Literature Articles

This searchable database contains bibliographic information for literature (research-based and policy/practice) relating to dispute resolution in special education.

CADRE is interested in identifying additional articles and publications to include in this database. If you are aware of other such resources, please send an email to [email protected] with as much information as possible about the resource (e.g., title, author, source, date), and include a copy of the publication or a URL link, if available.  Interested in emerging research and knowledge gaps in IDEA dispute resolution?

Literature Articles are currently under maintenance. Functionality is limited.

Alternative dispute resolution under the Individuals with Disability Educational Act: A case study of early intervention mediation (Iowa).

All states are required to offer mediation services for the voluntary settlement of special education disputes after a due process hearing has been requested as a result of the 1997 Amendments to the Individuals with Disability Education Act (IDEA). However, Iowa was one of only a few states that...
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Alternative dispute resolution; An effective strategy for reducing special education due process hearings in California.

Law has protected the educational right of students with handicapping conditions and their parents throughout the nation since 1975. All states have a process in place where parents or schools districts can request a due process hearing at the state level. There is substantial evidence that due...
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Alternative dispute resolution: Panacea or anathema?

Article consists of mostly early theory about effectiveness of mediation. Author believes that special ed. disputes are one of the more appropriate contexts for mediation. Cites Singer & Nace study and states that special ed. mediation is successful in resolving the majority of these disputes, and...
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Alternative Dispute Resolution: Solving Problems and Resolving Conflict: Another Way

This article by Mary Grady is re-printed from the Winter-Spring 2011 edition of The Special EDge.
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An Analysis of Due Process Hearing Decisions for “Section 504-Only” Students

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this article is to address this gap in the professional literature through an exploratory analysis of the frequency and outcomes of due process hearings for Section 504-only students. Part I of this article provides a brief overview of the regulatory requirement for these...
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An Analysis of Expedited Due Process Hearing Decisions Under the IDEA

The relatively low overall frequency of expedited DPH decisions does not square with the complex and high-stakes nature of the IDEA provisions for disciplinary changes in placement. This may be attributable to the relative lack of resources of students with disabilities who are most vulnerable to...
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An analysis of factors that contribute to parent-school conflict in special education.

Interviews with 22 parents who had participated in a special education appeals process, 16 school officials, and 6 mediators found 8 factors that escalate parent-school conflict: discrepant views of a child or a child's needs, knowledge, service delivery, reciprocal power, constraints, valuation...
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An analysis of judicial outcomes of special education cases.

A review of special-education court cases found that, while school district wins exceeded parent wins in due process hearings and appeals, the margin narrowed through litigation. The most predominant issue in dispute was placement in terms of parents seeking more restrictive settings. The Supreme...
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