Jo Anne Blades has been Program Manager for the Special Education Resolution Center since its inception in 2005. SERC was created by contract between the Oklahoma State Department of Education and Oklahoma State University to manage the programs for due process and mediation in special education for the state of Oklahoma. With 17 years of experience in teaching children, she began practicing law in primarily educational matters and served as a Special Consultant to the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth regarding special education and Section 504 issues.
The interviews below were conducted in 2010 as part of CADRE's Exemplar Initiative.
Clip 1: Tell me, what have you learned during your last six years working in Oklahoma in dispute resolution?
Clip 2: For almost two years now, you, CADRE and three other states have been exploring the nature of dispute resolution systems. How has that experience affected your thinking?
Clip 3: How have you engaged with the Parent Training and Information Centers in your state? What has been the benefit of these efforts?
Clip 4: Oklahoma makes extensive use of facilitators in resolution meetings. What has been your experience with resolution meeting facilitation?
Clip 5: Oklahoma made some refinements to your state’s hearing officer compensation system. Can you describe what you did and how that has worked out?
Clip 6: Your center is located at Oklahoma State University and contracts with the State Education Agency. What do you see as the benefits and challenges of this arrangement?
Contact Information:
Jo Anne Blades
Oklahoma Special Education Resolution Center
9726 E. 42nd Street
Tulsa, OK 74146
jo.pool@okstate.edu
http://serc.okstate.edu
Downloadable transcripts of the video clips are available below.