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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Disability and the Education System
[Summary in journal] Aron and Loprest trace the evolution of the special education system in the United States from its origins in the civil rights movement of the mid-twentieth century. They note the dual character of federal legislation, which both guarantees eligible children with disabilities...Learn more
Disability matters: Toward a law school clinical model for serving youth with special education needs.
This article examines the role that law school clinics could play in remedying a gap in legal services for youth with special education needs while simultaneously enhancing law students' awareness and understanding of disabilities and providing students with unique skills. The authors show that the...Learn more
District-Initiated Due Process Hearing Decisions Under the IDEA: Frequency and Outcomes
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is the primary federa legislation for special education in public schools. Its core obligation for school districts is the provision of a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to eligible students. The primary adjudicative mechanism, which...Learn more
Disturbing Inequities: Exploring the Relationship Between Racial Disparities in Special Education Identification and Discipline
[Abstract] This study used negative binomial regression to investigate whether exposure to novice teachers and risk for identification for special education predicted suspension rates. Data from the 2009-2010 Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) was used. The sample was comprised of 72,168 schools...Learn more
Do the “haves” come out ahead in alternative judicial systems? Repeat players in ADR.
Discusses compulsory arbitration in education. Some courts have upheld compulsory arbitration requirements under the ADA. Article argues that parties that are “repeat players” in ADR are vulnerable to power imbalances. Calls for more empirical work to test this.Learn more
Due Process Hearing and Written State Complaint Activity for COVID-19 Issues: A Six-Month Snapshot
In addition to the alternative forms of dispute resolution under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the two decisional avenues are adjudicative and investigative. The adjudicative avenue starts with a due process hearing (DPH) and culminates in court proceedings. The...Learn more
Due process hearings under the IDEA.
The primary purpose of this article is to track the trend in the number of due process hearings that have been adjudicated (i.e., in which the hearing officer issued a written decision) nationally for the past 15 years. The secondary purpose is to rank order the states by the number of adjudicated...Learn more
Due Process Hearings Under The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act: Justice Delayed...
Abstract: The authors report the average duration of fully adjudicated hearings was much longer than the regulatory timeline, and only 15% of the standard decisions for the six-year period were completed within the 75-day timeline. They note the 75-day benchmark serves as a guideline goal, with the...Learn more
Education for students with special needs: The judicially defined role of parents in the process.
The 1997 Amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) give parents an opportunity to participate in meetings with respect to the identification, evaluation, and educational placement of their children. This article discusses parental involvement under the IDEA, specifically...Learn more
Enforcing compliance with IDEA: Dispute resolution and apropriate relief.
This discussion of dispute resolution and remedies under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act focuses on the due process hearing as well as alternative dispute resolution, appropriate relief, reimbursements, compensatory relief, punitive damages, and attorneys' fees. (ERIC)Learn more
Engaging Students and Parents in Transition-Focused Individualized Education Programs
*/ [Abstract] The reauthorizations of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act emphasize that students and parents are to be considered equal partners in the individualized education program (IEP) process. This article addresses how to move from compliance with the law to facilitating...Learn more
Enhancing Collaborative Leadership Among Parents of Children with Disabilities: New Directions for Policy and Practice
Parent involvement and leadership have evolved over time and carry different meanings within various educational contexts in the United States. In special education, parent involvement includes the roles that parents of children with disabilities play in the development of their children’s...Learn more
Equity and advocacy expectations of culturally diverse families' participation in special education.
The authors contend that the equity and advocacy expectations imbedded in the legal mandate for parent participation in the special education decision-making process directly contradict the hierarchy of professional status and knowledge on which the positivist paradigm of professionalism is based,...Learn more
Evening the playing field: Tailoring the allocation of the burden of proof at IDEA due process hearing to balance children's rights and school's needs.
The Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (the "IDEA") is a broad federal mandate intended to make a "free appropriate public education" available to all disabled students. More importantly, however, the IDEA encourages schools to enable parents to collaborate with their child's educators...Learn more
Every Day Counts: Proposals to Reform the IDEA's Due Process Structure
[Abstract] "It is a core principle of special education legislation that the parents of a disabled child can challenge the child’s educational programming through an administrative due process hearing. Yet, for years the special education due process structure has been criticized as inefficient,...Learn more
Examining the Impact of Early Intervention, Parent Involvement and Family Characteristics on Preschool Special Education Student Outcomes over Time
UMI Number: 3495232 [Excerpts from abstract] "The study included secondary data analysis to examine the impact of several factors, including the Early Intervention program, demographic factors and potential mediating factors on preschool special education student outcomes. The Pre-elementary...Learn more
Examining the Impact of Special Education Dispute Resolution in Pennsylvania
UMI Number: 3510696 [Excerpts from abstract] "If a disagreement arises between parents and their school district, either party may request a special education due process hearing. However, several alternate options are available and encouraged for parties to consider for resolution of conflicts...Learn more
Exhaustion of Section 504 and ADA Claims Under the IDEA: Resolving The Confusion
Abstract: The IDEA’s exhaustion provision is subject to confusion among courts as well as the parties. Its proper judicial compromise that this provision represents in reversing the Smith v. Robinson exclusivity ruling. The result of the confusion is making the adjudicative process under federal...Learn more
Expert Recommendations for the Future of Due Process in Special Education: A Delphi Study
Purpose. The purpose of this study was to identify recommendations that a Delphi panel of experts judged to be the most important for the future of due process in special education for avoiding due process hearings. The study also sought to determine and describe the degree of importance and...Learn more
Failure to Implement the IEP: The Third Dimension of FAPE Under the IDEA
After distinguishing the development of “failure to implement” (FTI) the individualized education program (IEP) as a third dimension beyond the procedural and substantive dimensions of FAPE (free appropriate public education) first established in Board of Education v. Rowley , this article provides...Learn more
Father Involvement in Early Intervention: Exploring the Gap Between Service Providers’ Perceptions and Practices
The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine early intervention (EI) service providers’ perceptions of the roles played by fathers in services, as well as their perceptions of the barriers that limit fathers from being engaged in the services provided for families of children with...Learn more
Fathers’ Experiences With the Special Education System: The Overlooked Voice
Research about parent experiences with the special education system is largely dominated from mothers’ perspectives. This article will present a qualitative interview study of the overlooked voice: fathers of children with disabilities. Twenty fathers were interviewed about their experiences...Learn more
Federal Policy on Disproportionality in Special Education: Is it Moving us Forward?
[Abstract] Monitoring requirements in the 1997 amendments to and 2004 reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) acknowledged the existence and extent of racial/ethnic disproportionality in special education, especially when, in 2004, Congress designated this concern...Learn more
Framing the Future: SelfDetermination
This article offers reflections and recommendations on self-determination of students with disabilities. [Abstract] "There is an established and still-growing evidence base that promoting self-determination has positive school and post-school benefits for students with disabilities, and yet efforts...Learn more