(312) 332-7760 (tel.)
(312) 332-7768 (fax)
lsinars@rsnlt.com

Practice Area: Education

Laura Sinars focuses on special education and students' rights law. She counsels and represents public school districts at IEP meetings, due process hearings, mediation, and student expulsion and residency hearings. Laura has defended district decisions regarding evaluations, services and placement of special education students in due process hearings. She has successfully removed dangerous students from the regular education environment and also prevailed in hearings to defend against a parent's unilateral private placement of a student. She has assisted clients in building residency and discipline cases involving students and has successfully defended districts' decisions in state and federal courts. Laura's litigation experience also includes proceedings before federal and state agencies including the Department of Education, the Illinois State Board of Education, and the Office for Civil Rights.

Laura is a consulting editor for the IEP Team Trainer produced by Brownstone Publishers. She also is a former Chair of the Chicago Bar Association's YLS School Law Committee.

Law & Politics Magazine selected Laura as a 2005 Illinois "Super Lawyer" in the specialized area of School and Education Law. Chicago Magazine published the names of the Illinois Super Lawyers in its May 2005 issue.

Laura is a native of Boston, Massachusetts and returns to the East Coast frequently for fresh fish and walks on the beach. She and her husband Doug have a daughter, Katherine, and a son, William. Laura enjoys traveling and hiking, and hopes to teach her children to love these activities.

Education

• J.D., University of Notre Dame Law School, 1993
• B.A., Government and English, University of Notre Dame, 1990

Admitted to Practice

• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
• U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois
• Supreme Court of Illinois

Recent Publications

• Contributing author, Special Education, ILLINOIS SCHOOL LAW (Ill. Inst. for CLE, 2005).
• The HIPAA Quagmire: Compliance Guidelines for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, Illinois Association of School Boards, available at http://www.iasb.com/files/hipaa.htm (last visited Sept. 23, 2003).
• Contributing author, Special Education, ILLINOIS SCHOOL LAW (Ill. Inst. for CLE, 1999, Supp. 2001).
• Internet: The Potential Liabilities of a Valuable Teaching Tool, Illinois School Board Journal.

Recent Presentations

• Handling Special Education Challenges, Avoiding School Liability While Working with Students Seminar, National Business Inst., Oak Brook Terrace, IL (Feb. 2006).
• Legal Issues Surrounding Technology in the Schools, Avoiding School Liability While Working with Students Seminar, National Business Inst., Oak Brook Terrace, IL (Feb. 2006).
• Protecting Illinois Special Education Students' Needs, National Business Institute Seminar, Oak Brook, IL (Oct. 2005).
• IDEA Reauthorization 2004, Lorman Education Services, Chicago, IL (May 2005).
• IDEA Reauthorization 2004, Lorman Education Services, Tinley Park, IL (Apr. 2005).
• Programming to Meet the Needs of Students with Emotional and Behavioral Issues, Illinois Alliance of Administrators of Special Education (IAASE), Fall Conference (Oct. 2004).
• Providing FAPE in the Least Restricted Environment, Wabash and Ohio Valley Special Education District (WOVSED) Summer Academy Staff Development for Teachers (July 2004).
• Medically Fragile Students, Illinois Alliance of Administrators of Special Education (IAASE), Collinsville (May 2004).
• Must Have Provisions in Student Handbooks, Illinois Alliance of Administrators of Special Education, Fifth Annual Winter Conference, Urbana, IL (Jan. 2004).
• IDEA Reauthorization and Other Special Education Issues, IASB/IASA/IASBO Joint Annual Conference, Chicago, IL (Nov. 2003).
• Discipline of Students with Special Needs, Lorman Education Services (Feb. 2003).
• A Guide to the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, Lorman Education Services (Feb. 2003).
• Illinois Special Education Law, National Business Institute (Jan. 2003).
• Taking Charge of the IEP Process, East Maine Public Schools No. 63 (Oct. 2002).
• Related Services Under the IDEA, Illinois Alliance for Administrators of Special Education (IAASE) (Oct. 2002).
• Developments in Special Education Law, National Business Institute (Oct. 2002).
• Taking Charge of the IEP Process, West Aurora Public School District No. 129 (Sept. 2002).
• Special Education Implementation Issues, DeKalb County Special Education Association (2002).
• 45-Day Placements, DeKalb County Special Education Association (2002).
• Extended School Year Services, Mid-Valley Special Education Cooperative (2001).
• Special Education Methodology, Mid-Valley Special Education Cooperative (2001).
• Special Education Highlights, 15th Annual Seminar on School Law, Illinois Council of School attorneys (Nov. 2001).
• Dealing with the Dangerous Special Education Student, Illinois Alliance of Administrators of Special Education (Oct. 2001).
• Special Education Practices and Procedures, Special Education Leadership Academy (Aug. 2001).
• District Responsibilities to Special Education Students in Private Schools, Lorman Education Services (2000).
• Student Free Speech: Observing Students' Rights While Preserving an Appropriate Educational Environment, Illinois Association of School Boards (2000).
• Programming for Behavior Disordered Students: A Review of the Dale M. Decision, Special Education Leadership Academy (2000).
• Legal Aspects of School Violence, DuPage County Bar Association (2000).
• Parental Involvement in Special Education, Illinois Principals Association (2000).
• Due Process: Friend or Foe, Illinois Principals Association (2000).