When Schools Criminalize Disability/Education Law Strategies for Legal Advocates
When Schools Criminalize Disability/Education Law Strategies for Legal Advocates explores various legal theories and strategies for challenging inappropriate school-initiated delinquency petitions and crime reports, and addressing their aftermath. This collection of materials discusses approaches that, while well-grounded in law, have not necessarily been tested in the courts. In particular, they focus on using education advocacy based on IDEA, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act to hold local schools accountable when they criminalize the behavior for which they are legally obligated to provide appropriate educational services; obtain better outcomes for clients in the juvenile courts; enforce schools’ obligation to address behavioral issues as educational ones; and reduce the risk of future school-initiated delinquency petitions or crime reports. When Schools Criminalize Disability includes illustrative hypotheticals as well as an appendix setting forth guiding principles and criteria for school policies regarding the filing of delinquency petitions and crime reports.
