1. EMERGING ISSUES IN
SPECIAL EDUCATION
STOPPING THE SCHOOL TO
PRISON PIPELINE
RON LOSPENNATO, ESQ.
COURTNEY BOWIE, ESQ. Our goal is to have a national impact in
SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline.
> As many as 70% of the youth involved in the
juvenile justice system have disabilities.*
Examining the Data
* National average from The National Center on Education, Disability and
Juvenile Justice. www.edjj.org.
35%
> Learning disabled youth are 200% more likely to
be arrested than non-disabled youth for
comparable activity, are more likely to be
adjudicated, and spend longer periods of time
locked up or on probation. > Only 35% of students identified as
Emotionally Disturbed, graduate with
a regular high school diploma.

2. > Between 1972 and 2000, the percentage of White
students suspended annually for more than one-day
rose from 3.1% to 5.09%. During the same period, the
percentage for African-American students rose from
6% to 13.2%.
> The overrepresentation of students with disabilities and
Minorities in the juvenile justice system is exacerbated
by the fact that since the early 1990’s, many school
districts have adopted a “zero tolerance” approach to
wrongdoing.
School-to-Prison Reform Project
School- to-
The approach is a multifaceted one using
litigation, legislation, the media and public
education. A core strategy is using special
education law as the lever to get school-
wide Positive Behavioral Supports (PBIS)
> Although juvenile crime dropped during the last half of the adopted around the country.
1990’s, the number of cases involving juveniles—mostly
non-violent—increased, along with the number of youths
held in secure facilities for non-violent offenses.
Positive Behavioral Supports PBIS’s premise is that continual, school-wide and
individualized teaching, modeling, recognizing and
(PBIS) is an evidence-based, rewarding positive student behavior will reduce
systems-wide method of unnecessary discipline and promote a climate of
improving student behavior. greater productivity, safety, and learning.

3. Individuals with Disabilities
PBIS is critical because Education Act of 2004
> It is a viable alternative to zero tolerance
( IDEA )
IDEA mandates that students with disabilities:
> It will create a hospitable environment for kids
Allowing them to remain in school
Giving kids—diverted from the juvenile justice
system or released for juvenile detention—the
opportunity to succeed in school
Individuals with Disabilities Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act of 2004 Education Act of 2004
( IDEA ) ( IDEA )
IDEA mandates that students with disabilities: IDEA mandates that students with disabilities:
> Be educated in the least restrictive environment
> Be provided with individualized education programs (IEPs) that
provide educational benefit
Individuals with Disabilities Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act of 2004 Education Act of 2004
( IDEA ) ( IDEA )
IDEA mandates that students with disabilities: IDEA mandates that students with disabilities:
> Be provided related services such as social work and counseling
> Be provided transition services so that they can work and live
independently after they leave school

4. Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act of 2004
( IDEA )
IDEA mandates that students with disabilities:
1
In the three states we already
have a physical presence.
> Be provided public education through the age of 21
(unless they graduate or leave sooner)
1
3 offices directly operated by SPLC
2
> Montgomery, AL — Alabama Educational Reform
> Jackson, MS — Mississippi Youth Justice Project
> New Orleans, LA — School to Prison Reform
Project in Partnership with the Southern
Disability Law Center

5. Grantees
CALIFORNIA — Protection and Advocacy, Inc. in LA
FLORIDA — the Florida P&A, Advocacy Center for
Persons with Disabilities in Tampa
Tampa
(Hillsborough County)
Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County
(Palm Beach County)
KENTUCKY — Children Law Center (Bullitt County)
> Administrative Complaints — Louisiana, Mississippi
Typical Legal Issues > Litigation — Beth V. v. Carrol, 87 F.3d 80 (3rd Cir. 1996);
Corey H. v. Chicago Board of Educ., 995 F. Supp. 900
(N.D. Ill. 1998)
> Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) Issues
> Discipline Issues
Strategies
> Federal Legislation — Federal PBIS (Obama bill)
> State Legislation — Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana
> Coalition Building Locally — Florida (Legal Aid, P&A,
> Related Service Issues
Public Defenders)
> Educated Benefit Issues > Cooperative Agreements — Louisiana (Juvenile Courts,
Police School districts, School Districts)
> Transition Service Issues > Coalition Building Nationally — NJDC, ACLU, Harvard
Civil Rights, NAACP etc.
3

6. Typical Special Education Issues DISCIPLINE OF STUDENTS WITH
Impacting STPP DISABILITIES
•DISCIPLINE IDEA REQUIRES A MANIFESTATION
•INAPPROPRIATE RELATED SERVICES
•FAILURE TO EDUCATE IN LEAST DETERMINATION REVIEW TO BE
RESTRICTIVE ENVIRONMENT CONDUCTED PRIOR TO A “CHANGE IN
•FAILURE TO PROPERLY EVALUATE PLACEMENT” OR A REMOVAL FOR MORE
STUDENTS THAN 10 DAYS FOR A STUDENT WITH A
•FAILURE TO PROVIDE APPROPRIATE
TRANSITION PLANS DISABILITY.
•EDUCATIONAL BENEFIT ISSUES STPP IS IMPACTED BY MANY DISTRICTS
•POOR QUALITY TEACHING AT EVERY LEVEL FAILING TO CONDUCT MDRS AT ALL
•FAILURE TO DEVELOP APPROPRIATE IEPS PRIOR TO SUSPENDING OR EXPELLING
•FAILURE TO IMPLEMENT IEPS THAT HAVE
BEEN DEVELOPED STUDENTS.
EVEN WORSE…
DISCIPLINE OF STUDENTS WITH INAPPROPRIATE RELATED SERVICES
DISABILITIES (CONT.)
IDEA defines related services as:
transportation and other services as
are required to assist a disabled
SCHOOLS ARE HAVING STUDENTS (AS child to benefit from special
YOUNG AS 9 AND 10) ARRESTED FROM education, including:
SCHOOL FOR: Psychological services
•CONDUCT THAT DOES NOT NECESSARILY Physical and occupational therapy
INVOLVE WEAPONS OR DRUGS; Speech-language pathology
Counseling services
•CONDUCT SUCH AS CURSING AT THEIR Social work services
TEACHERS Parent counseling and training.
INAPPROPRIATE RELATED SERVICES (CONT.) FAILURE TO EDUCATE IN LRE
DESPITE IDEA’S PROVISIONS, WE HAVE SEEN:
Children with disabilities
1. THE FAILURE TO DEVELOP BEHAVIOR have the right to be
INTERVENTION PLANS; educated in the least
2. WOEFULLY INADEQUATE LEVELS OF restrictive environment
SOCIAL WORK AND COUNSELING SERVICES
(IF ANY);
appropriate.
3. A LACK OF MENTAL HEALTH CARE
PROVIDERS; Despite this requirement in
4. NO OR INSUFFICIENT PBIS PROGRAMS. IDEA…

7. FAILURE TO EDUCATE IN LRE FAILURE TO PROPERLY EVALUATE
IDEA’S CHILD FIND MANDATE:
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES ARE
OFTEN: The State must have in effect
policies and procedures to ensure
that –
1. IN SELF-CONTAINED SETTINGS; All children with disabilities in
2. IN ALTERNATIVE SCHOOLS; need of special education and
3. HAVE TO “EARN THE RIGHT” TO BE related services, are identified,
IN LESS RESTRICTIVE SETTINGS. located, and evaluated. However…
However…
FAILURE TO PROPERLY EVALUATE (CONT.) INAPPROPRIATE TRANSITION
Transition Services under IDEA are
defined as:
A coordinated set of activities for a child with a
MANY CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES disability that (i) is designed to be within a
results-oriented process, that is focused on
ARE GOING UNIDENTIFIED improving the academic and functional achievement of
the child with a disability to facilitate the
BECAUSE: child’s movement from school to post-school
activities, including post-secondary education,
vocational education, integrated employment,
1.LEAs REALIZE THAT THE continuing and adult education, adult services,
independent living, or community participation, (ii)
DISCIPLINE REGULATIONS WILL based on the child’s individual needs, taking into
account the child’s strengths, preferences, and
APPLY; interests; and includes –
•Instruction
2.CONFUSION RE: RTI; •Related services
•Community experiences
3.CONFUSION; •The development of employment and other post-
school adult living objectives; and
4.UNKNOWN CAUSES. •If appropriate, acquisition of daily living
skills and provision of a functional vocational
evaluation.
INAPPROPRIATE TRANSITION Educational Benefit Issues
Students with disabilities have a right
to IEPs that are reasonably calculated
Despite IDEA’s Transition to enable them to receive educational
mandate, students with benefit from them.
The courts look at whether or not
disabilities are routinely positive academic and non-academic
denied access to district benefit is demonstrated (i.e. grades,
vocational schools. standardized test scores, etc.).*
*Cypress-Fairbanks Indep. Sch. Dist. v. Michael F., 118 F.3d
245 (5th Cir. 1997).

8. EDUCATIONAL BENEFIT ISSUES Educational Benefit Issues
Despite the right of students with Why the lack of progress?
disabilities to make progress, •Poor quality teaching in some
many do not. We find many cases;
students who are 3-4 years behind •Failure to develop appropriate
in core subject areas such as IEPs;
math and reading by the time they •Failure to implement IEPs.
reach junior high school.
HOW TO HELP?
1.ATTEND IEP OR ASK FOR A NEW ONE
2.REQUEST AN INDIVIDUAL DUE
PROCESS HEARING
3.FILE AN INDIVIDUAL COMPLAINT
WITH STATE DEPARTMENT OF
EDUCATION
4.REPRESENT OR ADVOCATE FOR THE
CHILD AT AN EXPULSION HEARING
5.REPRESENT THE CHILD IN YOUTH
COURT, IF NECESSARY