COPAA 24th annual conference, attorneys Nicholle Mineiro and Christine Porter

Webinar on special education law in Washington provided by Northwest Justice Project, TeamChild, and Disability Rights Washington.

A party generally cannot bring a civil lawsuit regarding claims that arise under the IDEA unless they have exhausted those claims in a due process hearing first. However, most special education cases settle before hearing, and the IDEA encourages resolution of claims between school districts and parents, with built-in mediation procedures and a resolution meeting requirement. Also, many families wish to bring discrimination claims against school districts for violations of student civil rights, seeking relief that they cannot obtain in a due process hearing (such as financial compensation for harm), for claims that administrative law judges won’t hear.

Investing in Student Potential Advocacy Week 2022 offers self and student advocates direct meetings with legislators and advocacy training.

I started my own special education law practice with a vision in mind: to help families of students with disabilities enforce their rights; and to obtain better educational outcomes for students and youth with disabilities.