This is my new blog, welcome.

In this space, we will be discussing special education law topics.

To break the ice, let's discuss the viability of the Rowley decision in the NCLB IDEA'04 era. Most lawyers I've talked to think that the Rowley standard is the closest thing to hornbook law that we have in special education.

Rowley basically establishes the standard for the free and appropriate education required by the IDEA. An IEP must have been developed with appropriate opportunity for participation by the parents and the IEP must be reasonably calculated to provide educational opportunity for the child with a disability.

One federal court in Washington state has rejected the Rowley standard. The Court held that Rowley was decided under the former EHA, the predecessor of the IDEA, and that the new standard should look to provide equal opportunity for kids with disabilities. The Court ruled that Rowley set the bar too low.

What are your thoughts?