Syllabus
PD Guides
Foundations of Disability
Foundations of United States Educational Policy
Disability Rights Movement
Legislative Foundations in ECSE - Historical
Legislative Foundations in ECSE - Contemporary
Key Rights and Provisions under IDEA
IDEA Rules and Regulations
Noncompliance: Litigation, Policies and Procedures - Part 1
Noncompliance: Litigation, Policies and Procedures - Part 2
Implementation of IDEA
Advocacy in Policy
Roles of Faculty in Advocacy
Learning Activities
Foundations of Disability
- Activity 1: Exploration of the World Health Organizations 2022 Global Report
- Activity 2: Exploration of Willowbrook State School
- Activity 3: Exploration of Section 14(c)
Foundations of United States Educational Policy
- Activity 1: Exploring Educational Policy Analysis
Disability Rights Movement
- Activity 1: Temple University, Disability Rights Timeline
- Activity 2: Film: Crip Camp (adapted from original film)
- Activity 3: Advocacy to Access: Policy Influence Map
Legislative Foundations in ECSE - Historical
- Activity 1: The Beginning of Head Start
- Activity 2: The Education of Students with Disabilities: Where do we stand?
Legislative Foundations in ECSE - Contemporary
- Activity 1: IDEA Mandates
- Activity 2: Congressional Hearings in Preparation for IDEA 2004 Reauthorization
- Activity 3: No Child Left Behind and Every Student Succeeds Act
Key Rights and Provisions under IDEA
- Activity 1: Case Study of Rights and Provisions
- Activity 2: Parental Rights: Exploration of Resources
IDEA Rules and Regulations
- Activity 1: Understanding the Process of Federal Rulemaking
- Activity 2: The Role of Public Engagement
- Activity 3: Dear Colleague Letter
Noncompliance: Litigation, Policies and Procedures - Part 1
- Activity 1: Writing a District Memo
- Activity 2: Gallery Walk
Noncompliance: Litigation, Policies and Procedures - Part 2
- Activity 1: Mock Debate
- Activity 2: Mock Debate 2
- Activity 3: Diagramming IDEA, ADA, and Section 504
Implementation of IDEA
- Activity 1: Part C and Part B Role Playing
- Activity 2: Federal and State Responsibilites
- Activity 3: Federal Oversight
Advocacy in Policy
- Activity 1: Case Study of Grassroots Advocacy
- Activity 2: Visual Map of Professional Organizations
- Activity 3: Designing an Advocacy Campaign
Roles of Faculty in Advocacy
- Activity 1: Advocating for Evidence-Based Policy
Multimedia Illustrations
The video library is a compilation of almost 500 videos that may be used in early childhood intervention pre-service courses or in-service training. Each video contains the following relevant information:
- Title with a description
- Link to video
- Suggested citation
- Length of the video
- EI/ECSE standard
- DEC Recommended Practice
Resources
Resources to supplement the Syllabus:
- CEC Policy Fact Sheet: Federal v. State Role in Special Education (found at: https://exceptionalchildren.org/sites/default/files/2025-03/Policy%20Fact%20Sheets%20-%20Federal%20vs%20State.pdf)
- The Government Affairs Institute at Georgetown University, Recommended Reading List: https://gai.georgetown.edu/recommended-reading-list
- Empovia. (2021, October 25). Leading with empathy & Allyship EP59: Demystifying disability with Emily Ladau [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/spaOVP9BRIo?si=Xsdw5HoiBj3DjdI4
- The ADA Legacy Project. (2015). Behind the scenes in the Reagan and Bush administrations – stories from no pity. https://mn.gov/mnddc/ada-legacy/ada-legacy-moment25.html
- Minnesota Olmstead Implementation Office. (2025, March 12). Wheels of justice march and the capitol crawl. https://mn.gov/olmstead/blog/blog/index.jsp?id=1143-672298
- ADAPT. (n.d.). The ADAPT community: 25 years of activism and counting. https://adapt.org/adapt-25-years/
- U.S. Department of Education. (2025, August 5). The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) - History & Evolution [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89_PTxKGVbI
- Center for Parent Information and Resources. (2022, August). Placement, short-and-sweet. https://www.parentcenterhub.org/placement-overview/
- Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center. (n.d.a.). State examples of Part C information for families and services providers. https://ectacenter.org/topics/procsafe/stateonlineC.asp
- Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center. (n.d.b.). State examples of Part B information for families and service providers. https://ectacenter.org/topics/procsafe/stateonlineB.asp
- Office of Special Education. (2020, June 30). Slip law vs. code citations. U.S. Department of Education. https://sites.ed.gov/idea/slip-laws-vs-code-citations/
- Wrightslaw. (n.d.) Special Education Case Law. https://www.wrightslaw.com/caselaw.htm
- Center for Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Special Education. (2022). IDEA dispute resolution parent guides and companion videos. https://cadreworks.org/resources/cadre-materials/idea-dispute-resolution-parent-guides
- Almazan, S., & Saideman, E. (2024, November 4). U.S. Supreme Court decision in Perez v. Sturgis: Practical implications. COPAA Blog. https://www.copaa.org/blogpost/895540/502907/U-S-Supreme-Court-Decision-in-Perez-v-Sturgis-Practical-Implications
- Council for Exceptional Children. (2023, September 5) Quick take: Advocacy. [Video] Vimeo. https://vimeo.com/861390409?fl=pl&fe=vl
