IMPORTANT NOTICE: This program is scheduled as a face-to-face classroom training during the Fall 2020 semester, but may be moved online due to future recommendations for distance learning due to the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). Any updates will be posted on this page and all enrolled students will be notified by email of any anticipated curtailments.
This session will provide an introduction into one of the most highly regulated area of school law – special education law. This introductory session will provide an overview of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the state laws addressing the education of children with disabilities. Of primary importance in special education law is the concept of a free appropriate public education (FAPE) – find out how the courts are interpreting this and how that impacts New Hampshire schools. Additional topics include: special education referral obligations; legal requirements of special education evaluations; eligibility for special education; IEP team meeting requirements; and legal requirements of IEPs and special education placements.
As an added bonus, this session will discuss New Hampshire’s restraint and seclusion law and the impact this law has in New Hampshire public schools.
Erin Feltes is a shareholder at Drummond Woodsum, specializing in school law. Erin’s practice includes all aspects school law, including special education, Section 504, student discipline, student rights, policy development and implementation, investigations, and annual school district meetings. Erin frequently represents clients in administrative hearings and complaints at the New Hampshire Department of Education. She presents and conducts trainings on a variety of issues, including all aspects of special education and Section 504, student discipline, and bullying. Erin is a frequent contributor to the New Hampshire School Law Advisory.
Erin attended law school at the University of New Hampshire School of Law. After law school, she clerked for Chief Justice Linda S. Dalianis of the New Hampshire Supreme Court and also clerked for two years in the New Hampshire Superior Court. Prior to law school, Erin worked in higher education and received a Master’s Degree in Education from Colorado State University.
