This information guide was designed to assist in resolving special education disputes, as well as to provide dispute resolution options for parents or school district staff when communications are difficult or there is a dispute that cannot be resolved. Mediation is a voluntary process that (1) brings people together to resolve their…

As a service delivery option for students with disabilities, coteaching continues to gain popularity. Successful coteaching largely rests upon the compatibility of coteachers. Sometimes conflict may occur when two teachers with different backgrounds and views work closely together. This article focuses on why conflict is inevitable in cotaught…

The purpose of this study was to understand the ways in which three parents of students with disabilities and three public school campus administrators negotiated dilemmas through discourse during Admission, Review, and Dismissal (ARD) meetings in a South Texas public school district. The participants in this study included the stakeholders in ARD…

This brief guide for parents of children with disabilities offers tips on being the child's advocate. Parents are first urged to believe in their child, believe in their own intuition, and educate themselves. They are also encouraged to: (1) document events and encounters including both objective facts and subjective response, (2) document and…

This monograph describes the Conciliation Project, which was developed to resolve conflicts between parents and schools in Lane County (Oregon) regarding students' special education programs. The project uses trained community-based mediation teams in a prescribed and structured process for resolving disagreements; the process is intended to be…

This 23-minute videotape describes the Conciliation Project, which was developed to resolve conflicts between parents and schools in Lane County (Oregon) regarding students' special education programs. The video presents a case developer who gathers information about a specific situation and a team of trained community volunteers who facilitate…

Two booklets, in English and Spanish, are addressed to disabled adults and offer guidelines for building adult relationships within the family. Stressed are the importance of feeling good about oneself, learning to make decisions, and developing good communication skills so that family balance is maintained. Also included are lists of the types of…

Two booklets, in English and Spanish, are addressed to families of disabled adults and offer guidelines for establishing an adult relationship with the disabled individual within the family. Stressed are the importance of helping the disabled adult develop a positive self image, learning to truly listen to the adult as part of improving…

This paper is designed to enable disability activists, parents, and advocates to negotiate effectively. It begins by describing negotiations for short-term or long-term changes and different approaches for negotiating. Steps for preparing for negotiation are listed, along with strategies: (1) control the negotiation session; (2) never negotiate…

This booklet, designed for use by Missouri parents and schools, provides information on using mediation as a non-adversarial alternative to resolving disputes in special education. It compares mediation with impartial due process hearings and complaint investigations, and describes the special education mediation process as voluntary for parents…

This manual is intended for use in training volunteer community conciliators involved in resolving conflicts between schools and parents of special education students. After an introduction, the manual outlines the principles of conciliation, emphasizing that it should be voluntary, informed, self-determined, impartial, and confidential.…

To help special education planning teams reach agreements, several State Education Agencies (SEAs) provide the option of facilitated Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings. The use of externally facilitated IEP meetings is growing nationally. When relationships between parents and schools are strained, facilitated meetings may be…

This student activity book includes worksheets that secondary students with and without disabilities can use to complete each activity in the "Steps to Self-Determination" curriculum. The program is meant to assist students in learning more about themselves and developing the skills they need to achieve their goals, getting support from family and…

The "Self-Determination Knowledge Scale" (SDKS) Form A and Form B are designed as a pretest and posttest for the "Steps to Self-Determination" curriculum. The program is meant to assist students, with and without disabilities, to learn more about themselves and develop skills to achieve their goals, get support from family and friends, and learn…

This curriculum guide is focused on helping secondary students with and without disabilities gain knowledge and skills that will allow them to increase their ability to achieve their goals in environments with varying levels of receptivity to the concept of self-determination. The curriculum is designed to be delivered over the course of one…