Experiential Learning

This one-credit weekend course provides students with an intensive simulated experience in the various processes of resolution of special education disputes. Areas addressed include some or all of the following: contested IEP meetings, manifestation determination reviews, resolution meetings, mediation, and due process hearings. Assuming the roles of parent’s counsel and school district counsel, students develop a practical working knowledge of federal and Illinois statutes and regulations governing special education dispute resolution; develop a legal understanding of, and working familiarity with, student special education records and documents; and learn how to interview and prepare clients, witnesses, school personnel, experts, and others for their respective roles in the dispute resolution process. Students have the option to take the class for an additional credit to satisfy the Rigorous Writing requirement.

This one-credit online weekend course provides students with an intensive simulated experience in conducting a school disciplinary administrative hearing. Assuming the roles of counsel for the student and counsel for the school district, workshop participants prepare for and represent their respective clients in a school expulsion hearing. Participants develop an understanding of the constitutional principles of due process, freedom of speech, and search and seizure as they pertain to students in the public school setting, as well as Illinois School Code statutory provisions regarding student discipline, suspension, and expulsion. In the course of preparing for the culminating disciplinary hearing, participants gain a working familiarity with student codes of conduct and student school records and documents, and they hone their skills in interviewing and preparing clients, witnesses, and school personnel for their respective roles in the discipline process and administrative hearing. Students will also deliver opening and/or closing statements and conduct direct and cross examinations of witnesses and, through this process, enhance skills applicable to a variety of court and administrative hearing settings. 

Students study education law in a weekly seminar while also getting live client experience working on education cases supervised by law school faculty. Students provide advocacy for youth involved in school disciplinary, bullying, and special education proceedings.

Course learning outcomes include advocating effectively for PreK-12 students by conducting culturally responsive client intakes, identifying relevant education law issues, and implementing appropriate legal and nonlegal remedies; communicating and collaborating with stakeholders to advance client interests; and presenting clear, evidence-based arguments in school meetings and written correspondence. 

This innovative course offers full-time students the opportunity to participate in educational advocacy starting as early as spring of their 1L year. As part of their coursework, law students participate in simulations and exercises as well as conducting intakes with families of PreK-12 students facing educational barriers in school. The goal of the intakes is to identify families' legal issues relating to education and support advocacy related to children's educational rights in discipline, special education, bullying, language access, and school enrollment. This intake experience complements students’ learning in the seminar portion of the course.

The Education Law Practicum is designed to provide practical experience under the supervision of an attorney at a field placement site and with the support of a clinical professor from the School of Law. This practicum provides students with the opportunity to develop practice-ready and problem- solving skills while working at an approved field placement outside of the classroom.

Students participate in an online seminar that builds their substantive knowledge in education law as well as develops practical lawyering skills applicable to a wide range of practice settings. For the field work component of the class, students have the option to work in one of a variety of local placements where they will work under the supervision of practicing attorneys. Students may choose to provide: (1) direct representation and legal assistance to children and families in need of special education services; (2) legal information and representation of school districts in education law matters; and (3) educational policy matters. Placement options include public interest organizations, law firms, and school districts.

This is an online course offered in the Fall semester. Students can apply here for the optional field placement component. In semesters where the Education Law Practicum is not offered, students can also participate in education law-related field placements through Loyola’s externship program.