Dispute Resolution

Working Together Series

The Working Together Series includes 5 interactive self-directed courses. These courses provide families and educators with a number of strategies for working together and through conflict. Anyone supporting children or youth with disabilities may benefit from this series. The setting in which collaborative problem solving and conflict resolution takes place within this series is typically the school or IEP meeting.

Produced by CADRE, the series includes a webinar that briefly introduces the Working Together Series, a companion Facilitator Guide, and other supplemental resources. The full series is available in English and in Spanish (Trabajando Juntos).

To learn more about the 5 courses in the series, view the introductory webinar, or access the series in Spanish, read our abstract here.

Q&A on Dispute Resolution in Part B and Part C During COVID-19

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GAO Report on IDEA Dispute Resolution Activities in Selected States

If parents and school districts disagree over special education services provided under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, either party has options to resolve the dispute, such as mediation or filing a due process complaint. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) was asked to review parents’ use of IDEA dispute resolution options. GAO’s findings are detailed in its November 2019 report entitled Special Education: IDEA Dispute Resolution Activity in Selected States Varied Based on School Districts’ Characteristics (GAO-20-22).

The full report is 58 pages long. There is also a 1-page Highlights summary available. Read more about the study and access the report and/or the Highlights here.

Video | A Tale of Two Conversations

A Tale of Two Conversations is a two-part video showing actors playing a parent of a child with a disability and a school administrator. The meeting was requested by the parent and takes place in the administrator’s office. Take One shows the parent and administrator talking about the child’s special education program. They are talking, but not listening. Their communication is unproductive. Take Two shows each person using more effective communication skills.

Both video conversations are available for viewing online at CADRE, as is a companion Study Guidethat looks more deeply into the effective communication skills shown in the second video. Read more about and access the resources here.

Requesting Mediation

There are times when you, as a parent, may want to communicate in writing with your child’s school about some problem or concern with your child’s education or well-being. This page presents a model letter or email you might write to request mediation as an approach to resolving a dispute with your child’s school.

Mediation under Part B of IDEA

IDEA requires school systems to have procedures to make mediation available to parents and public agencies to resolve a dispute involving any matter arising under Part B, including matters arising prior to the filing of a due process complaint. Mediation is entirely voluntary.

Filing a State Complaint in Part B of IDEA

State complaints are an important procedural safeguard in IDEA, because they give individuals and organizations a mechanism through which they can address special education conflicts and resolve disputes.

Five Options, 1-2-3

There are times when parents and schools simply do not agree on some issue affecting a child’s education. They may try informal approaches to resolving the conflict, such as reviewing and revising the child’s IEP or holding a facilitated IEP meeting (an approach emerging in the field). When these don’t result in agreement on what represents an appropriate education for a child, the law (IDEA) provides several approaches that parents and schools can use to help resolve the dispute.

IDEA’s Part B Regulations on Due Process Hearings

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IDEA’s Part B Regulations on the Resolution Process

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