Overview of Special Education Process – Deusdedi Merced, Managing Member, Special Education Solutions, LLC

The IDEA’s framework is complex. In this session, Mr. Merced will provide a high-level overview of the IDEA’s key components to help new IDEA ALJs/IHOs understand how due process fits within the broader framework.

Basic Hearing Procedures and Management: An Overview for New IDEA Administrative Law Judges and Impartial Hearing Officers – Deusdedi Merced, Managing Member, Special Education Solutions, LLC

This practical session introduces new IDEA ALJs/IHOs to core federal statutory and regulatory requirements, including timelines and the parties’ hearing rights.

The Curious Cases of the IDEA – Ian Spechler, Administrative Law Judge and Mediator, Texas State Office of Administrative Hearings

This session explores major cases from the past 50 years that shape special education law. Participants will review key Supreme Court and Circuit Court decisions that inform hearing officer decision-making.

Prehearing conferences are an essential step in preparing for special education due process hearings. This session focuses on how thorough and proactive conferences can improve the hearing process by organizing evidence, addressing procedural matters, and establishing clear expectations. Participants will explore practical approaches to managing conferences, including timelines, preliminary issues, evidentiary matters, and efficient case management. The session will also highlight strategies to streamline hearings, reduce unnecessary delays, and keep proceedings focused on the key issues affecting students and schools.

Presiding over efficient hearings and writing coherent, timely decisions requires making the most of limited time. The prehearing conference is a critical first step, where hearing management and decision writing begin. This session focuses on a key function of the prehearing: identifying the issues for hearing. The central question – whether the school district provided a free appropriate public education – is often too broad to guide efficient management or decision-making. Clear issue identification provides the necessary foundation. Judge Jim Mortenson will discuss practical techniques to clarify issues, including questions to ask parties, tools to support the process, and methods for framing issues that can be meaningfully resolved. Participants are encouraged to bring questions and ideas to contribute to the discussion.

Have questions not covered by the conference topics? A distinguished panel of IDEA consultants, ALJs, and SEA representatives will offer answers. Deusdedi Merced will facilitate this open forum, where participants may ask the panel questions on any due process topic.

Looking Back to Move Forward: A Practical Approach to the IDEA’s Statute of Limitations – Brian Ford, Director, Pennsylvania Office for Dispute Resolution

The IDEA’s statute of limitations appears straightforward, but case law interpreting it continues to evolve. This session examines how courts and hearing officers have applied the statute and what those interpretations mean for day-to-day practice.

Beginning with the statutory language and key decisions, the discussion moves to practical implications for managing due process hearings, including prehearing organization, motions practice, jurisdictional issues, case management, and decision writing.

Because approaches often vary across states, the session will also provide an opportunity to compare practices and identify common, multi-state best practices.

A Decade of Endrew F.: How the Landmark Supreme Court Case Has Affected Special Education Law, Ian Spechler, Administrative Law Judge and Mediator, Texas State Office of Administrative Hearings

In 2017, the Supreme Court revisited Rowley for the first time since 1982. In the wake of Endrew F., articles and presentations attempted to predict its impact on the future of special education law. Had the Rowley standard been displaced? Would pre-2017 case law become obsolete? Was a new circuit split on the interpretation of Endrew F. inevitable?

Nearly a decade later, this presentation examines where the case law now stands. It explores the decision’s impact on the IDEA and considers the practical implications for hearing officers.

Beyond the Record: Understanding the Impact of Due Process Hearings on Special Education Teachers – Elizabeth Zagata, Special Education Systems Improvement Specialist, WestEd

Teacher testimony is often central to the evidentiary record in special education due process hearings, yet little research has examined how participation in these proceedings affects educators themselves. This session reviews emerging research on the professional and personal impact of due process participation, including increased workload, missed instructional time, and significant stress reported by teachers who testify. Participants will discuss the implications of these findings for hearing management, witness treatment, and the broader dispute resolution system under IDEA.

Demystifying AI: Real Tools, Limits, and Results for IDEA ALJ/IHO Law Professionals – Mark Beekman, Former PwC Technology Partner

You’ve likely read the hype, and the cautionary tales, about Artificial Intelligence (AI). You’ve probably also wondered how AI might apply to your work as an ALJ or IHO. In this session, you’ll learn how AI and large language models (LLMs) function, and how to use them responsibly and effectively.

You’ll get a clear look at the tools available to you, the differences among popular platforms like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, and when each makes sense to use. Most importantly, using practical examples, you’ll learn how to apply these tools to your daily work, including how to write effective prompts, use key shortcuts, and avoid common pitfalls such as inaccurate citations, hallucinations, and PII exposure.

By the end, you’ll have the practical knowledge to use AI confidently and be more efficient.

Child-Find, Evaluation, and Eligibility: Background and Current Issues – Mark C. Weber, Vincent de Paul Professor of Law, DePaul College of Law

This session will discuss what is often the first step of a child’s encounter with special education: the process of identifying children with disabilities (child-find), evaluation of the child, and determination of IDEA eligibility. Due process hearing officers and ALJs face a surprising number of disputes on these topics. The session will begin with a brief review of the statutory background and basic cases, then go into recent caselaw and ongoing controversies. It will make connections between disputes regarding dentification, evaluation, and eligibility and disputes over free, appropriate public education. It will conclude by taking up remedies for failure to comply with child-find, eligibility, and evaluation requirements.

Recent Case Law Developments – Mark C. Weber, Vincent de Paul Professor of Law, DePaul College of Law

This session will cover significant developments in the courts over the last twelve months. It will focus on precedential decisions from the federal courts of appeals, and will also address a number of particularly noteworthy state court, federal district court and unpublished federal appellate decisions.