Main Library
This library contains CADRE resources as well as State, Lead Agency and Parent Center resources. Please note that CADRE makes no endorsement of the State, Lead Agency and Parent Center resources included here, nor of any policies, procedures, processes, or documents specific to any item.
This presentation--designed for administrative law judges who preside over special education due process matters--will address current hot topics in special education law. Perspectives will be shared by two seasoned attorneys from both the parent/student and the school agency “side.”
Writing a decision after a hearing is an important skill for IDEA hearing officers. This session will include a brief discussion of what goes into writing a good decision, followed by a detailed analysis one particular decision by an experienced IDEA hearing officer.
The recent year in the context of COVID has made very clear the complex nature of our work. While the pandemic has made our work more challenging, it has not made our work more complex. The complexity of implementing Specially Designed Instruction (SDI) and providing Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) has always been our fundamental challenge. Our ability to effectively and wisely engage this challenge is dependent on skillful and confident leadership ready to mobilize people to engage this complexity. This is the challenge for which the TAESE Center for Special Education Leadership...
This session offers a practical approach to starting a program or refining an existing one. This presentation will assist participants in defining their scope of service and measurements of success, identifying their target audience and some do's and don'ts of marketing.
The session will explain the process that TEA undertook in building the Correspondence and Dispute Resolution Management System (CDRMS) which tracks state-level dispute resolution activities related to special education. The session will also explain the system itself and will explain how the state utilizes the system to track and use dispute resolution data on issues reviewed and substantiated through special education complaints and due process hearings, mediation requests and agreements, resolution sessions and agreements, and IEP facilitations. Using CDRMS, TEA is able to run detailed...
Are there particular programs or schools in your LEA or SELPA that are sources of more disputes than other programs or schools? The Devising Seminar is a process that can decrease conflict at a macro level. Attendees at this presentation will learn how to employ this process to involve the Stakeholders to use shared responsibility and collaboration to define the problems causing the conflicts, and create solutions to significantly decrease conflict. This process has been used for over 30 years to assist nations that have different cultural practices in creating treaties, and municipalities in...
Mediators continue to debate the goals and interventions that should characterize the mediation process. But isn't mediation supposed to serve the needs of the parties? Shouldn't their voices influence the "look" of the mediation process that is institutionalized? This workshop will present empirical data--drawn from questionnaires, in-depth interviews and observations of parents and school officials participating in special education mediation--to discover what these parties value most about the process and the mediator. The data also will be examined to find areas of concern. Ultimately,...
This session will feature a panel discussion or Socratic Circle with interested members of the Oregon Department of Education's IDEA Dispute Resolution Advisory Committee (DRC). The group will discuss its history, purpose, and role in dispute resolution and provide examples of topics that are discussed with the state department of education along with action items that have improved the dispute resolution process for all stakeholders.
In 2016, CADRE published the nine-year national average special education mediation agreement rate of 69%. Wisconsin (one of the four exemplar programs identified by CADRE) has a nine-year average mediation agreement of 88% - 19% higher than the national average – with some years over 90%. We will discuss various reasons we see for this higher rate – including the screening and convening process; pre-mediation work by both the system administrator and the mediators; party participation, autonomy and freedom of choice in the selection of the mediator; involvement of the student in mediation...
One sure way to restore focus on the child is to ensure that Special Education mediators and facilitators exhibit high ethical standards and always "do the right thing." But what is it? Ethics questions can be complex, nuanced and situational. Professionals often have to sort out what to do under tough circumstances, guided sometimes by Codes of Conduct, sometimes only by personal or organizational values. All participants in an ADR process - from students to educators, and administrators, to parents and advocates - need to understand ethical duties and decisions. This interactive session...
As families and communities, we entrust schools with our "great resource and tangible investment in the future: our children" (Melaville & Blank, 1998). Yet educators alone cannot help children develop all the knowledge, attitudes, and skills that will need to become productive citizens and caring individuals. Education to prepare students for the challenges of the 21st century requires families, school, and communities together to meet these needs. This session will present evidence-based practices and strategies utilized by a variety of schools nationwide to promote family involvement...
Do you ever leave a conversation with your child’s teacher or IEP team, family member, or other loved one and wonder, “How did that conversation happen?” or think, “That person did not understand what I was trying to say at all!” Communicating clearly and effectively is not an inherent skill - it is something that we need to learn and practice. Using the remarkable work of Marshall Rosenberg and non-violent communication, we will explore the fundamentals of what it means to be an effective communicator by learning a 4-step communication process and then practicing that process throughout the...
One key characteristic of any effective meeting is clarity of purpose. The IEP process is intended to provide the structure that supports shared decision-making for families and school districts focused on children with special needs. The objective of this collaborative teaming process is the identification of innovative, specially designed, instructional strategies.
This presentation will focus on ensuring that IEPs and BIPs effectively address the best interests of the student, how to appropriately utilize available resources, and how to get participant buy-in for ARD* core principles. We will discuss helping participants understand the purpose of ARDs and meet the objectives of engagement from all stakeholders. We will also address implementing a tracking system to monitor the student's progress and engage or re-engage teachers and others who are critical to the success of the IEP and BIP. At the end of this presentation, attendees will be more...
How do we put "noise in the system" that creates an atmosphere of antipathy and distrust, and results in conflict? What steps can we take to create a culture that promotes cooperation and collaboration? How do we return to our roots of quality education for students and service to families to avoid disputes and conflict? This presentation will present ideas on special education's customers, our students and families, and how we can provide exemplary service to them. We will explore best practices in customer service and discuss how we can utilize and adapt these practices to special education...
The formula is tried and true! This presentation will provide tips and tools on how to support parents' meaningful participation in their child's education and team meetings and how increased parent engagement deescalates conflict, harnesses the energy of shared vision, resulting in greater student outcomes
Presenters: Jeanne Bowman , Technical Assistance Coordinator, MATRIX, Novato, CA Margaret Burley , Director, Ohio Coalition for Education of Children with Disabilities, Marion, OH Susanne Carter , Grant Writer, University of Missouri Columbia, Columbia, MO Jan Serak, FACETS, Milwaukee, WI Parent perspectives are critical to designing, implementing and evaluating dispute resolution systems at all levels. School systems that demonstrate a commitment to broad stakeholder involvement and collaborative problem solving with families can go a long way toward preventing the onset and escalation of...
Parent perspectives are critical to designing, implementing and evaluating dispute resolution systems at all levels. School systems that demonstrate a commitment to broad stakeholder involvement and collaborative problem solving with families can go a long way toward preventing the onset and escalation of adversarial school-family relationships that inevitably detract from the mission of helping children learn. Presenters at this session will discuss their involvement with dispute resolution systems at the state, regional and local level and explore strategies for enhancing parent involvement.
Disputants and mediators together determine a mediation’s success, sometimes only in retrospect. This interactive plenary will explore opportunities prior to and during a session, when the mediator may support-even enhance-parties' abilities to make the most of their mediation experience. Drawing on the academic and professional literature as well as extensive experience across civil, community, restorative justice and public policy contexts, this plenary will consider promising practices regarding case screening and client preparation before mediation. The thorny ethical issues of pressure...
This presentation will provide an introduction into Equity Informed Mediation, covering questions such as are we ever neutral, and who is centered when making assumptions of impartiality. The basics of equity learning will be covered and participants will engage in a beginning conversation around how to hold equity in mediation spaces. Video of 5.3 Equity Informed Mediation