Frequently Asked Questions

CADRE’s Working Together Series is a free, online learning series designed for both families and educators. The series consists of five courses with great strategies for working together and through conflict.

Course 1: Introduction to the Working Together Series
Course 2: IEP Meetings and Beyond
Course 3: Listening and Responding Skills
Course 4: Managing and Responding to Emotions
Course 5: Focusing on Interests to Reach Agreement

Another CADRE resource educators may find helpful is A Tale of Two Conversations. This two-part video demonstrates varying communication styles and the impact they have on the outcome of a conversation. The video highlights behaviors that lead to challenging communication and provides effective skills to encourage productive communication.

CADRE also hosts many webinars on a variety of topics.  Click here for the full webinar archive.

CADRE has a Trainers and Consultants Database that may help identify a professional development provider with expertise on a specific topic. It is important to note that the individuals found in this database do not represent CADRE, nor does their inclusion in the database constitute an endorsement from CADRE.

If you are unsure of what communication and conflict resolution professional development supports would best meet your district’s needs, you may want to begin here.

Engaging Parents in Productive Partnerships offers strategies on how educators can effectively collaborate with parents, including specific recommendations for IEP meetings.

CADRE hosts many webinars that can assist with building positive relationships with families, such as The Transformative Power of Engaging Parents as Partners and Community-Led Systems Change in a Public School District through Parent Participatory Evaluation. To view all archived webinars, click here.

CADRE developed the Working Together Series which contains five courses. Course 2 - IEP Meetings and Beyond addresses behaviors and strategies to create better home-school partnerships, and Course 3 - Listening and Responding presents tools to maximize communication.

CADRE’s Working Together Series Course 2 - IEP Meetings and Beyond includes strategies to help educators develop positive relationships with parents. Proactive steps a district can take before, during, and after an IEP meeting are also offered to help ensure a collaborative and productive IEP process. The Working Together Series Course 3- Listening and Responding, provides information to improve communication with families.

A Tale of Two Conversations is a two-part video demonstrating varying communication styles and the impact they have on the outcome of a conversation. The video highlights behaviors that make communicating challenging, and provides effective skills to encourage productive communication.

Engaging Parents in Productive Partnerships offers strategies on how educators can collaborate with parents including specific recommendations for making IEP meetings more effective.

CADRE has collected resources, tips, and strategies to support meaningful participation in virtual meetings found here: Virtual Meetings: Strategies, Tips and Resources.

Check out Considering IEP Facilitation: A School Administrator’s Perspective to learn more about IEP facilitation. During a facilitated IEP meeting, a facilitator focuses on the process and assists the IEP Team with articulating the roles of each member and ensures the voices of all participants are included.

CADRE encourages resolving conflicts at the local level whenever possible. In addition to providing training opportunities for educators and families to develop communication and conflict resolution skills, there are a continuum of options and practices districts can establish to support the prevention and early resolution of conflicts. A common initial step to take for resolving a concern or disagreement is to set up a conference with the parent to discuss their concerns. To learn more about the range of options and how some districts or states operationalize these practices, visit CADRE’s Continuum of Dispute Resolution Processes and Practices.

CADRE encourages collaboration between districts and federally-funded parent centers. Opportunities for sharing resources and joint professional development may be available. To find a local parent center to see how they might be able to assist with the resolution of a conflict, click here.

If you have tried resolving the conflict locally but are still not in agreement, you may want to consider requesting mediation administered through your State Education Agency (SEA). Administrators may find, Considering Mediation for Special Education Disputes, A School Administrator’s Perspective, informative.

For general information about dispute resolution options available under IDEA (mediation, written state complaints, and due process complaints and hearings), as well as IEP facilitation, view CADRE’s parent guides and companion videos. Another resource educators and families find helpful is CADRE’s comparison chart. It lists each process in an organized table and compares and contrasts resolution options to help you decide which one may be the best option for your specific concerns.

Districts can take proactive measures to prevent and effectively address high conflict IEP meetings. Understanding the various ways people respond to conflict and perceived threats is a good starting place.

CADRE’s webinar, Nature vs. Nurture: Our Brain’s Responses to Conflict, examines how conflict begins and how it can escalate, the role of nature and nurture in individual responses to conflict, and techniques for productive conversations when anxiety and conflict is high.

CADRE’s Working Together Series, Course 2 - IEP Meetings and Beyond provides strategies to help develop positive relationships with parents. Proactive steps a district can take before, during, and after an IEP meeting are also offered to help ensure a collaborative and productive IEP process. In addition, Course 4 - Managing and Responding to Emotions, provides information and strategies for working through tense conflict situations.

Oklahoma SERC developed Communication Cards for Managing Difficult Conversations that provide tips and language that can help educators and parents manage difficult conversation, high emotions, and high conflict meetings.

While CADRE does not keep a list of advocates, we do have resources for families considering procuring the support of an advocate. The Guiding Principles of Collaborative Advocacy provides a framework that CADRE believes will lead to problem solving strategies which place an emphasis on the child’s needs and maintaining a positive relationship between families and educators.

Educational Advocates, A Guide for Parents is a tool to support parents as they look to hire an advocate.

Many of CADRE’s resources are available in multiple languages. Some of our most popular print resources, such as our parent guides and Steps to Success, are available in 13 languages.

Parent Guides

The IEP Facilitation parent guide is available in English, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese (Simplified), Hmong, Korean, Russian, Vietnamese, Burmese, Portuguese,
 Japanese, and Somali. The companion video is available in English, Spanish, Korean, and Arabic.

The Mediation parent guide is available in English, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese (Simplified), Hmong, Korean, Russian, Vietnamese, Burmese, Portuguese, Japanese, and Somali. The companion video is available in English, Spanish, Korean, and Arabic.

The Written State Complaint parent guide is available in English, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese (Simplified), Hmong, Korean, Russian, Vietnamese, Burmese, Portuguese, Japanese, and Somali. The companion video is available in English, Spanish, Korean, and Arabic.

The Due Process Complaints/Hearings parent guide is available in English, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese (Simplified), Hmong, Korean, Russian, Vietnamese, Burmese, Portuguese, Japanese, and Somali. The companion video is available in English, Spanish, Korean, and Arabic.

The Resolution Meetings parent guide is available in English, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese (Simplified), Hmong, Korean, Russian, Vietnamese, Burmese, Portuguese, Japanese, and Somali. The companion video is available in English, Spanish, Korean, and Arabic.

The Expedited Due Process Complaints parent guide is in English only. Information in this guide can also be found in the IDEA Due Process Complaints and Hearings Parent Guide, which is available in multiple languages. The companion video is available in English, Spanish, Korean, and Arabic.

CADRE also has a separate page of resources in Spanish. Click here to view the En Español page.

CADRE encourages resolving conflicts at the local or district level whenever possible and appropriate. With that in mind, there are times when additional support may be needed. In these situations, your state education agency or your local parent center could be contacted for more information about available dispute resolution options.

In addition, CADRE has a Trainers and Consultants Database to assist in identifying a professional development provider with expertise on a specific topic. It is important to note that the individuals found in this database do not represent CADRE, nor does their inclusion in the database constitute an endorsement from CADRE.

You can sign up for CADRE’s Newsletter and stay up-to-date on activities and helpful information about dispute resolution.