Literature Articles
The purpose of this article is to describe research which attempts to examine the effectiveness of due process procedures in resolving educational disputes justly.
Examines whether special ed. mediations are successful and looks at parents’ and schools’ perceptions of fairness, satisfaction with results, implementation of agreements, and looks at SES of parents, characteristics of children, wealth of districts, and presence of advocates. Authors collected data...
This article discusses four key behaviors that are intrinsic to natural, “authentic” leadership, including: 1) exercising influence to reach shared goals, 2) engaging in continuous learning, 3) building and nurturing relationships, and 4) modeling behaviors desired of others. The behaviors...
This article presents the case for arbitration as a fitting process for special education disputes. "the availability of arbitration as suggested [herein] would add two improvements to the IDEA dispute resolution system that experience shows are sorely needed: a more balanced “access to justice” and...
ABSTRACT: This study analyzed the 65 hearing officer decisions in Illinois between 1982 and 2010 that were subject to a court appeal available in the Westlaw or Individuals with Disabilities Education Law Report (IDELR) databases. These 65 cases yielded 86 issue rulings. Based on refined measures of...
The author discusses special education disputes and what parents hope to gain by participating in the process. Research suggests that procedural justice is important to parents. They need the opportunity to voice their concerns, have those concerns acknowledged, and be treated with dignity and...
This study investigated the effects of a video-based training program on the quantity and quality of family involvement in special education, perceptions of both family members and educators concerning parental competence as team members, and family members' satisfaction with their own involvement...
The authors present their findings related to interviewing 20 Korean-American mothers of children with disabilities. Data was collected related to the participants’ perceptions of the expertise, attitudes, and behavior of social and educational service providers, differences in cultural values and...
UMI Number: 1512313 [Abstract] "Understanding how labels and prior training affect teachers of students with a disability is a step towards creating effective educational environments. There were two goals of the study. The first aim was to examine how teacher training (special education versus...
http://www.directionservice.org/cadre/Las_Famili7638.cfm
Abstract: Parent-professional partnership literature continues to emphasize the importance of including the parent voice. Spanish-speaking families are often excluded from such studies because of the language barrier. This article presents a qualitative interview study of eight Latina mothers of...
Law, culture, and children with disabilities: Educational rights and the construction of difference.
Pre-IDEA. Discusses research on use of interdisciplinary Committees on Special Education (CSE) when creating IEP. Discusses parental views and impressions and their effects on the decision-making process. When parents understood the role and perspective of the CSE members, their satisfaction with...
The purpose of this article is to expand on the survey data provided in Seven and Zirkel (2002) and to trace the lower court case law between the two decisions related to Arons and the Supreme Court’s ruling in Arlington Central School District Board of Education v. Murphy. The interrelationship...
[Abstract] The purpose of this intrinsic case study was to examine the impact that interactions with parents of children with disabilities might have on 10 graduate students (6 men and 4 women) between the ages of 22 and 32 years (M = 26.7 years, SD = 3.5) enrolled in a 3-week intensive music...
This article reviews a new approach taken by one teacher education program, through which parents of students with disabilities are engaged as part of a teacher education course on parental involvement for students with disabilities. Comparing this course to other, primarily text-based versions of...
The purpose of this article is to discuss the complaint resolution process (CRP) and provide an annotated outline to synthesize the other pertinent primary sources of law—court decisions, hearing/review officer decisions, and Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) policy letters —that fill in...
This article describes the legal mechanisms under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Section 504 which provide alternatives to litigation and other legal activity. These mechanisms can be used to promote informal resolution of disputes between parents and school officials.
Mediation, facilitation, and other alternative dispute resolution (ADR) techniques are being used in federal agencies, state and local governments, private-sector organizations, and among private citizens in an effort to prevent and resolve disputes in a timely, cost-effective, and less adversarial...
[Abstract] As we prepare for the upcoming reauthorization of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), recommendations about restructuring dispute resolution options will likely surface. Conflict between parents and school districts has been a topic of high importance during previous...
This article reviews recent litigation related to students with disabilities; it presents themes as well as five tables summarizing the facts and decisions in specific cases gathered by topic (see abstract for list). [Abstract] Special education litigation remains a volatile area with significant...
The purpose of this study was to determine what were the best practices used by four Special Education Local Plan Areas (SELPAs) in California as they implemented local alternative dispute resolution (ADR) processes. Local ADR was also contrasted to state level due process mediations and hearings to...
This article documents the decline and stabilization of the number of adjudicated due process hearings between 2006 and 2012 across the country. Zirkel notes that while innovations such as resolution meetings, mediations, and facilitated IEP meetings are possible contributors, other factors--such as...
Previous issues of West's Education Law Reporter provided successive longitudinal analyses of the volume of litigation in the public elementary and secondary school context (hereinafter referred to as “K-12”) respectively ending in each of the prior three decades. These trend studies, like other...
[Abstract] "This article frames the past and future role of the parents of children with disabilities within the context of special education. We highlight their past aspirations: to organize nationally to assert that their children could learn, to codify into law their children’s right to an...