Date Published: Jun 20, 2012
Source: 
West's Education Law Reporter
Authors: 
Zirkel, P.A.
Volume: 
279

[Excerpt, p.3]

The purposes of this article are (a) to canvass the Section 504 legislation, regulations, and OCR interpretations specific to impartial hearings; and (b) to determine, via a national survey, the current practices of the state education agencies (SEAs) for the 50 states and the District of Columbia (D.C.) in terms of meeting the Section 504 requirement for an impartial hearing for the two identified categories of Section 504–eligible students.

 

Part I of this article provides an introductory overview of the major sources of confusion—one based on the overlap with the IDEA and the other based on the limited coverage in the literature—concerning impartial hearings under Section 504. As a focused legal framework, Part II summarizes the Section 504 legislation, regulations, and OCR interpretations specific to impartial hearings. As the central section, Part III presents the methodology and findings of a survey of the current practices, including state laws and policies, of the 51 SEAs (including D.C.) for Section 504 hearings. Finally, Part IV provides a concluding discussion recommending that states review and revise these practices in light of the OCR interpretations, relevant case law, and other pertinent

considerations."

 

[Excerpt from concluding Discussion, p.16]

"In sum, impartial hearings under Section 504 merit much more attention in both the professional literature and in state policymaking. Although no single solution is necessarily applicable to all states, careful consideration is clearly warranted. In general, adopting a state law or at least official policy would appear to be in the public interest. The process of such adoption should include concerted and systematic attention to (a) the differences between double–covered and Section 504 –only students, (b) the courts' interpretation of the IDEA exhaustion provision for the particular jurisdiction, and (c) the competing interests, including available resources and applicable values, for the jurisdiction. Finally, SEAs need to include local stakeholders in terms of both parents and district personnel in both the development and dissemination of the policies for impartial hearings under Section 504 so that disputes about eligibility, FAPE, and other such claims are subject to effective resolution rather than costly compounding."

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