This past weekend, EdLaw attorneys Michele Scavongelli, Wheatly Gulmi and Kayla Pulliam had the opportunity to attend the 2025 annual meeting of the Council for Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA) in Irvine, CA. COPAA is a national non-profit advocacy organization whose mission is to protect and enforce the legal and civil rights of students with disabilities and their families at the federal, state and local levels.
During the Pre-Conference, Michele Scavongelli and Ellen Saideman led a day-long training session entitled "Proving Your IDEA Case: Building Expert Evidence for a Due Process Hearing From Getting Evaluations to Preparing Testimony."
On Saturday, Ellen and Michele led two breakout conference sessions. The first was entitled, "IDEA/ADA/Section 504 & recent Supreme Court Decisions Perez, Cummings & Lopes" and the second was entitled "Representing Students with Disabilities in Title IX Investigations including an update on the status of new regulations."
Wheatly and Kayla also led a breakout conference session on Saturday, entitled "Securing Appropriate Services for Students Who Exhibit School Attendance Issues Related to their Disabilities."
EdLaw attorneys are often presenters at this meeting which provides an opportunity to meet and collaborate with other education attorneys across the country. Our attorneys are recognized as leaders in our field. The Youth Advocacy Foundation makes these professional development opportunities available to the EdLaw team and is very proud of their contributions to the field of education law.