Maryland Special Education Due Process Decisions: A Closer Look at the Issues and Outcomes

School districts are responsible for providing eligible students with disabilities with a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). Parents of eligible students with disabilities have three complaint mechanisms available when there are disputes with the school district regarding FAPE. One of those complaint mechanisms is the right to a due process hearing. Parents have utilized special education due process hearings over the past three decades; however they have not been that successful. This dissertation investigates how Maryland parents are using the system of due process hearings to participate in the education of their students with disabilities and to obtain desired relief from impartial hearing officers. The purpose of this study is to investigate parents’ participation in due process hearings system in Maryland in order to identify the strengths and weaknesses with the system. Furthermore, the purpose is to determine if this system favors one group of parents over others. The study found that the most common issues within the hearings were related to Placement and the IEP. The most common remedies for prevailing parents were tuition reimbursement and private placement. Additionally, the study found that the school district prevailed in the majority of Maryland due process hearings. The parents that did prevail were represented by attorneys at their due process hearings. Additionally, the study found that there is a relationship between the parent’s ability to have a successful outcome and the amount of capital a parent possessed. The author presents recommendations for action and areas for future research.