Schedule of Events

Friday, October 16, 2026

WCASS Day 2

 7:00 am - 8:00 am | Breakfast

 8:15 am - 9:15 am Legal Breakout Sessions Round 1

1. Are the Rules Really That Hard to Follow? Protecting Students from Sexual Misconduct in the Wake of Acts 57, 88, and 89

Kylie Owens, Attorney, Chrissy Hamiel, Attorney | Attolles

This past year, the State Legislature passed several new laws aimed at curtailing sexual misconduct by school staff. The legislation creates new obligations for school districts which, coupled with existing legal mandates, required school districts to revise policies, train staff, and communicate with parents and district stakeholders-all prior to the start of the 2026-2027 school year. While policies and training may be in the rearview mirror, the work is not yet finished. This session will explore 2025 Wisconsin Acts 57, 88, 89, and 186, as well as the intersection of the new legislation with existing obligations to mandatory report child abuse, report immoral conduct by school staff, comply with Title IX and other state and federal laws, and importantly, navigate the ever-present public relations issues that inevitably arise in the wake of sexual misconduct by school staff. Attendees will leave with a better understanding of how to navigate sexual misconduct allegations while keeping student safety at the forefront and ensuring all legal obligations are fulfilled in an orderly fashion.

2. Parent Complaints: IDEA Complaints, Due Process Hearings and Mediation

Attorneys from Buelow Vetter

3. Ins and Outs of Alternative Placements

Chad Wade, Attorney, Tess O'Brien-Heinzen, Attorney, Alana Leffler, Attorney | Renning, Lewis, and Lacy

4. FBAs, and BIPS- When, Why and How

Matthew Bell, Attorney | Boardman Clark

Recent IDEA complaints and special education litigation demonstrate that school districts continue to struggle with student behavior.  While there is no one size fits all approach to helping students who struggle with behavior (always recall the “I” in IEP), a functional behavioral analysis and resulting behavior intervention plan can lend clarity and consistency to working with our most challenging students.  This session will review when schools are required to and/or should conduct FBAs, who should be involved in the process, and what procedures result in a legally compliant and quality FBA.  This session will also discuss developing BIPs once the FBA process is complete

5. Where 504 Diverges: Compliance Beyond IDEA

Mark Kapocius, Attorney & Tony Wachewicz, Attorney | von Briesen & Roper

Special education teams know IDEA. Section 504 is the statute that gets handled on the margins and it’s where districts are increasingly getting caught. This session focuses on the places 504 departs from IDEA practice: functional versus categorical eligibility, the three-prong test and what “regarded as” does and doesn’t obligate you to do, annual rather than triennial reevaluation, and the narrower procedural safeguards that still carry real exposure. Participants will leave with a compliance audit framework and the risk areas most likely to generate an OCR complaint.

9:30 am - 10:30 am | Legal Breakout Sessions Round 2 

The Legal Breakout Topics from Round 1 Repeat. Select a new topic to attend, or attend one of the roundtable sessions detailed below, also at 9:30 am.

9:30 am - 10:30 am | Roundtables

1. School Nursing Discussion

Kari Volk, Director of Student Services and Special Education | Three Lakes School District, Jennifer Garceau, Assistant Superintendent of Student Services | Howard-Suamico School District, Kate Harder, Director of Special Education and Student Services | Shorewood School District 

 2. Wisconsin Special Educator Induction Program 

 Deb Wall, Co-Director of Member Learning & Coordinator for WI Special Educator Induction Program | WCASS, Tracy Hogden, RSN Director | CESA 4

 3. Moving from Training to Implementation with FBAs

 Katherine Smith, FBA Statewide Coordinator

  4. Paraprofessional Training - WCASS Paraprofessional Institute

  Danica Lewis, Co-Director of Member Learning | WCASS, Michele Armentrout, Pupil Services Director | Waterloo School District 

  5. Improving Parent Engagement and Communication

 Caroline Mihalski, Director of Student Services | Syble Hopp School

10:45 am - 11:45 am | Legal Breakout Sessions Round 3 

The Legal Breakout Topics from Round 1 Repeat. Select a new topic to attend, or attend one of the roundtable sessions detailed below, also at 9:30 am.

10:45 am - 11:45 am | Roundtables

 1. Challenges and Solutions in Rural WI Schools