The 2026 Conference Compendium of Materials includes all white papers for all the main conference sessions. COPAA reviews the content in the Learning Center for accuracy, but because the law can change, please be sure to check that cited sources are still current law. Materials are for educational purposes only.  If you need ADA accommodations to access the compendium, please email learningcenter@copaa.org. 

General Sessions include the Friday keynote, Saturday general session, and Sunday Judith Law Case Review

Breakout 1
1.1 Understanding the Experiences of Individuals with Disabilities and Family Caregivers with Access to Section 504
1.2 A Century in Special Education Advocacy: What We Have Learned
1.3 Strategies for Successful Advocacy in IEP Meetings
1.4 Addressing the Language and Communication Needs of Deaf and Hard-of Hearing Students
1.5 Just for the Record: Leveraging Manifestation Determination Reviews and Expulsion Hearings to Build a Record for Expedited Due Process
1.6 Implementing the Promise of School Stability for Homeless and Foster Youth
1.7 Understanding Substantive FAPE and Procedural Violations
1.8 Designing Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) for Children with Trauma: Addressing Trauma Through an IEP
1.9 Preparing Students for Adulthood: The Transition From High School to College and Competitive Employment

Breakout 2
2.1 The Company Autism Keeps: Understanding Complex Presentations of Autism Spectrum Disorder
2.2 The Top 40 Chart-Topping District Court Decisions of 2025
2.3 Strategies for Collaborative, Effective and Successful IEP Meetings
2.4 Until Every Child Can Read
2.5 Working with Immigrant Families: Cultural, Legal, and Ethical Considerations
2.6 Side-by-Side: A Practical Approach for Special Education Attorneys Working with Criminal Defense Attorneys in Family and Criminal Court
2.7 Navigating Residential Options: Understanding Accreditation & Licensing Across a Continuum of Care
2.8 Education at the State and Local Levels: Making Sense of the New, Complex Policy Landscape for Students with Disabilities
2.9 Rewriting the Script: Transition Assessment and Planning for Students with Intensive Needs

Breakout 3
3.1 DOJ's Web Accessibility Rule and Its Application to Schools
3.2 Securing Appropriate Services for Students with Disability-Related Attendance Challenges
3.3 The Handoff from Advocate to Attorney: Using Strategic Restraint to Preserve IDEA Claims for Litigation
3.4 Using Evaluations in Advocacy and Litigation
3.5 More Than a Feeling: Emotional Disabilities and FAPE in the Federal Courts
3.6 Navigating SSI Disability Claims Process and Asset Protection for Children with Mental and Physical Disabilities
3.7 From Caution to Competence: Ethics in the Age of Legal Tech
3.8 The Past, Present, and Future Impact of Implicit Bias and Systemic Discrimination on Students with Disabilities: Strategies to Help Families
3.9 Ensuring Timely Claims and Statute of Limitations under the IDEA and Section 504

Breakout 4
4.1 Help Me Help You: Building the Paper Trail Before You Ever Hire a Lawyer
4.2 Trying a Manifestation Determination Review Case
4.3 Justice in Numbers: Systemic and Class Action Litigation for Students with Disabilities
4.4 Beyond Compliance: IEP Quality and Program Effectiveness in Underserved Communities
4.5 Preparing Witnesses to Testify at Due Process Hearings
4.6 Helping to Secure the Financial Future of Individuals (of all ages) with Disabilities
4.7 When Charter Schools Say No: How Parents Can Use the Law to Get to Yes
4.8 Data-Driven Advocacy: Understanding the Lived Experiences of Military Families in Special Education
4.9 Changing the Law: Missouri's Journey to Reform Seclusion and Restraint in Schools

Breakout 5
5.1 - Removing Barriers to a Vocational Education
5.2 - AI: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly - Ethically and Effectively Utilizing Artificial Intelligence in Advocate
5.3 - Independent Educational Evaluations: Access, Rights and Current Challenges
5.4 - Neurodevelopmental Evaluations in Young Children: Guiding Families from Early Intervention to Special Education
5.5 - Supporting Families with Limited English Proficiency throughout the IEP Process
5.6 - Students with Complex Emotional Disabilities: How to Seek and Evaluate a Therapeutic Support Program
5.7 - Policy in the Balance: COPAA's Policy and Advocacy Leadership in Washington, DC
5.8 - From Adversity to Advocacy: Building Affirming School Environments for LGBTQ+ Youth
5.9 - Addressing the Transition Cliff: Strengthening Legal Arguments and Transition Planning for Older Youth to Secure Financial Wellbeing

6.1 Exhaustion and ADA/504 Claims after Perez
6.2 Advocacy Under Pressure: Mastering Communication in Contentious IEP Meetings
6.3 Creating Educational Plans for Students with Prenatal Alcohol Exposure
6.4 Litigation to Challenge Systemic Disability Discrimination in Education
6.5 Medicaid for Advocates: Mental Health Support Beyond the IEP
6.6 Artificial Intelligence in Special Education: Understanding Its Game-Changing Impact in Special Education and Leveraging It in Your Practice
6.7 Translating Evaluations and Creating Comprehensive, Functional, Whole-Student IEPs
6.8 Education Advocacy in Indian Country: Why It Matters and How You Can Help
6.9 Use of IQ Score to Determine Eligibility for Adult Services vs. Qualifying for Adult Intellectual Disability Services: Use of the IQ score