Step 1: Build partnerships with your child’s teacher and school.

Before a Parent-Teacher conference or meeting

During a Parent-Teacher conference or meeting

After a Parent-Teacher conference or meeting

Step 2: Discuss your concerns about your child’s educational program with the VESID Special Education Quality Assurance Regional Office.

Another Way to Resolve A Complaint

Step 3: Special education mediation is an effective method to resolve disagreements in a timely manner.

What is special education mediation?

Mediation is a successful option

What have parents said about their experiences with mediation?

What have school district representatives said about their experiences with mediation?

How can I request mediation?

Step 4: An impartial hearing is a formal legal process in which an impartial hearing officer appointed by the Board of Education decides how disagreements between you and the school district will be resolved.

Step 6: Civil action may be brought by you or the school district.

Step 1: Build partnerships with your child’s teacher and school.

• Contact your child’s teacher (and other staff working with your child, such as a speech therapist, psychologist, or social worker) at the beginning of the year. Children develop in different ways, each with their own individual personalities. To help students learn, it is important that teachers know as much as they can about each child. No one knows more about your child and no one has more influence over your child than you. By working together, you and the teacher can help your child have a successful school year.

• Many schools have Parent-Teacher conferences during the year to offer you opportunities to learn more about your child’s education, teacher and school. Sharing information and working together helps your child. What you have to say is important. You have information about your child’s strengths, talents, hobbies and interests that can help the teacher. Meeting with your child’s teacher will help build strong parent-teacher partnerships. Meetings are successful when both parents and teachers work as partners to help children succeed in school.

• Try to work out any differences informally with your school district as soon as they happen. In addition to Parent-Teacher conferences, you may want to ask for a meeting or phone conference to discuss your concerns about your child’s education with the following:

• Your child’s teacher(s) and/or therapist,
• Principal or Assistant Principal,
• Chairperson of the Committee on Special Education (CSE) or Committee on Preschool Special Education (CPSE),
• Instructional Support Team,
• Superintendent, or
• Board of Education.

Before a Parent-Teacher conference or meeting:

• Ask your child if there is anything special you should share with or ask the teacher.
• Make a list of what you want the teacher to know about your child.
• Make a list of questions you may have.
• Bring ideas to the meeting that you have for addressing any concerns you may have about your child’s education.

During a Parent-Teacher conference or meeting:

• Discuss the special things about your child that you feel are important for the teacher to know.
• Ask questions. Listen as well as talk.
• Take notes and ask for an explanation if you do not understand something.
• Ask how your child’s progress is measured. Ask to see examples of your child’s work.
• Ask if there are specific ways that you can help your child at home.
• If there are problems, ask for specific examples of the behavior or the class work affected so that you and the teacher can work to help your child.
• Write down what was discussed at the meeting.
• Write down any plan that is developed to address your child’s education.

After a Parent-Teacher conference or meeting:

• Discuss the conference with your child. Stress the good things that were discussed. Be direct about any problems that were discussed. Be clear about the steps you, your child, and the teacher will take to make sure that progress continues at school.
• Keep working with the teacher. Stay in touch with the teacher to discuss your child's progress.
• If necessary, request a follow-up meeting within a reasonable amount of time to revisit any concerns and to ensure that the plan developed at the meeting was carried out as planned.

• VESID Special Education Quality Assurance oversees preschool and school age special education services. Regional Offices are located in five geographic regions of the State. Within each office, Regional Associates, employed by the New York State Education Department, are assigned to specific school districts and programs. The Regional Associate, in addition to overseeing special education services, provides technical assistance to parents, school district personnel and private providers.

• Many issues can be resolved with informal help from the Regional Associate assigned to your geographical region.

• When contacting the regional office in your area, please identify your county, school district or special education program so that you may be directed to the appropriate Regional Associate assigned to your area. The Regional Offices are listed below:

• Another Way to Resolve A Complaint

• You have the right to submit a complaint to the New York State Education Department if you believe that your school district has violated procedures under federal and State laws and regulations. You must make your complaint in writing and send it to the Regional Office in your geographical region listed above.
• If appropriate, your complaint will be investigated. You will receive a letter of the findings and resolution within 60 calendar days of when your complaint was received.
• Please note that special education issues that are currently being addressed through an impartial hearing or appeal to the State Review Officer (described in Steps 5 and 6 below) cannot be simultaneously submitted as complaints.

• Special education mediation is an option that all school districts must offer to parents as a way to work out disagreements with the recommendations of the Committee on Preschool Special Education (CPSE) or the Committee on Special Education (CSE).
• Mediation is voluntary on the part of both the parent and school district.
• Mediation is at no cost to parents or the school district.
• Mediation involves parents and a representative of the school district working collaboratively with a mediator, who is an independent person from the Community Dispute Resolution Center.
• By asking questions and discussing all of the information with both parties, the mediator helps you and the school district resolve disagreements, reach a more complete understanding of each other’s concerns and agree upon the special education program for your child in a cooperative and timely manner.
• The agreement reached between you and the school district is described in a written agreement.
• You and the school district must follow the agreement reached.
• Any discussions that take place during mediation are confidential.
• If you decide not to use mediation, someone may call you from the Community Dispute Resolution Center to discuss the benefits of mediation. You have the right to ask for an impartial hearing at any time.

• Mediation is successful when both you and the school district work as partners to resolve disagreements in order to help your child succeed in school.
• Of the 393 mediations conducted from September 1, 1997 to August 31, 1998, 363 (93%) resulted in an agreement being reached between the parent and school district.
• The mediation process is often less formal and adversarial and results in quicker satisfactory results than an impartial hearing.

• What have parents said about their experiences with mediation?

• "I was pleased and surprised by the results. I also felt that how mediation was explained and handled made me, as a parent, feel more comfortable."
• "The mediator was fair, listened to everyone, offered suggestions and reiterated what was said—it was a great atmosphere."

• What have school district representatives said about their experiences with mediation?

• "Results were positive and achieved in one session. Both parties were willing participants and interested in finding a solution."
• "It was an informative constructive process rather than a confrontational presenting of the issues."

• How can I request mediation?

• You may request mediation by submitting a request in writing to the Board of Education of your child’s school district.

Step 4: An impartial hearing is a formal legal process in which an impartial hearing officer appointed by the Board of Education decides how disagreements between you and the school district will be resolved.

• In addition to the mediation process and other options described above, you may choose to request an impartial hearing if you disagree with recommendations and decisions made by the Committee on Preschool Special Education (CPSE) or the Committee on Special Education (CSE).

• An impartial hearing has been established as a way to resolve disputes fairly through a third party, an impartial hearing officer.

• The impartial hearing officer hears both sides of the issue, listens to the testimony of witnesses, weighs the evidence and writes a finding of fact and decision.

• You and the school district must follow the decision made by the impartial hearing officer.

• The impartial hearing is at no cost to you. You may have to pay your own attorney’s fees. The school district must provide you the names, addresses and telephone numbers of appropriate agencies and professionals who offer free or low-cost legal aid and other services.

• Your request for an impartial hearing must be made in writing to the Board of Education and must include your child’s name, address, school of attendance and a description of the facts relating to your concerns and a proposed solution.

• An appeal of the decision of the impartial hearing officer (IHO) must be made in writing to the State Review Officer within 30 calendar days after you and the school district receive the decision of the IHO. Procedures and time lines for submitting an appeal are specific and must be followed exactly to avoid delay or dismissal. The State Review Officer will make an independent decision after a complete review of the hearing record within 30 calendar days after receiving the request for review.

• The decision of the State Review Officer is final unless either you or the school district brings action in either State Supreme Court or Federal District Court. Such action must be filed within four months from the date of the State Review Officer’s decision.

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