If public school officials violate a learning-disabled student’s legal right to special education services, what – exactly – must be done?

The intricate legal dimensions of that question took center stage in a Special Education Law class that put students in the roles of attorneys, school officials and parents who routinely wrestle with such issues.

Teams of students representing either a fictitious school district or the mother of a special needs child sat across a table from one another, grappling with the details of the educators’ legal obligations in a simulated resolution session designed to settle the matter.

Such sessions are required under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act that underlies countless battles between school districts and parents of children who have special learning needs.

Acting as an attorney for a school district charged with overlooking the learning needs of a fictitious boy with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, 2L Adam Goodman agreed to provide additional services to the child and said the district established new goals for him, such as mastering vocabulary words.

But that did not satisfy 3L Lindsey Peterson, who acted as one of the mother’s attorneys in the negotiation. "It doesn’t say how many words he’d acquire," Peterson said. "We’d like more specifics."

The 50-minute resolution session was just one of several simulations embedded in the course, which Professor Terry Jean Seligmann developed with attorney David Berney, who often represents parents of children with special learning needs in his practice.

"It’s a really interesting way of preparing students for the real world," said Berney, who embeds circumstances from actual cases into some of the exercises.

Students, having mastered the doctrine of special education law, gain firsthand experience with its application by conducting simulated interviews with clients, eligibility conferences, due process hearings and negotiations such as the IDEA resolution session.

Seligmann said simulations provide tremendous value, but they make for a more challenging course. "It does demand more from students than sitting in class and taking notes," Seligmann said.

Students don’t object to the extra work.

Grappling with the impact of the laws is completely different from reading or discussing them, 2L Jazamine Stallings said.

Krystal Kane, also a 2L, said playing the role of parents and school teachers – as well as attorneys – help students understand the perspective of prospective clients.

"The simulations that we’ve done in class have made us more aware of what these hearings and meetings are like for the families who are forced to go through them," Kane said. "A class that solely focused on the doctrine of IDEA or the Americans with Disabilities Act wouldn’t have allowed us to gain an understanding of what special needs parents face."

Ndidiamaka Onejeme, a 2L, said the class has allowed her to gain useful practice with both alternate dispute resolution and client interactions.

"If any student is looking for a more intimate classroom experience where they will practice skills needed in the real world," Onejeme said, "this is it."