The Role of Law in Special Education

ABSTRACTThis article provides foundational information to stimulate and facilitate assessment of the distinctive role of law in this field. For example, has the balance of costs and benefits reached the point of over-legalization? Similarly, to what extent is legal literacy essential for special education teachers and related service personnel as compared to special education supervisors and administrators? For practitioners, professors, and policymakers to arrive at informed answers to such questions, this article successively provides (a) a description of the meaning of "law" in the context of special education in this country; (b) an overview of the level and sources of knowledge of special education law among school personnel, and (3) a sampling of lessons for special education stakeholders' careful consideration. Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.Notes1 The author applied an estimated correction factor for these data reported by the Center for Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Special Education (CADRE) because they do not include due process hearing cases that were decided after the year in which they were filed.