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(2020, June 22) | Useful to Parent Centers, state education agencies, state lead agencies, and Part B and Part C programs regarding dispute resolution On June 22, 2020, the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) at the U.S. Department of Education issued two question-and-answer guidances on dispute resolution in Parts B and C during […]
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Current as of September 2019 IDEA’s final Part B regulations addressing due process hearings begin at §300.311. Word for word, and in their entirety, the regulations read: §300.511 Impartial due process hearing. (a) General. Whenever a due process complaint is received under §300.507 or §300.532, the parents or the LEA involved in the dispute must […]
IDEA’s regulations describing the resolution process are found at §300.510. Word for word, and in their entirety, these regulations are: __________________________________ §300.510 Resolution process. (a) Resolution meeting. (1) Within 15 days of receiving notice of the parent’s due process complaint, and prior to the initiation of a due process hearing under §300.511, the LEA must convene […]
IDEA’s final Part B regulations addressing the mediation are found at §300.506. Word for word, and in their entirety, the regulations read: §300.506 Mediation. (a) General. Each public agency must ensure that procedures are established and implemented to allow parties to disputes involving any matter under this part, including matters arising prior to the filing […]