Mediation in Nebraska: An innovative past, a spirited present, and a provocative future.

Pre-IDEA amendment, NE enacted a Special Education Option through the NE Office of Dispute Resolution and Dept. of Ed. The mediation centers under this option provide public outreach, conflict resolution skills training, and mediation services for school districts and families involved in sped. Costs are covered by the Dept. of Ed.  This program showed a 567% increase in number of cases referred over three years.  74% of disputes reached agreement. At the time, schools were still fairly likely to refuse to participate. The article also provides general data on other ADR programs in NE.