Join this Special pre-conference session focused on legal issues in special education and transition. Julie J. Weatherly, Esq. is the Founder of RISE, Inc. located in Mobile, Alabama and has been working with school agencies in the area of special education since 1986. RISE is a full-service legal and consulting business designed to assist educational agencies in the avoidance and resolution of special education legal disputes arising under the IDEA, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the ADA and other applicable laws. Julie is a graduate of Presbyterian College and the University of Georgia School of Law. She is a member of the State Bars of Alabama and Georgia and provides consultative and/or legal services to school agencies primarily in Alabama, Florida and Georgia, as well as on a national basis.

In June of 1996, Julie appeared with Leslie Stahl on CBS news program “60 Minutes” to discuss the cost of meeting the legal requirements of the IDEA. She has been a member of the faculty for many national and state legal institutes and is a frequent speaker at special education law conferences. Julie has developed a number of videotape training series on special education law and has been published nationally as a part of her trainings, workshops and seminars. In 1998, Julie was honored by Georgia’s Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) as Georgia’s Individual who had Contributed Most to Students with Disabilities, and in April 2012, Julie received the National Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE) Award for Outstanding Service.

9 am - 3 pm: 12-1 pm lunch is provided - Fee $230

Looking to take your transition programming to the next level? Virtual community resource mapping is an innovative approach to identifying and “mapping” potential collaborative partners from the school system, service system, and community who might facilitate postschool success for students with disabilities and their families.

Using virtual community resource maps, practitioners can:

• Map their own “transition networks” and set goals to increase their interagency collaboration
• Develop individualized transition portfolios to enhance student-led IEPs and person-centered planning
• Build an online, interactive library of resources to share with colleagues, students, and families
• Develop virtual maps to help students navigate community locations using their phone or other personal technology.

In this hands-on workshop, the creators of Mapping Assets for Postschool Success (MAPS) walk practitioners step-by-step through creating their own virtual community resource maps. Attendees leave with (a) free mapping tools, (b) sample maps, and (c) the expertise to immediately apply what they’ve learned in their own classrooms. Bring your laptop! We can't wait to see what you create!

8:00 am - 12 pm: Fee $130  

This preconference session will provide guidance on using the Universal Design for Transition (UDT) framework to guide instructional planning, delivery, and assessment to help blend academic and transition learning for youth with disabilities, including the impact of intersectionality with disability. Examples from special educators will be shared, particularly from the updated edition of the UDT book (Scott et al., in press) as well as those who have participated in similar workshops as this preconference session. A discussion of the use of technology (including AI), culturally sustaining practices, and ways to link with others who are part of the transition planning process.

Dr. Colleen Thoma and Dr. LaRon Scott

1 pm - 5 pm: Fee $30