Because of the increasing incidence of disputes in schools, educators need more knowledge about methods of dispute resolution. The adversary system of resolving disputes, on which the U.S. judicial system is founded, assumes that truth is best found through a struggle between two opposing parties. In the adversary system, due process plays a special role in guaranteeing fairness. Due process can be procedural--defined as the requisite characteristics of proceedings that can deprive a person of life, liberty, or property--or it can be substantive, involving constitutional protection against arbitrary governmental actions. Procedural due process has kindled continuing legal discussion over the definition of rights, privileges, property, liberty, and the particular actions that constitute due process. In education the application of procedural due process has developed through several landmark judicial decisions, such as Goss v. Lopez, which have held that children have a "property" right to education and that they need due process to prevent deprivation of liberty. Other dispute resolution mechanisms besides the adversary system can involve unilateral, one-person actions (such as inaction or avoidance), dyadic methods (negotiation), or third-party intervention (through conciliation, mediation, arbitration, factfinding, or pretrial conferences). (Author/RW)