Kathy Boundy
Diane Lipton Award for Outstanding Educational Advocacy
March 2007

COPAA is proud to award the 2007 Diane Lipton Award for Outstanding Educational Advocacy to Kathleen B. Boundy. Kathy is co-director of the Center for Law and Education in Massachusetts. For over 24 years, she has played a major role in advocating for the rights of children with disabilities through legislation, policy development, and litigation to enforce the rights of students with disabilities. Kathy has been a leader in efforts to strengthen the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), No Child Left Behind (NCLB), and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

Kathy has made special efforts to protect the rights of students with disabilities when they are disciplined and to ensure that disciplinary measures are not used to exclude children with disabilities from the classroom. She has also fought against the disparate discipline of minority children. Kathy has long advocated for positive behavioral supports, explaining that for access to school to be meaningful, it must include programming to address each child’s unique social and emotional needs.

Kathy has been involved in almost every major litigation effort on the national level. She has co-counseled significant class actions across the country, including landmark legislation to protect minority special education students, S-1 v. Turlington. She has co-authored many leading special education amicus briefs.

COPAA salutes Kathy Boundy for her dedication and her unwavering belief in the rights of children with disabilities.