The major purpose of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and its legislative predecessors has shifted in the past 25 years from simply providing access to educational services to an emphasis on providing meaningful, measurable, and accountable programs to students with disabilities (Katsiyannis, Yell, & Bradley, 2001). These changes have resulted in more students seeking services and legal protection under IDEA. These changes have also made school districts and particularly rural districts more vulnerable to parent initiated due process proceedings. A qualitative case study was conducted using data from several rural school districts in Kansas. Data were triangulated and summarized into five key principles. These five principles are offered to guide rural school districts in avoiding special educational due process proceedings.

Many universities exist apart from their community's public schools. A New Orleans area public university took measures to facilitate collaborative partnerships with four public schools. Those schools were taken over and converted to charter schools by state officials for poor performance. The partnerships created simultaneous opportunities and challenges, especially in the aftermath Hurricane Katrina. One challenge involved replacing damaged school buildings. Another challenge involved forging productive relationships. This article explains how the university utilized "Learning Walks" (Resnick, 1996) to facilitate stakeholder collaboration, which blossomed into partnerships facilitating school and student improvement and professional development opportunities for both entities.