From 2006 until her retirement in December 2022, Lisa Pagano worked for the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). First as a State Lead and Audit Facilitator, she supported States’ implementation of Part B and Part C program and fiscal requirements. She later served as Policy Specialist in OSEP’s Monitoring and State Improvement Planning Division where she advised senior leaders on issues impacting the appropriate implementation of IDEA, developed policy letters in response to external stakeholder requests for interpretations of the IDEA, and created guidance documents to clarify key IDEA provisions and support and improve States’ implementation of the statute and regulations. Lisa also led OSEP’s Customer Service Team in responding to inquiries from parents and others about the IDEA, including parent rights and procedural safeguards.
Lisa served as one of OSEP’s dispute resolution experts on matters related to State-reported data under Section 618, statutory and regulatory requirements for State complaints, mediation, and due process complaints and due process hearings, and State administration of dispute resolution systems. She is the lead author of the document, Questions and Answers on IDEA Part B Dispute Resolution Procedures, issued by OSEP in July 2013.
Before joining OSEP, Lisa worked for the Maryland State Department of Education where she directed Maryland’s IDEA complaint resolution activities and supported administration of the State’s IDEA mediation and due process systems. Before beginning her work in education, Lisa supported children and adults with disabilities through her work as a social worker, service coordinator, and training specialist with nonprofit organizations including ARC of Frederick County Maryland and Kennedy Krieger Institute.
She received her master of social work degree from the University of Maryland, Baltimore and her law degree from the University of Baltimore. Lisa is now retired.