DEFENSIBLE IEPs SERIES

Defensible IEPs

Where Law, Compliance, and High-Quality IEPs Meet to Strengthen Practice, Reduce Risk, and Lead with Confidence

The Defensible IEPs Series featuring Julie Weatherly, Esq., is designed to help special education leaders, special education teachers, IEP service providers and building level administrators develop, implement, and defend IEPs in alignment with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This series supports leaders in understanding not just what an IEP must include—but why it matters legally, how decisions are evaluated in disputes, and how to reduce risk while maintaining student-centered practice. IEPs sit at the center of special education law. When IEPs are unclear, misaligned, or poorly implemented, districts face increased exposure to: state  complaints, Mediation and due process, and the like.

The CASE Defensible IEPs Series is intentionally designed to help leaders connect legal requirements to daily IEP practice, ensuring decisions are grounded in law, data, and defensible reasoning.

If you attend just two events annually, you will save more than the cost of your CASE membership. Join CASE Here.
 

What’s Included in the CASE Defensible IEPs Series

This series includes two offerings, which together, provide a comprehensive legal framework for IEP development and decision-making: Developing Defensible IEPs and The Deeper Dive: IEPs Through a Legal Lens.

Who Should Participate?

Special education directors and administrators
Supervisors and coordinators
Building-level leaders responsible for IEP oversight
District and state-level special education professionals
Leaders involved in dispute resolution, compliance, and monitoring
District and/or building IEP team member professional

Developing Defensible IEPs 

The Legal Foundation

This session is a prerequisite to the Deeper Dive IEP Sessions

Developing Defensible IEPs focuses on the legal requirements that shape every compliant and defensible IEP under IDEA. Defensible IEPs
Virtual Webinar, featuring Julie Weatherly, Esq. This key foundational legal session is to ensure IEPs are developed and implemented as the LAW intends. 
 
Spend the day learning about the Supreme Court's "Process/Content Standard" for determining the legal appropriateness of an IEP. This session includes a discussion of frequently challenged IEP process and content considerations in IEP development, including:
  • Predetermination of placement versus appropriate meeting preparation
  • The importance of the "I" in IEP and IDEA 
  • Using an appropriate process for making Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) determinations
  • Failure to have legally mandatory IEP team members present at IEP meetings
  • Ensuring meaningful parent input and participation into decision-making
  • Proper use of "Prior Written Notice"
  • Inclusion of appropriate present levels of performance and goals in IEPs
  • Appropriately addressing required "Special Factors" in IEPs, such as, behavioral issues
  • Appropriately addressing transition services
NOTE: No recording of this session will be provided to registrants. Registered attendees must be present for the event. 
 
Virtual Webinar Registration Details: August 26, 2026 from 9:00 AM-4:00 PM
CASE Members $350
Non CASE Members $450
Register Here

 

The Deeper Dive, 4-Part IEP Series

Advanced Legal Application

 
The Deeper Dive , 4-Part IEP Series is designed for leaders ready to move beyond compliance basics and into complex legal analysis and application.
Each Session is set from 12:00 PM-2:00 PM (Central Time)
Registration Information for the Deeper Dive IEP Series
   
CASE Members
       
Non Members
        
 Registration Links
Full Bundle Series (discounted 10% if you purchase the full bundle)
        
$440
  
$600
  
Full Bundle Registration
Individual Sessions
  
$110
  
$150
  
Individual Session Registration
  
September 3, 2026
Deadline for registration is September 1, 2026 at 4 PM (central time) 
          
Say This Not That! Avoiding Common Misstatements
This Webinar will provide a practical "Say This, Not That" format to highlight common (and typically unintended) misstatements that should be avoided by all involved in the education of students with disabilities.  In this session, we will explore many of these misstatements and make suggestions for better addressing typical questions or requests of advocates and parents that may arise during IEP team meetings.
   
     
September 10, 2026
Deadline for registration is September 8, 2026 at 4 PM (Central Time)
 		  
Prior Written Notice under IDEA: Does It Really Matter?
IDEA requires school districts to provide "Prior Written Notice" (PWN)  to parents of students with disabilities a reasonable time before the district “proposes or refuses to initiate or change” the identification, evaluation, or educational placement of their child or the provision of FAPE to the child.  While nearly all agreements and disagreements between parents and schools about a student’s educational program implicate the PWN requirements, the provision of PWN is often overlooked.  This Webinar and its accompanying materials will explore the basic requirements of PWN under IDEA and answer some frequently asked questions regarding these requirements.
   
     
October 1, 2026
Deadline for registration is September 29, 2026 at 4 PM (central time)
 		  
The Legal Important of Conducting Functional Behavior Assessments & Developing Behavior Intervention Plans under IDEA
What the law actually provides—rather than what may be “best practice”—regarding conducting functional behavioral assessments (FBAs) and developing and implementing behavioral intervention plans (BIPs) is important to all educators and often must be addressed by a student's IEP team.  In this Webinar and its accompanying materials, we will review court and agency decisions regarding those legal requirements, as well as challenges to the content and quality of FBAs and BIPs as they relate to the overall provision of FAPE to students with disabilities. Frequently asked questions about conducting FBAs and developing BIPs will be addressed through the provision of practical answers to those questions.    
   
      
October 6, 2026
Deadline for registration is October 2, 2026 at 4 PM (central time) 
 		  
Determining the Least Restrictive Environment: What are the Steps and Standards?
This Webinar and its accompanying materials will provide an overview of IDEA's requirements applicable to making appropriate determinations regarding Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) LRE generally, as well as an overview of applicable legal standards enunciated by the courts over many years.  Emerging trends in recent case law will also be highlighted and practical guidance will be shared to further assist IEP teams in determining what is the LRE where a particular child with a disability can receive FAPE—in other words and as enunciated by the U.S. Supreme Court—the LRE where the child can “make progress appropriate in light of the child’s circumstances."
 
Guidance for Virtual Learning

By registering for and participating in this remote learning session, you acknowledge and agree that participants are strictly prohibited from recording, photographing, saving, reproducing, sharing, or posting any portion of the session in any format. Unauthorized recording or distribution is not permitted. These sessions are delivered via live video communication. Participants are expected to respect the privacy of attendees and the intellectual property rights of CASE and RISE at all times.

Payment & Refund Policy
  • Individual registrations must be paid by credit card at the time of registration.
  • Purchase orders are only accepted for 10 or more registrations from the same organization. To use a purchase order, please email [email protected] for instructions.
  • Refunds (minus a 25% administrative fee) are available if requested in writing at least one month before the event. No refunds will be issued for requests received after that date.