Authored by a legal specialist and an education professor, this study is targeted to everyone involved in the education of students with disabilities and provides a full examinatiaon of the legal issues. Each chapter blends classroom vignettes and teachable moments with relevant legal rights and responsibilities of all school personnel.
Disability rights laws are an essential part of every classroom, not just special education classrooms. Laws providing rights and protections to students and teachers with disabilities will be limited in utility unless all teachers understand the laws and the roles of the laws in the classroom. As the number of lawsuits in education is on the rise, Teachers must learn about the numerous legal issues possible in order to protect themselves against becoming involved in court cases. Teacher preparation programs must prepare all teachers to deal with these issues and to be aware of legal requirements for an equal education.
A legal mandate for an individual education plan, a less restrictive environment, and a free appropriate public education for students with disabilities are topics that all general education teachers must know and understand. This text is geared to all general education majors at all levels and in every content area, as well as administrators, teachers, parents of students with disabilities, and those involved in legal research.

PAUL T. JAEGER is Legal Research Associate, Information Use Management and Policy Institute, Florida State University.
CYNTHIA ANN BOWMAN is Assistant Professor, English Education, Florida Sate University.

Introduction: Disability Matters to Everyone
The Name Game
The Relationships between Disability, Education, and the Law
Defining Disability
Defining Discrimination
IDEA, Part I: The Concepts of IDEA
IDEA, Part II: Procedures and Implementations
IDEA, Part III: Applying IDEA
IDEA, Part IV: Much Ado
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
The Disabled College Student, the Disabled Intern
Educators with Disabilities
Assistive Technology
Disabilities and the Media
Appendix 1: How to Understand and Use Legal Sources
Appendix 2: A Guide to Relevant Legal Acronyms and Abbreviations
References