Literature Articles

[Abstract] Students with learning disabilities are suspended at disproportionate rates in schools. Although research has shown the ineffectiveness of suspension as a disciplinary tool, school administrators continue to use it to combat behavior infractions. This column presents a review of the...

This Article examines whether or not a mediation process can be created that fits squarely into the goals of the IDEA. Mediation has become the preferred method for settling disputes under the IDEA between schools and families. Article discusses prior research that found high rates of settlement...

This article provides guidance and recommendations for practitioners and families around five components of an IFSP: - functional assessment - functional outcome writing - linking functional outcomes to services - service integration - progress monitoring Each component "should be an opportunity to...

The IDEA provides a range of collaborative, investigative, and adjudicative avenues to resolve disputes between parents and schools related to IEPs. This article examines how the “decisional” processes of investigative complaint procedures (CP) and adjudicative due process hearings (DPH) relate to...

[Abstract] An overview is provided of five recent legal developments that merit special attention of special educators: (a) the amended Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) regulations concerning parental consent, including subsequent agency interpretations concerning...

Parental dissatisfaction with special education services is a national problem. This article presents two districts that have undergone systemwide changes to decrease the dissatisfaction of families who have children with disabilities. Using qualitative inquiry, the authors analyzed documents and...

This article discusses the results of a study on the relative satisfaction experienced by parties with alternative dispute resolution (ADR). Authors present advantages of ADR processes, information on the controller in the ADR processes, approach of the study; and limitations of the study.

This article provides an overview of research on representation in mediation, presenting both original research and a review of existing studies. With a primary focus on court-connected civil cases, Wissler explains "different mediation programs appear to have reached different conclusions about the...

This In-Brief Policy Analysis is based on a survey sent to all special education units of state education agencies and interviews with eight states. Findings are synthesized for types of supports provided, frequency of resolution meetings, factors that impact the use of resolution meetings, and...

Urban educators often find themselves in conflict with parents of educationally handicapped students over program placement and services. Easily understood strategies for preventing these differences are presented. The dynamics of parent anger are discussed. School personnel are provided with a...

[Excerpt from Overview, p.1] This report presents information garnered from a comprehensive review of the literature on restorative justice (RJ)1 in U.S. schools. The purpose of our review is to capture key issues, describe models of RJ, and summarize results from studies conducted in the field. The...

Restorative Practice (RP) is an effective approach to discipline that has the potential to transform behaviour by focusing on building and restoring relationships. This practical guide explains how to implement restorative approaches with young people with special needs in educational or residential...

This publication provides readers with information about the history and origins of Restorative Justice, before discussing the current application of Restorative Practice in educational settings. Next, we highlight the unique challenges parents and educators face while engaging in the planning...

Esta guía prove una untroducción a la facilitación de IEP para los padres y otros miembros de la familia para orientarlos a esta práctica emergente.

Esta Guía ayuda a las familias a tener un mejor entendimiento de las Reuniones de Resolución. Esta es una Publicación conjunta de CADRE y la ALLIANZA. [2big]

[Abstract] Self-advocacy skills for students with disabilities have been linked to elevated school retention rates and more successful adult outcomes. Test, Fowler, Brewer, and Wood examined evidence of self-advocacy practices published from 1972 to June 2004. As an update to their study, we...

In the landmark case Board of Education v. Rowley in 1982, the Supreme Court concluded that FAPE has two prongs—procedural compliance and a less specific substantive standard. In the succeeding decades, the courts have gradually eroded the procedural dimension to the point of near distinction by...

In this article, the author discusses challenges parents face when they disagree with school districts over special education services. Specific cases are presented and discussed.

Schools' regulation by external forces has rendered the education process secondary to avoidance of litigation. Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) provides an answer to the adversarial process currently in place within education. ADR offers negotiation and mediation as methods to resolve conflict...

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School compliance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) transition services language requirements in this country has been an issue of concern to parents of students with disabilities as well as special education attorneys and advocates for quite some time. Evidence exists in...

Abstract (excerpts): Conflict resolution in special education uses scarce resources of time and money for school districts. Due to recent changes in law, there are limited entities with enough experience in dispute resolution to make a meaningful contribution to the study. The special education...

Presents a way to frame individualized education plan (IEP) meetings using the concept of self-organizing systems, which can produce novel outputs from dynamic interaction among system components. Identifies components of an IEP system, their complex nature, and responsiveness to impacts and...

California requires mediation of almost all child custody disputes. The effects of the variables of client and attorney gender, obtaining settlements, and prior mediation and litigation history were examined in a sample of 150 parents who completed surveys after mediating at the Los Angeles County...

This side-by-side comparison of the 2011 final regulations to the 1999 Part C regulations, created by the Council for Exceptional Children, Division for Early Childhood, and the IDEA Infant & Toddlers Coordinator Association, serves as a tool to assist readers in understanding the new regulations...