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PROVIDING A LEGALLY-APPROPRIATE SPECIAL EDUCATION FOR STUDENTS WITH BIPOLAR ... PDF

225 Pages·2009·0.67 MB·English
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PROVIDING A LEGALLY-APPROPRIATE SPECIAL EDUCATION FOR STUDENTS WITH BIPOLAR DISORDER: ISSUES AND ANALYSIS by KELLY A. SHERRILL (Under the Direction of John Dayton) ABSTRACT To determine what a legally-appropriate special education is for students with bipolar disorder, this study analyzed litigation trends involving students with bipolar disorder who brought cases under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Through review of the IDEA, its regulations, the pivotal Supreme Court and Circuit Court decisions interpreting the meaning of a “free, appropriate public education” (FAPE) and “least restrictive environment” (LRE), and cases involving students with bipolar disorder, this study identified patterns, trends, and relevant facts that appeared to influence courts’ decisions in favor of school districts and courts’ decisions in favor of students. The majority of the cases held in favor of the school district on both questions of eligibility and questions of placement. Furthermore, most of the cases involved the appropriateness of school district-proposed placements versus parentally-proposed private placements. Two courts held that the residential setting was purely for psychiatric purposes and was not educational. In two cases, however, courts held that the psychiatric, emotional, and behavioral services provided to these students in residential facilities were so intertwined with the students’ educational services that they were covered under IDEA as “related services.” INDEX WORDS: special education, special education law, bipolar disorder, Individuals with Disabilities Act (or “IDEA”), free appropriate public education (or “FAPE”), least restrictive environment (or “LRE”), manic depression, schizophrenia, mental illness, residential placement, reimbursement, eligibility, emotional disturbance, emotionally disturbed, related services PROVIDING A LEGALLY-APPROPRIATE SPECIAL EDUCATION FOR STUDENTS WITH BIPOLAR DISORDER: ISSUES AND ANALYSIS by KELLY A. SHERRILL B.S.Ed., The University of Georgia, 1995 M.Ed., The University of Georgia, 1997 J.D., The George Washington University Law School, 2001 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ATHENS, GEORGIA 2009 2009 Kelly A. Sherrill All Rights Reserved PROVIDING A LEGALLY-APPROPRIATE SPECIAL EDUCATION FOR STUDENTS WITH BIPOLAR DISORDER: ISSUES AND ANALYSIS by KELLY A. SHERRILL Major Professor: John Dayton Committee: Elizabeth DeBray-Pelot Sally J. Zepeda Electronic Version Approved: Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia August 2009 DEDICATION To my mother, Elizabeth Chandler Sherrill – Even the words, “I love you” and “thank you” are not enough to show my love, appreciation, and admiration for you. You’re my rock. You serve as my wings. Without you, nothing I do is possible. Everything I am reflects your love, your encouragement, your support, and your wisdom. I hope to make you proud. To Honey, my canine soul mate – the greatest yellow Labrador Retriever in the history of the world. I love you beyond expression, word, or gesture. Thank you for walking with me every step of this journey. I only regret that I could never give you what you give me. I wish we could stay together forever. To Macky and Buddy, “the boys” – the most joyous, friendly, and handsome black Labrador Retrievers in the history of the world. Few things rival the happiness I feel when I return home to your dances of joy and sweet nuzzles. I love you. Most importantly, to my Lord – Thank you for everything. Your blessings are innumerable, I bow down before you with appreciation, humility, and honor. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To my brother, Chris, and sister-in-law, Ami – I don’t deserve family as wonderful as you. You make me proud. Much love and many kisses across the miles. To my niece, Ashlyn, and nephew, Andrew – I love you. Thank you for reading the books I give you. Don’t ever stop reading, writing, and learning. I don’t expect you to read my dissertation, but hope it serves as a symbolic reminder that you can pursue any intellectual or academic endeavor you so desire as you grow up in this world. To my daddy, Dana Sherrill – I recognize and appreciate your support even if it’s unconventional. To Dr. Catherine Ross – I would not be here without your unceasing mentoring and encouragement, as well as your provision for me to study special education law during my time at GW. I am thrilled and humbled to be affiliated with a university that calls you “professor.” To Bill Chapman and Kathy Mehfoud – You both are my gurus. I learned to adore school law under your tutelage, and will always appreciate the kind and guided mentoring you gave me in my early days as a school attorney. I am excited to be back in Virginia and I look forward to learning from and collaborating with you both once again. To Jack Lance – I have looked up to you ever since we acquainted during the 2002 NSBA annual conference, after which your follow-up note wished me a great school law career. I have been very fortunate to learn from you on many occasions, to admire your thoughtfulness and advocacy, and to enjoy the company of your family. I will miss you. To David Dempsey – You set me on my way. You gave me a wonderful foundation for legal research and writing, and accepted me when I wanted to pursue “rights law,” as you called it. Moreover, you have maintained our friendship for all these years and I look forward to resuming our breakfast meetings at Silver Spoon Cafe at Tyson’s. I am grateful to call you “mentor” and “friend.” To each of my professors at GW Law School and the many partners, associates, and clients for whom I’ve worked – You are the reason I could accomplish this task. You helped me develop and hone my writing skills, my legal knowledge, and my endless interest in education law. Thank you for giving my work purpose. To Tim, Julie, and T. J. – You have been closer than family the past two years. I love you dearly and my heart aches that I will not see T. J. as frequently as I have. I look forward to your visits. v To Richard, Michele, Kim, Julie, Jennifer – You are my best friends, my “brother” and my “sisters,” and you’ve been with me longer than anyone other than my parents. You have cheered me on, celebrated my decisions, and encouraged me when I wasn’t so sure about those decisions. I love you. I thank you. I’ll miss you. To my new colleagues in GW’s Graduate School of Education and Human Development and in the Department of Educational Leadership, including Drs. Roach, Ehrensal, Lemasters, English, Tekleselassie, Graham, Emerson, Dannels, Willett, Howerton, and Jakeman – Thank you for inviting me to join your outstanding group. I am humbled to be among such excellence. To my committee members – Thank you for selecting me into this program and for providing assistance and guidance. I appreciate your service on my committee. To all the children and teenagers with bipolar disorder, the parents and caretakers of children who have bipolar disorder, and the educators and administrators tasked with providing a free, appropriate public education to students with bipolar disorder – May the Lord bless you, comfort you, guide you, and provide you strength. Thank you for allowing me to pierce the inner circle. My heart bleeds for you. To the medical, psychiatric, psychological, and pharmacological community – Please work as hard as you can to find some answers. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS........................................................................................................... v CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ 1 Problem Statement......................................................................................................... 1 Research Questions ...................................................................................................... 5 Procedures .................................................................................................................... 5 Limitations of the Study ............................................................................................... 6 TWO LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................ 8 Introduction....................................................................................................................8 A Review of Public Law 94-142, Its Impetus, and Its Enactment................................ 9 Special Education, from Evaluation to IEP................................................................ 15 Providing a Free, Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE): The Crux of IDEA......................................... 30 A Review of the Case Law Involving Students with Bipolar Disorder....................... 44 THREE ANALYSIS................................................................................................................121 Introduction................................................................................................................121 Case Law Issues and Analysis................................................................................... 121 Conclusion................................................................................................................. 139 FOUR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS.......................................................................... 140 Introduction................................................................................................................140 Findings..................................................................................................................... 140 Conclusions............................................................................................................... 143 vii Implications............................................................................................................... 146 REFERENCES............................................................................................................................ 148 END NOTES............................................................................................................................... 155 viii CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION I. Problem Statement. Medical and psychological professionals recognize and diagnose more and more students with bipolar (manic-depressive) disorder every year. Commensurate with the increased litigation regarding students with bipolar disorder in the late-2000s is the medical field’s publication of diagnostic and descriptive books and articles examining and discussing how bipolar disorder presents in children and teenagers.1 This study does not debate the appropriate diagnosis of and treatment for students with bipolar disorder; indeed, for purposes of providing special education and related services to students, the diagnosis, while helpful, does not drive such services. Instead, IEP teams are tasked with drafting individualized programs for each student based on her unique educational needs to ensure that the student receives some educational benefit. Still, a brief summary of childhood- and teenage-onset bipolar disorder assists readers. To be sure, clinicians and physicians have problems and engage in disagreements about diagnosing bipolar disorder in children and teenagers. The DSM-IV-R divides mood disorders into depressive disorders and bipolar disorders.2 Despite clearly different presentation and symptoms of the illness (patterns “that often bear little resemblance to classical cycles of mania and depression [in] adulthood”),3 no separate category exists to diagnose children and, instead, the manual requires diagnosis according to the adult criteria.4 Young people with bipolar disorder can present with traits of attention deficit disorder with or without hyperactivity (ADD and ADHD),5 anxiety disorder,6 obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD),7 Tourette’s Syndrome,8 Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) and Conduct Disorder,9 Bulimia, cutting behavior,10 Borderline Personality Disorder,11 Asperger’s disorder,12 1

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under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). INDEX WORDS: special education, special education law, bipolar disorder, .. Rowley, infra, .. Related services also include school health services and school nurse
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Most books are stored in the elastic cloud where traffic is expensive. For this reason, we have a limit on daily download.