Checklist: Preparing for Dispute Resolution

If you have a dispute with your child’s school, it’s important to understand and think through your options.

Preparing for Mediation

Where and when will the meeting or mediation take place?
Do I have all my child’s important records?
Are these records organized?
What are my goals for the meeting or mediation?
What are the points I want to make? Do I have objective data backing me up?
How might the school respond to my points?
Do I know what the law says about my dispute?
Will I make an opening statement? (Some mediations start with this. Contact the mediator of your session if you’re unsure.)
Will I bring someone like a lawyer, an education advocate, or even just a friend?
What does the school want? What are the school’s interests?
What offers will I consider? What offers will I reject? Are there “win-win” options?
What’s my best option if we don’t reach an agreement?
After the meeting, will I send the school a letter about what was discussed? (This isn’t required, but it can be helpful to document what happened at the session.)

Am I filing within two years of the problem? (If not, the complaint might not be allowed.)
Do I need a lawyer or education advocate?
Have I looked at my state’s rules about due process complaints?
Did I put my complaint into writing (rather than just calling, for example)?
Does my complaint have my child’s name, address, and school information?
Does my complaint have my name, address, and contact information?
Did I sign the complaint?
Does my complaint describe the dispute and include facts about it?
Does my complaint have a proposed solution?
Have I included all issues in the complaint? (If it’s not in the complaint, it might not be allowed later at the due process hearing.)
Have I provided a copy to the school district and to the state department of education?

Where will the hearing take place? When? Who is the hearing officer?
Do I need a lawyer or an education advocate? Will the school have a lawyer?
Have I looked at my state’s rules about due process hearings?
Do I want to have the hearing open to the public?
Do I want my child to come to the hearing?
What’s my legal argument for winning? What do I need to prove to win?
What evidence will my lawyer or advocate present at the hearing?
Do I have all my child’s important documents, such as evaluations and test results? Do I have all letters and emails with the school?
Are these records organized? Do I have a handy list of all the records?
What witnesses will my lawyer or advocate call at the hearing? Have the witnesses been notified? (State rules require this.)
Do all witnesses know how to get to the hearing and when?
What questions will be asked of each witness?
In what order will witnesses be called?
Is my attorney or advocate ready to give the school district and hearing officer a list of all possible witnesses and evidence at least five days before the hearing?
Has the attorney or advocate looked at the list of witnesses and evidence from the school district? Are we prepared to respond? Are we ready to question these witnesses?
Have opening and closing statements been prepared?

Am I filing a within one year of the problem? (If not, the complaint might not be allowed.)
Do I need help from a lawyer or education advocate?
Have I looked at my state’s rules about state complaints?
Have I put my complaint into writing (rather than just calling, for example)?
Does the complaint have a statement that the school district violated the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)?
Does the complaint include facts that support the violation of IDEA?
Does my complaint have my child’s name, address, and school information?
Does my complaint have my name, address, and contact information?
Did I sign the complaint?
Does my complaint have a proposed solution?
Have I provided a copy to the school district and to the state department of education?