Program Description

Upcoming Sessions:

(Click the Date to Register)

Dec. 2, 2025

8:30 am - 3:30 pm
Lunch is Provided

$295 - 1-Day Session

Earlybird Rate: $50 off per person if booked more than one month in advance. Applied automatically. No code required.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:

In this 6-hour training, Erin D. Gilsbach, Esq., provides an in-depth look at the legal requirements for initial evaluations and reevaluations. Atty. Gilsbach is a nationally-recognized speaker on school law issues and a practicing school law attorney. In this live, in-person session, she explores a wide range of topics on the issue, including legally-mandated timelines, types of assessments and information to be included in a legally-defensible evaluation or reevaluation, the role of a functional behavioral assessment in the evaluation process, when schools should seek specialized evaluators to complete an evaluation, common legal-defensibility issues regarding evaluations and reevaluations, handling parental requests for evaluations, and much more. Issues to be discussed include:

What types of information should evaluations and reevaluations contain?
What timelines apply to evaluations and reevaluations?
What are some of the most common legal defensibility issues with evaluations and reevaluations?
What are the legal risks associated with reevaluations that consist only of records review, and when might a records-review-only reevaluation be appropriate?
When might a psychiatric evaluation or other specialized evaluation be necessary?
What is the role of the IEP team and case manager with regards to reviewing and implementing the contents of an evaluation?
How should schools handle requests for evaluations by parents?
What are common legal issues regarding specialist evaluations, such as Speech & Language, Occupational Therapy, Auditory Processing, etc.
What is the difference between a medical diagnosis and identification under the IDEA, and why is it important?

Later in the session, Atty. Gilsbach does a deep-dive analysis of the legal parameters of independent educational evaluations (IEEs). This will include exploration of the topics of when public schools might be required to provide an IEE at public expense, what parameters the IDEA sets for IEEs at public expense, and what policies and procedures public schools should have in place to address IEE requests. We will also look at schools’ obligations when parents produce privately-funded IEEs. IEE issues to be discussed include:

What are common evaluation defensibility issues that lead to the right to an IEE?
What can schools do to reduce the need for IEEs?
What policies and procedures should schools have in place with regards to IEEs?
What timelines and procedures apply to parental requests for IEEs at public expense?
What should schools do when considering outside evaluations presented by parents?
What should schools do when an IEE is at odds with the school’s own evaluation?
How and to what extent should or must IEEs be incorporated into a school’s records?

This program includes a detailed review of relevant caselaw related to evaluations, reevaluations, and IEEs and many hands-on activities and opportunities for participant interaction. Don’t miss this invaluable full-day training session held at our beautiful training facility in Slatington, PA. Lunch, snacks, and beverages are included.

Who Should Attend?

Directors and Supervisors of Special Education
Special Education Case Managers
School Psychologists
Speech & Language Professionals
Occupational Therapists
Special Education Personnel Responsible for Reviewing and Implementing Evaluation Information
School Leaders Responsible for Making IEE Decisions

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All materials are included in the cost of training.

Registration for all workshops typically closes when the workshop is full or at end-of-business 2 business days prior to the event. For information about last-minute registration after the online registration has closed for an event, please CONTACT US.

Space is limited at all locations. Registration is on a first-come-first-served basis, and a fully-completed registration is required to reserve space at the training. The attendance capacity varies by location.

IU MEMBER SCHOOL DISCOUNTS:

A number of IUs have arranged for exclusive discounted rates for their member schools. Schools should check with their local IU to see if any IU-specific discounts might apply.

Note: All discount codes must be applied at the time of registration. Discounts cannot be applied retroactively. IU-specific discount codes must be obtained directly from each IU and are not available by contacting EdLaw Interactive.

IUs interested in hosting an IEP Writing Workshop session or offering member school discounted rates should CONTACT US.

Presenter

About the Presenter:

Erin D. Gilsbach, Esq., is EdLaw Interactive’s founder and Executive Director. A nationally-recognized speaker on a wide variety of school law topics, Atty. Gilsbach has dedicated her career to ensuring that schools have all of the resources that they need to comply with the wide variety of federal and state laws to which they are subject. Her vast knowledge of school law as well as her informative (and entertaining!) speaking style make her a highly sought-after speaker schools and education-related organizations. Her approach is practical and often hands-on, and she uses a multi-modal approach in her school law trainings. Atty. Gilsbach has been a practicing school law attorney for the past 20 years, where she has exclusively represented schools of all types, including public school districts, public charter schools, parochial schools, and private schools. Prior to entering private practice, Atty. Gilsbach worked for three years at the PA Department of Education’s Office of Chief Counsel, and, prior to that, she taught public high school English.

Voted by her peers as a Rising Star Attorney in SuperLawyers and Philadelphia Magazines for 5 consecutive years, Atty. Gilsbach has served as President of the PA School Boards Association (PSBA) Solicitor’s Association and as a member of the Board of Directors of the National School Boards Association’s (NSBA) Council of School Attorneys (COSA). She has also authored three books and many school law articles for national publications. She has been a frequent presenter for many state and national organizations, including the PA Department of Education, the National Business Institute (NBI), the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, PSBA, the PSBA Solicitor’s Association, NSBA, the Pennsylvania Department of Education, the PA Bar Institute, PASAP, and school nursing associations across the country. She has regular contracts for many Pennsylvania Intermediate Units and has provided trainings for hundreds of schools throughout the U.S.

Atty. Gilsbach serves as the presenter for all EdLaw Interactive trainings. In addition to providing in-house trainings and prepared trainings on dozens of school law topics, she is also able to provide custom trainings for schools seeking to provide school law instruction to their staff members on specific school law issues. If you are interested in hosting a training at your school, please contact her by submitting an inqury through our HOST A TRAINING feature on our website.

FAQ

Event FAQs

Is pre-registration required, or are walk-ins welcome?

Pre-registration online is required. We will not be accepting walk-ins on the date of the event.

How close to the event can I register?

Registration typically closes two business days prior to the event or when the workshop session is full. If registration is closed, notice will appear when the registration link is clicked, and online registration will not be possible. If the online registration is available, then registration is still open. If registration has closed, please feel free to CONTACT US to determine if last-minute registration is possible or to find out about other locations/options.

My school permits payment by check only, but that does not appear to be an option in the registration process. What should I do?

We understand that payment by check may be the only option for some school employees. CLICK HERE for a link to the pay-by-check instructions. All payments must be received at least TWO BUSINESS DAYS PRIOR TO THE EVENT. Receipt of the check by EdLaw Interactive does NOT constitute event registration. Individuals for whom the registration process has not been fully completed (who have not received email confirmation of successful registration) will NOT be permitted to attend the session. Once EdLaw Interactive receives the payment and completed pay-by-check form, the registration will be processed if there is space available in the workshop, and the participants will receive registration confirmation via email. EdLaw Interactive is not able to hold registration spots pending payment. If the workshop is full at the time payment is received, the payment will be returned, and email notification will be provided.

Does EdLaw Interactive ever offer school-specific discounts or group rates on its programs?

Yes. A significantly-reduced rate is currently available through the regular registration process for groups of 10 or more attendees. In order for the group rate to apply, all attendees must be registered in the same registration transaction. For schools eligible for the group rate that wish to register participants at multiple locations, or for other group rate questions, please CONTACT US, and we can assist you.

Can I apply a discount code to a prior registration?

Discount codes cannot be applied retroactively. They must be used at the time of registration.

Can the Earlybird rate be combined with other discounts?

No. The Earlybird discount rate cannot be combined with other offers or discounts.

I am not sure if my IU offers a discount code. What should I do?

Contact your IU. IU member-school discount codes are available only from the IUs.

I heard that my IU offers a member school discount code. Can I get that code by contacting EdLaw Interactive?

No. EdLaw Interactive is unable to provide any information about IU discount codes. To determine if an IU discount code is available, you must contact the IU directly.

I already registered, but then I found out that my IU offers a discount code. Can I apply that now?

No. Discount codes cannot be applied retroactively.

What do I do if I have questions about program or the registration process?

Feel free to CONTACT US if you have any questions or need additional information!

What's the refund policy?

All live event sales are final, and no refunds will be given. However, despite the fact that we are lawyers, we are not totally coldhearted. (We're the good ones, I promise!) We understand that, in schools, emergencies and unforseen events occur often. In the event that you are unable to attend an event for which you are registered, you have some options. You may transfer your ticket to another individual (just make sure they bring a copy of the ticket with them - see below) for no additional charge, or, if there is another session available at another location or on another date, you can contact us to determine if a transfer would be available (see paragraphs below for more details).

Can I transfer my registration to another event?

We know that circumstances that may arise that prevent school personnel from being able to attend a training. If you discover you are not able to attend a training, please contact us at info@edlawinteractive.com, and let us know the session for which you are currently registered and the session into which you would like to transfer. Registrants can transfer to any other open (public) event as long as the transfer request was made in advance and there is space in the program into which the registrant wishes to transfer. If the program into which you will be transferring is at a higher cost than the paid program, you will be responsible for the difference in cost, which must be paid at the time of registration. (If the cost paid for the original is higher than the program into which the registrant is transferring, EdLaw Interactive is NOT responsible for reimbursing the difference in costs.) The general registration rate will apply to all transfer sessions. Earlybird and other discounted rates are not available for transfers. Due to materials costs involved in live trainings, transfers are only available prior to the start of the training for which the individual is already registered. The option to transfer will not be available once the training for which the participant had originally registered is completed. All transfer options are subject to availability, and specific topics for transfer trainings cannot be guaranteed. (But don't worry - all of our programs are great!) Transfers MUST be processed by EdLaw Interactive. We are unable to process transfer credits for those who sign up for a replacement program on their own.

Can I transfer my registration for a live event to a webinar and vice-versa?

At this time, we cannot transfer attendance between online programs and in-person events. Sorry!

Do I have to bring my printed ticket to the event?

Not unless you are taking the place of someone else (see question below). For individuals who registered under their own name, a photo ID or other form of identification is sufficient. Individuals who are attending under someone else's registration information will need to bring the original ticket, so that we can verify the transfer.

Is my registration fee or ticket transferable to another person?

Absolutely. Just make sure the person to whom you are transferring the ticket brings the actual ticket to the event to verify the transfer. No problem!

Is it ok if the name on my ticket or registration doesn't match the person who attends?

Yes. We understand that circumstances may arise that require you to send a proxy. Not a problem. If possible, however, we would appreciate advance notice, so that we can make the necessary adjustments. (It is always nice to welcome folks with the right name on the namecard/nametag!)

I have questions and/or need information that is not available here. What should I do?