Legal and Administrative Training

This Service provides training, consultation and resource material on a wide array of legal and administrative topics.

Special Education Service:

Unlimited legal research and telephone consultation from an experienced attorney;
A monthly newsletter with the latest information on IDEA, Section 504, FERPA and related topics such as NCLB implications – This includes recent court cases and Office of Civil Rights outcomes;
KSBA representation of the local district perspective at important government hearings and meetings;
Development of IDEA and Section 504 procedures, including timely updates.
Development of user-friendly manuals, including updates in areas such as student discipline, ARC Chair responsibilities, etc.
Attendance at Special Education and Section 504 conferences at greatly reduced rates.

ADA Newsletter Service:

Prompted by major changes to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), KSBA started a new newsletter service in 2009, addressing district responsibilities to accommodate staff and the community under the federal law.
The Service provides a monthly newsletter written by an attorney experienced with Kentucky school law, personnel law, and ADA law.

Conferences:

This unit annually hosts or co-hosts several conferences on the following topics:

Special Education for Directors;
Special Education Legal Update;
Section 504 Personnel and Community Access Update;
Section 504 Student Issues Update;
Student Records Confidentiality;
Certified Evaluation Update and Employment Issues;
Classified Evaluation and Employment Issues;
Federal and State Legal Update: Impact on Your School District (annually after the Kentucky legislative session).

Training/Consultation Opportunities:

This unit offers specialized in-district or on-site legal/administrative training to districts, educational cooperatives and other professional groups. The on-site training topics are listed below. Consultation is individualized to district needs:

School Law and Policy Update
Addressing Legal and Policy Requirements in the Schools
Certified Evaluation Appeals Panel Responsibilities
Americans with Disabilities Act Responsibilities (Employee Focus)
Investigating, Reporting and Addressing Harassment Allegations. (Includes all protected Federal categories) Includes House Bill 91 Requirements if requested
Student Confidentiality (FERPA)
Legal Update on IDEA and Section 504
Teacher Responsibilities in Implementation of IDEA and Section 504
IDEA Legal Requirements and Procedures
Section 504 Legal Requirements and Procedures
LEA Representative (ARC Chair) Responsibilities
IDEA and Section 504 Discipline
Personnel Issues in the Schools
Certified Evaluation Update Training
Any combination of the above sessions

2008-2009 Service Numbers:

Inquiries handled by KSBA’s Legal Services staff: 3,000
Special Education Service Subscribers: 173 districts and schools, nine regional special education cooperatives
The administrative conferences drew 537 participants from 124 districts/other entities.
In-district and Co-op trainings and consultations for 2008-2009: 81 trainings with 3,095 participants.

Service contacts: Teresa T. Combs, Jolene Shearer, John Fogle