The purpose of this paper is both to examine the intention of Congress when developing the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), as well as to define the Act itself. It is hoped that upon reviewing and gaining some perspective of the Act's purpose and definition, that we can understand its usefulness to families whose children participate in special education programs across the nation, with regard to mediation. Such understanding should be specifically addressed to the area of parental and student rights with regard to the requirement of free appropriate public education and a family's possible dissatisfaction with such education. If a family becomes dissatisfied with the education being provided to their child, what are their rights and how do they address those issues which they believe affect the well being of their child? <P>
Within the scope of this paper, I expect to answer these questions. It is my desire to examine samplings of mediation programs currently in place at school systems nation-wide and to pull together what I believe to be a uniform model program for use in public school systems across the United States. This uniform model should be one that addresses issues unique to children and families involved the special education forum, from the point of special needs identification through completion of their tenure in the public school system. (AUTHOR) <P>
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