GAO-03-897, Special Education: Numbers of Formal Disputes Are Generally Low and States Are Using Mediation and Other Strategies to Resolve Conflicts

September 2003 Special Education: Numbers of Formal Disputes Are Generally Low and States Are Using Mediation and Other Strategies to Resolve Conflicts GAO-03-897 Officials in four states told GAO that disagreements usually arose between parents and school districts over fundamental issues of identifying students' needs for special education, developing and implementing their individualized education programs, and determining the appropriate education setting.While national data on disputes are limited and inexact, the available information showed that formal dispute resolution activity, as measured by the number of due process hearings, state complaints, and mediations, was generally low. According to the . . .