Image via WikipediaI need to make a correction.
The post I issued a while back about the great sessions at the recent CADRE Conference in Eugene Oregon included a report on the fantastic update on special education law by my new friend Barbara Bateman. I got most of it right, but one quote added a word. Barb had said that special education hearing officers know very little about special education and don't seem interested in learning. I unfortunately added the word "law" after special education. Barb concedes that they know the law; they just don't really know special education.
The corrected quote makes a lot more sense than my incorrect version. As Barb had explained, the reason under general principles of administrative law, courts defer to hearing officers because administrative agencies have substantive expertise in the subject area involved. She suggests that the expertise is not apparent in special ed hearings.
Fortunately Barb reads this blog and she helped me to get this one right. Thanks Barb. What a great session at an excellent conference. Also thanks to the many readers who are interested in this topic.
