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This article spotlights Colorado and Rhode Island's collaboration efforts on the Keeping Children and Families Safe Act (PL 108-36, 2003), which reauthorized the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA, 2018) and Part C of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, 2018). These two key pieces of federal legislation require collaboration between state early intervention systems for infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families and welfare programs that focus on prevention and treatment of child abuse and neglect to be effective. From these state examples, we highlight both barriers to and facilitators of successful collaboration across the two programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act guarantees a child with disabilities a free appropriate education tailored to the needs of that child through an individualized education plan. However, as the Tenth Circuit's decision in Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District RE-1 demonstrates, courts applying the "some educational benefit" standard fail to properly evaluate the substantive adequacy of an Individualized Education Plan in light of a child's unique needs, abilities, and circumstances. To ensure that children with disabilities receive the truly individualized education to which they are entitled, courts, state legislatures, and Congress must implement measures that encourage courts to recognize that education comes in all makes and models and varies according to the particular needs of different children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research about parent experiences with the special education system is largely dominated by the perspectives of mothers. Using purposeful sampling techniques, we interviewed 20 active fathers about their experiences navigating the special education system. All the fathers described three primary roles they experienced, including acting as a partner, advocate, and student. With respect to each of these roles, the fathers also described feeling as if they were not a part of the team, describing themselves as “the odd man out.” Each construct is discussed in detail, along with implications for practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses ways to resolve conflicts between families of special education students and schools. The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act promotes the collaboration between school districts and parents of children with disabilities, making it extremely important for teachers and school administrators to resolve any conflict quickly and tactfully. The author examines gaps in special education conflict resolution procedures, focusing on due process hearings, formal complaints, and mediation.