The Kentucky Department of Education Division of Exceptional Children Services (DECS) offers assistance to parents and school districts in resolving disagreements over special education programs for children with disabilities under the IDEA.
First, DECS offers assistance through consultation between parents, schools and DECS staff. The DECS consultants can often work with parents and districts to resolve concerns without the need for further formal resolution.
Second, the DECS provides mediation services to schools and parents as a way to resolve disagreements in a mutually acceptable manner. DECS has a cadre of trained mediators who can assist in resolving disagreements that have become difficult or adversarial. In a mediation session, both parties reach an agreement that is written into a formal contract that is binding upon both.
Third, the DECS provides resources for due process hearings. A hearing is an complex administrative reveiw of a parent or district disagreement over IDEA issues. Trained hearing officers preside over due process hearings, which are simlar to court proceedings wherein both parties present their arguments with testimony and evidence. In many cases, both parties employ attorneys to represent them in due process hearings. The hearing officer makes rulings based on testimony, evidence and caselaw and issues a binding decision.
District staff and parents having disagreements over programs for children with disabilities may contact the DECS for more information on these processes.
The 2004 Reauthorization of IDEA set forth a new provision in the area of due process hearings. IDEA 2004 obliges the parties to the hearing in most cases to meet soon after the hearing is requested. The purpose of the meeting - called the resolution session - is to give the parties a chance to settle the dispute. In the 2006 School Year, resolution sessions were very successful at settling hearings in Kentucky. In 80% of hearings where a resolution session was held, an agreement resolving the hearing issues was reached.
For additional information regarding Resolution Sessions visit:
http://www.nichcy.org/reauth/tb-safeguards-2.pdf
The following web site has information written with the parent in mind. It offers practical and useful information for anyone involved in a due process hearing:
http://www.directionservice.org/cadre/resmtgdoc.cfm