David F. Bateman, Ph.D., is a professor at Shippensburg University in the Department of Educational Leadership and Special Education where he teaches courses on special education law, assessment, and facilitating inclusion. He is a former due process hearing officer for Pennsylvania for over 580 hearings. He uses his knowledge of litigation relating to special education to assist school districts in providing appropriate supports for students with disabilities and to prevent and to recover from due process hearings. He has been a classroom teacher of students with learning disabilities, behavior disorders, intellectual disability, and hearing impairments, and a building administrator for summer programs. Dr. Bateman earned a Ph.D. in special education from the University of Kansas. He has recently co-authored the following books: A Principal’s Guide to Special Education, A Teacher’s Guide to Special Education, Charting the Course: Special Education in Charter Schools, and the forthcoming Special Education Leadership: Building Effective Programming in Schools.

Mitchell L. Yell, Ph.D., is the Fred and Francis Lester Palmetto Chair in Teacher Education and a Professor in Special Education at the University of South Carolina. His professional interests include special education law, positive behavior support, IEP development, and parent involvement in special education. Dr. Yell has published 124 journal articles, 4 textbooks, 26 book chapters, and has conducted numerous workshops on various aspects of special education law, classroom management, and progress monitoring. His textbook, Special Education and the Law, is in its 5^th edition. He also serves as a State-level due process review officer in South Carolina. Prior to working in higher education, Dr. Yell was a special education teacher in Minnesota for 16 years.