Special Education and the Law
EDLPS 516/EDSPE 504
Winter Quarter 2008
Sherrie Brown, J.D., Ed.D.
sbrown@u.washington.edu
Agenda for Tonight
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Introductions
Syllabus Review
American Legal System
Reading Court Opinions
Writing Case Briefs
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Why Educators
Need to be Legally Literate
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In the US all issues become, “sooner or later, a
subject of judicial debate.” (de Tocqueville)
Be clear on responsibilities in instruction and
expectations of society in order to protect themselves
from liability.
Be cognizant of their rights in the performance of
their duties.
To appreciate the influence of the American Legal
System (which is broader than simply court decisions)
on the policy decisions made in public education.
Be familiar with the basics of our system of
government to adequately prepare children to be
informed citizens.
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AMERICAN LEGAL
SYSTEM—the BASICS
 The United States is a
federal system—
what does that mean
 What are the sources
of law?
 How does the court
get involved in
judgment of the other
branches of
government?
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Federalism is…
• Union of fifty states under one central
government authority.
• And, it is a system of parallel
governments-local, state, federal.
• There is a shared power between these
parallel systems, but the federal
constitution and statutory laws have
supremacy. Marbury v. Madison
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Sources of Law…
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Constitution
Legislative acts - i.e., statutes or laws
Administrative law
Court decisions - court or case law.
(common law)
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Courts get involved by
• Applying principles of law to specific set of
facts--settle disputes.
• Construing or interpreting legislative or
regulatory enactments.
– Statutory interpretation--philosophy of courts varies.
Strict construction, liberal, plain meaning.
• Determining the constitutionality of legislative or
administrative actions.
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STATE COURTS
– Courts of Limited Jurisdiction--lower trial courts. Municipal,
county courts, small claims, traffic, probate. SEATTLE
MUNICIPAL COURT. Not published
– Courts of General Jurisdiction (your text calls these original
jurisdiction courts)-major trial courts. KING COUNTY
SUPERIOR COURT. Not usually published
– Intermediate Appellate Courts--they hear appeals from trial courts
and administrative agencies. THREE COURTS OF APPEALS in
Washington. (Northwest, Southwest and all of Eastern
Washington) Division I,II, III (Seattle, Tacoma, Spokane) (Wash
App. P2d)
– Courts of Last Resort-often called the Supreme Court. WASH
STATE SUPREME (Wash, Wash 2d) PUBLISHED
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FEDERAL COURTS
• District Courts--at least one in every state, usually more than two. In
Washington we have Eastern District and Western District. Cases
generally either between citizens of different states or involving
litigation of federal statutes or the federal constitution. (F.Supp)
• Courts of Appeals--there are 13 courts of appeals. –11 geographic
circuits and one for DC, one federal . Decides issues of law not fact.
9th Circuit Court of Appeals (Calif, Oregon, Alaska, Montana, Idaho,
Nevada, Arizona) F2d, F3d (9th Cir.)
• Courts of Special Jurisdiction---e.g. Tax Court, Customs Courts, etc.
Federal Circuit
• Supreme Court--no redress. Brought before Supremes by appeal
(writ of certiorari) or through original jurisdiction. Cases such as
state statute or federal statute is questioned or any right or privilege is
claimed under the Constitution. Requires 4/9 judges. Very political,
private. (U.S.)
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FINDING COURT DECISIONS
• US Supreme Court Decisions can be found in the official report,
United States Reports. eg. Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka,
Kansas, 349 U.S. 294 (1955) vol 349 of the reports at page 294.
• Federal cases: US Courts of Appeals reported in Federal Reporter,
Second Series. Clark v. Whitting, 607 F.2d 634 (4th Cir. 1979). This
is the commercial version.
• US District Courts—Federal Supplement (F.Supp.) Ponton v.
Newport News School Board, 632 F.Supp. 1056 (E.D.Va. 1986)
• State cases. State Supreme Court and State Appellate cases often in
more than one set. Washington Reports and Pacific Reporter. (P.2d)
• HINT: First page of a decision generally gives a good summary of
the court history, decision, official name and date of case.
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FINDING STATUTES
• Federal statutes are officially compiled according to topic
in the United States Code (U.S.C.) Unofficial annotated
editions are available in the US Code Annotated (USCA)
• Congressional acts in their chronological order of passage
are compiled in the US Statutes at Large (Stat.) by Public
Law number P.L. 94-142 means 142nd law passed by the
94 Congressional session—not the year.
• Citations to the statutes are not reflective of the
changes—for example 94-142 is commonly used to
describe the special education law—but the content of
EHA or 94-142 is significantly different than the IDEA
which is now the federal special education law.
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RULES AND REGULATIONS
• When agencies issue rules and regulations
designed to assist in the implementation of
federal statutes are in the Federal Register
(Fed. Reg.), the Code of Federal
Regulations (CFR).
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Test your Knowledge
• What does RCW 28A.600.220 mean?
• What does WAC 190-40-245 mean?
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What is the goal of reading a case
decision?
• To find the rule that the judge pronounces.
• Anything else that may be said in the
opinion --e.g., anything not particular to
resolving the issue before the court is
dicta.
• Dicta are not binding.
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Case Analysis
• Is a skill and like any other…takes time to
develop.
• Don’t get discouraged by the legalese,
cases are really just stories about people
like you and me.
• Try the framework I am giving you today.
• Hint: it is always a good idea to read the
opinion.
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Analyzing Court Decisions:
aka briefing a case
• Title and citation (where to find it again and
how to reference it in a discussion)
• Level or type of court hearing the case
• Relevant facts involved in the case
• Disputed issue or issues in the case
• Holdings of the court
• Legal doctrine or principle supporting the
decision—i.e., rationale/reasoning.
• Significance of the decision regarding future
actions
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FACTS
• Who did what to whom and why are they
in court?
– What facts are necessary to make a decision—
i.e., what is legally relevant.
– Often difficult to decide—especially as you
are learning how to brief—what is relevant.
– When in doubt, keep it in.
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ISSUE(s)
• What question is the plaintiff asking the
court to address?
– There may be substantive legal issue(s) and
procedural legal issue(s).
– We are interested in the substantive ones only
in this class.
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HOLDING
• How does the court answer the question or
issue?
– Can be a yes/no answer
– More often it is a mixed
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REASONING/RATIONALE
• How does the court reach its holding in the
case—i.e., why does the court answer the
question the way it does?
– Justification for the ruling
– Guidelines for future situations
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SIGNIFICANCE
• Why is this decision (holding and
reasoning) important for the future
behavior of similar parties?
• Does the decision have additional
significance for other parties because of the
court’s holding?
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Olmstead v. L.C., 527 U.S. 581 (1999)
• Two women “voluntarily” entered a state hospital for individuals with
cognitive impairments (mental retardation and/or mental illness) to
receive treatment.
• They were declared “fit” to return to community, were not allowed to
leave because the state declared there were no appropriate supports
available for them in the community.
• They sued the state arguing that Title II of the ADA prohibits a public
entity from discriminating against qualified persons with disabilities.
– The term "discrimination" includes the failure of a public entity to
administer its programs in the most integrated setting appropriate to the
needs of qualified individuals with disabilities.
– Further, a public entity must make reasonable modifications to it policies
and practices unless such measures would fundamentally alter the nature
of the public entity's program.
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ISSUE
• Does the nondiscrimination mandate
(under Title II) require placement of
persons with disabilities in community
settings rather than in institutions in certain
circumstances, in order to achieve the
"integration" requirement?
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HOLDING
• Qualified YES. Unnecessary institutionalization
violates civil rights of people with disabilities
• States are required to make reasonable
modifications in order to serve people in the
community when:
– The individual desires to live in a community setting;
– The state’s treatment professionals determine community
placement is appropriate; and
– The placement can be reasonably accommodated, considering the
resources available to the state and the needs of others receiving
services from the state.
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REASONING
– Supremes show deference to Department of Justice regulations:
1) unjustified placement or retention of persons in institutions
constitutes discrimination “by reason of disability” under Title II
and 2) reasonable modifications to programs/services required.
– Looks to purpose behind ADA passage and statutory language.
– Modifies the Court of Appeals construction of “reasonable
modification” regulation to provide State some defense to
obligation to immediately find placements in the community.
– Opines that states have obligation to administer services “with an
even hand” and may consider resources available and the range
of services required for others in State.
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SIGNIFICANCE
• States have clear duty to follow the
inclusion/least restrictive mandate for those
individuals who wish to live in the community
and who are determined to be ready to do so.
• Resources of the state CAN be a factor in how
quickly the inclusion occurs.
• All state provided services—not just
residential—must also follow the least restrictive
mandate.
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