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 cadre@directionservice.org 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?
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The Outcomes of Fully Adjudicated Impartial Hearings under the IDEA: A Nationally Representative Analysis with and without New York
The purpose of this study was to determine the national outcomes distribution of DPH decision outcomes for a relatively recent six-year period. A secondary purpose was to determine whether New York decisions were such a distinct and major outlier to justify omitting them for a more precise picture...Learn more
The Public Schools' Obligation for Impartial Hearings under Section 504
Abstract: This article provides an in-depth examination of the legal sources and current practices specific to impartial hearings under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act for students in the K-12 public school context. In contrast to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), this...Learn more
The state complaint procedure under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
In a survey of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) complaint managers in 35 states, most respondents believed that neither educator nor parental awareness of the state complaint procedure had increased since its reinsertion into the 1992 IDEA regulations. A majority concluded that...Learn more
The Supreme Court, Endrew, and the Appropriate Education of Students With Disabilities
In this article, we analyze the Supreme Court’s decision in Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District RE-1 (2017), interpreting the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and its provisions creating a right of every student with a disability to have an appropriate education. We...Learn more
The third wave of due process: State special education complaint investigations.
This presentation outlines the complaint investigation process developed by the Maine Department of Education to ensure a timely response to complaints concerning special education services, and to provide third party mediation and arbitration as needed. Complaint procedures required under federal...Learn more
The “New” Section 504: Student Issues in the Wake of the ADAAA
[abstract] School leaders are familiar with the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, but they also need to be legally literate about Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. This need is particularly pressing in the wake of significant recent changes in Section 504 as a result of the...Learn more
To what extent, if any, may cost be a factor in special education cases?
Analysis of caselaw. There is no uniform or ever dominant approach to evaluating the issue of cost in special education cases. Careful attention to relevant cases in each jurisdiction is of primary importance. Nevertheless, a few overall principles appear to be emerging across jurisdictions: •...Learn more
Today's Policy Contexts for Special Education and Students with Specific Learning Disabilities
A keynote speech from the 2008 International Conference of the Council for Learning Disabilities, held in Kansas City. The author seeks to contextualize special education, focusing first on the discrepancy model for determining whether a student has a specific learning disability and its effect on...Learn more
Training Pre-service Special Education Teachers to Facilitate Meaningful Parent Participation in IEPs Using Simulated Meetings
The current study sought to establish whether simulated Individualized Education Plan (IEP) meetings using scenarios and actors may serve as an effective tool for assessing and improving pre-service special education teachers’ ability to facilitate parent participation in legally correct IEP...Learn more
Transaction costs and the IDEA.
Provides a discussion of the adjudicatory dispute-resolution mechanism and the issue of "transaction costs", history of the legislation and amendments.Learn more
Trends in Impartial Hearings under the IDEA: A Comparative Enrollments-Based Analysis
This article examines trends in Due Process Hearings across fifty-two jurisdictions, including the fifty states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. Questions addressed include, 1) For the period 2012-2017, what are the differences, if any, in ranking jurisdictions based on the numbers of...Learn more
Trends in Impartial Hearings under the IDEA: A Comparative Update
This article examines trends in Due Process Hearings across fifty-two jurisdictions, including the fifty states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. Questions addressed include, 1) For the period 2012-2017, did the previous six-year period's downward trends of adjudications and filings...Learn more
Trends in Special Education Case Law: Frequency and Outcomes of Published Court Decisions 1998-2012
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) obligates school districts to identify students with disabilities and provide them with a free and appropriate public education (FAPE), which includes specially designed instruction. Identification, FAPE, least restrictive environment (LRE),...Learn more
Tuition and Related Reimbursement under the IDEA: A Decisional Checklist
[Excerpt, p.786] "This checklist provides, in flowchart–like form, the criteria for reimbursement of tuition and related expenses under the IDEA along with the applicable statutory, regulatory, and case law citations." The checklist identifies three steps, with specific questions to determine the...Learn more
Unpacking the Logic of Compliance in Special Education: Contextual Influences on Discipline Racial Disparities in Suburban Schools
[Abstract] "The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ([IDEA] 2004; IDEA Amendments 1997) is a civil rights–based law designed to protect the rights of students with disabilities in U.S. schools. However, decades after the initial passage of IDEA, racial inequity in special education...Learn more
When it's not apparent: Some modest advice to parent advocates for students with disabilities.
Article focuses on advice to parents in working with schools to develop and implement IEPs. Author states that resorting to litigation has been increasingly unsuccessful, especially in the 9th Cir. where courts have repeatedly held that parents must exhaust all administrative proceedings and...Learn more
When it's your own child
This article presents the findings from a national sample of 510 parents of students with special needs surveyed by telephone regarding their perspectives on special education in public schools. In-depth interviews were also conducted with 17 experts in the field and parents of special needs...Learn more
When parents and educators clash: Are special education students entitled to a Cadillac education?
Article is mostly theory; she does recommend mediation in her proposal for avoiding litigation section (pt. IV). Footnote 155 indicates that parties who request mediation have a 75-80% success rate of obtaining a favorable judgment for both parties in Texas, according to Susan Sellars, Program...Learn more
When parents aren't enough: External advocacy in special education.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) has been widely celebrated for providing millions of disabled children with broader educational and life opportunities. This Note seeks to improve the implementation of the IDEA by questioning one of its key assumptions: that parents possess...Learn more
Which Procedural Parts of the IEP Process Are the Most Judicially Vulnerable?
*/ [Abstract] To provide a missing piece to the legal foundation of professional development and practice for the individualized education program (IEP) process, the authors report the results of a comprehensive systematic analysis of court decisions specific to IEP-related procedural violations...Learn more
“Appropriate” Decisions Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
This article offers analysis and recommendations concerning impartial hearing officers' (IHOs) decisions under IDEA, specifically in FAPE cases. [Excerpt from introduction] "The article consists of three successive parts. The first part provides observations and recommendations concerning the...Learn more