A recent study from CADRE, a federally-funded organization that studies and trains interested parties in dispute resolution in special education cases, found that 80% of due process cases that were filed resolved through mediation, resolution sessions or other informal means. State by state data on resolution of disputes is available here.
This report is totally consistent with my experiences and supports several of my long held beliefs and refutes myths about parents, their attorneys and the system:
- the prevailing wisdom in some circles is that money hungry attorneys are driving numerous cases to hearing to recover large sums from school districts. In the wake of recent court decisions (in most states), there is no fee-shifting when a case settles pre-hearing. The findings of this report flat out rebut any notion that fee hungry parents’ attorneys are driving the system out of control;
- another popular view is that parents are unreasonable and file due process without a valid claim. The simple fact is that without a valid claim the majority of cases would not settle to the degree described in this report. It is a fair inference that the vast majority of due process claims are valid with at least a colorable basis that lead the parties to settle;
- schools are being swamped and tied up in hours of unnecessary hearings. Obviously this belief is not founded since most cases are not even going to hearing.
The simple reality is that parents file due process in incredibly small numbers relative to the violations of the law that occur systematically and frequently. The reason for the small number of filings are numerous among them are a deep-seated need and desire to work with the school, limited personal resources which are already taxed when raising a child with special needs, and the enormous disparity of know-how and expertise that schools have relative to parents. Schools need to stop complaining of parents’ imaginary abuses of the due process system and stick to the facts.