is 18; rights transfer to the student, documented in the IEP.
Discipline
After 10 cumulative school days of removal in a year, services must continue and the team must determine whether the behavior is a manifestation of the disability-within 10 school days of the decision. Weapons, drugs, or serious bodily injury allow a 45-day interim alternative placement regardless of manifestation.
Worked example
A fifth grader with other health impairment (ADHD) is suspended 11 cumulative days for disruption. The team must (1) continue FAPE, (2) convene a manifestation determination within 10 school days, and (3) if the behavior is a manifestation, conduct an FBA and revise the BIP rather than simply extend removal.
Traps
Equating LRE with full inclusion; requiring an IEP for a 504 student; assuming a student must fail before referral; treating stay-put as optional; and confusing eligibility (a disability) with entitlement (need for services).