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What is COPAA?
The Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, Inc. (COPAA) is an independent, nonprofit, §501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization of attorneys, advocates and parents. Our primary mission is to secure high quality educational services for children with disabilities.
COPAA is premised on the belief that the key to effective educational programs for children with disabilities is collaboration -as equals- by parents and educators.
Learn More |
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Make Your Plans Now to Attend the COPAA Conference, March 5-8, 2009. COPAA’s 11th Annual Conference is in Washington D.C. at the Capital Hilton. More |
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COPAA urges members to protest and boycott the DreamWorks film "Tropic Thunder," by and staring Ben Stiller. COPAA is part of a national coalition concerned with film because of the use of the "r" word and inclusion of a satire about people with intellectual disabilities. More |
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ADA Amendments Act/504 On July 26, 2008, the ADA Amendments Act became law, reforming a decade of jurisprudence under the ADA and Section 504 that barred the door to eligibility for people with disabilities. COPAA thanks the members of the House of Representatives and Senate. More |
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COPAA issues Declaration of Principles Opposing the Use of Restraints, Seclusion, and Aversive Interventions upon Children with Disabilities. COPAA believes that no child with a disability should be subjected to neglect, abuse, or risk of death in the name of treatment or under the guise of providing educational or therapeutic services, regardless of the setting. More |
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COPAA creates the Stan Appell-Jean Alpert Restraints and Abuse Education Fund, to assist practitioners in combating restraints, seclusion, and abuse of children with disabilities. Learn more about the fund, or make a donation. More |
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Support the IDEA Fairness Restoration Act! H.R. 4188 restores to parents the right to recoup expert witness fees when they prevail in a hearing because the school district violated the IDEA. The bill restores Congress' original intent in 1986. Few parents can afford the thousands of dollars needed to hire expert witnesses. More |
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Amicus Requests: COPAA welcomes requests for Amicus Briefs for cases that present an issue or issues consistent with our mission statement, have a precedent setting value and affect the educational welfare of school age children with disabilities. More |
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Recent COPAA Amicus Activities: including briefs filed with the United States Supreme Court in Schaffer v. Weast, Arlington C.S.D. v. Murphy, Winkelman v. Parma City School District, and Board of Educ. of New York v. Tom F. More |
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IDEA 2004: IDEA 2004 information and resources, including the statute, complete legislative history, regulations, comparison of IDEA 2004 and IDEA '97, and more are available here. |
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Find State regulations and due process hearing decisions here. COPAA also offers guidance for advocacy on State regulations implementing IDEA 2004 More |
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For information about how to find special education advocates and special education attorneys to represent students with disabilities, click here. |
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