Dispute Resolution

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Parents of children with disabilities and certain other individuals can use mediation and/or the hearing process to resolve special education disputes. In Massachusetts, hearings take place primarily at the Massachusetts Bureau of Special Education Appeals (BSEA). Parents can also make complaints to the MA DESE Program Quality Assurance Dept or to the U.S. Dept of Education Office for Civil Rights.

 

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Questions and Answers on Procedural Safeguards and Due Process Procedures.

US DOE
Document that addresses issues raised by the public regarding procedural safeguards under the federal special education regulations, including state complaint procedures, mediation and due process complaints.

Program Quality Assurance Services: Compliance and Monitoring.

MA DOE
Document that provides information on making complaints and asking questions about education-related laws, regulations, and policies to the Massachusetts Program Quality Services Department, which is the unit within the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education that manages the…

Difference between the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (ESE) and the Bureau of Special Education Appeals (BSEA)

MA ESE
Chart that explains the differences between a state complaint filed through the ESE system and a due process complaint filed with the BSEA. Issued by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education (2008).

603 C.M.R. § 28.08. Continuum of Options for Dispute Resolution.

Section of the Massachusetts special education regulations that sets out the options for dispute resolution, including mediation and hearings. 603 C.M.R. § 28.08 (2007).

Decisions and Rulings of the Bureau of Special Education Appeals.

BSEA
Links to the decisions and rulings of the Bureau of Special Education Appeals issued from 1998 to the present.  Information is searchable by year, a decision number or any text in the decision.

Winkelman v. Parma City School District

US Supreme Court
Supreme Court case holding that the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act grants parents of a disabled child independent, enforceable rights, and such parents are entitled to prosecute IDEA claims on their own behalf in court. 127 S. Ct. 1994 (2007)

C.G. & B.S. v. Five Town Communty School District 513 F.3rd 279 (1st Circuit) 07-1708

LYNCH, Circuit Judge, CAMPBELL and SELYA, Senior Circuit Judges
In a suit under IDEA, parents claim that school district (defendants) failed to provide a disabled student with a free and appropriate public education, judgment for defendants is affirmed where, although the individualized education plan created by the school district was incomplete, the…