Facilitation
Facilitation is a voluntary process that can be used when parties in an IEP, IFSP or other meeting agree that the presence of a neutral third party would facilitate communication and problem solving. It is most often used when there is a history of contentious interactions between the family and school, the participants anticipate that they will be unable to reach agreement on critical issues, or when a meeting is expected to be particularly complex and controversial. Facilitators often serve as special education mediators in their state and have received additional training beyond that which they received to become mediators. Additionally, many school districts have specially trained staff members to serve in their own schools, districts or regions, or to assist in others, to more effectively facilitate problematic IEP meetings.
This voluntary process uses a Resolution Facilitator, a person trained in mediation, to help resolve issues impartially and at the earliest level. Each Area Education Agency (AEA) has a designated person who serves in this role. This process may be requested when disagreements arise between school officials and parent over educational issues. A Resolution Facilitator may be either an individual from within the school district who is considered neutral to the conflict or an individual selected from outside the district in which the conflict has occurred, but is not assigned by the state. The conflict or concerns may involve general education, Section 504, special education, Early ACCESS, or any issue involving a school setting. The conflict may be between educators and parents, educators and educators, or any other employee hired by the district or AEA. There are at least four options that may involve a Resolution Facilitator:
- Some type of conflict which could lead to mediation
- An IEP meeting should there be a potential for an adversarial meeting
- A “resolution meeting ” after a parent has filed a due process hearing notice to the district and AEA (and which must be addressed within 15 days)
- Any other type of meeting to serve as a facilitator when conflict may be anticipated