Feds offer new guide on IDEA and mediation
By Tom Chorneau
Monday, August 19, 2013
With special education’s status as the most litigated component of the public school system, the U.S. Department of Education has released updated guidance on mediation, dispute resolution and due process procedures.
As part of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Congress included a long section that gave safeguards to parents and families over how their child would be served by school districts, as well as several mechanisms that could be used to resolve differences.
The new material – delivered earlier this month from Melody Musgrove, director of the U.S. Office of Special Education Programs – includes the clear admonition to state and local officials that the expectation is that schools should look for ways to work collaboratively with parents.
Incorporated into the material are guidance memos issued in 2007 and 2007 and while much of the document restates existing tenants – there is a significant amount of new information around state complaint procedures and due process complaints as well as on mediation as the preferred method of dispute resolution.
Given the many opportunities for disagreement between families and school districts when it comes to evaluating and serving students with disabilities, it is perhaps surprising to note that the original bill passed by Congress in 1975
Jesse was expelled just two weeks before his eighth grade graduation and summarily sent to community school, where he spent more than two years before seeking legal help to be able to attend a regular high school.