Revising the IDEA Due Process System to Resolve Conflict & Focus on the Child: Share Your Voice

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) prescribes specific means for resolving conflict within special education. For the most part, those means are based in legal practices. They have minimal emphasis on the human relations practices we know better resolve conflict. IDEA will be reauthorized in the future. This presents a great opportunity for including in IDEA requirements known to effectively solve conflict and avoid the final stage of special education conflict resolution, the due process hearing. More importantly, revising IDEA conflict resolution practices creates the opportunity for all stakeholders to add their voices to solving the problem and focusing on the child. Participants in this interactive workshop will be able to explain how and why the IDEA contains current statutes specific to conflict resolution, identify the consequences of due process hearings with a focus on the child and culturally competent outcomes from current research, identify what the experts recommend for revising due process within IDEA as identified in the 2016 research of Dr. Metheny, and participate in an interactive and collaborative group activity and discussion to identify and recommend inclusions in the revision of IDEA for the future of due process in special education.