Due process hearings: An update. Final report

This report presents data from all 50 states on due process hearings concerning the education of students with disabilities for the years 1992, 1993, and 1994. Data were gathered from a 1996 survey conducted by the National Association of State Directors of Special Education. This survey updates due process statistics from a 1994 survey that obtained data from 1991, 1992, and 1993. Analysis of results took into account the differences in record-keeping "years" among states; whether the state had a "two-tier" (local and state level hearings) or "one-tier" (state level hearings only) due process system; and the number of hearings requested and held. The following findings are reported: requests for hearings grew at an average rate of 7.5 percent from 1991 to 1995 (but only 3.3 percent for the final year of that period); numbers of hearings held grew at an average rate of 16.5 percent from 1991 to 1995; and many states are investigating alternative methods of dispute resolution, particularly mediation. The report concludes that data to assess current due process systems and procedures are seriously lacking, and that an acute need exists for research in dispute resolution at the state and federal levels. Appendices provide examples of one-tier and two-tier due process systems (from Massachusetts and Alaska), the survey itself, and a tabular presentation of survey data by state. (ERIC)