Dive Brief:
- The number of special education due process complaints filed nationally rose significantly — by 16.4% — from the 2021-22 to the 2022-23 school year. However, the majority of the special education legal actions in 2022-23 — 65.6% — came from one state, New York, according to a newly released analysis by the Center for Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Special Education.
- Also between the two school years, written state complaints increased by a third, 32.4%, according to CADRE, a federal technical assistance center that works to prevent and resolve special education disputes at the local and state levels.
- While CADRE's analysis does not delve into why these formal dispute resolution activities are on the rise, experts in the field say severe special education teacher shortages and increases in school-family conflicts may be contributing factors.
Dive Insight:
The lack of trained special educators and specialized service personnel — such as counselors, psychologists and therapists — can cause a backlog of evaluations and services for students with disabilities or lead to noncompliance with a student's individualized education program. Local and state school systems are trying to build up this workforce through apprenticeship programs and grow-your-own programs.
New York accounts for 22,538 out of the 34,339 due process complaints filed nationwide in 2022-23. Leaving out that state, the rise in due process complaints filed year over year is 4.5% nationally, according to CADRE. New York historically has had high rates of due process complaints.
Due process complaints are requests by parents or families that their case be heard by an administrative hearing officer.
Of the due process complaints filed in 2022-23, excluding New York, 73.8% were withdrawn, dismissed or resolved — roughly the same rate as in the year before.
Written state complaints involve a state-led investigation into a special education-related concern brought forward by anyone. CADRE's data shows the number of written state complaints that led to reports issued with findings — 60% for 2022-23 — is near the previous nine-year average of 60.6%. Most (88.5%) of the state complaint investigations in 2022-23 were completed within the 60-day timeline.
Data from CADRE's analysis came from the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs in December.
CADRE promotes early dispute resolution approaches, such as voluntary mediation, which can reduce contentious and costly litigation to address disagreements between schools and families. Mediations also typically result in stronger compliance with agreements, since school districts and families collaborate in crafting an agreement rather than being subject to a decision from a hearing officer or other third party.
CADRE's data shows mediation requests also increased from the 2021-22 to the 2022-23 school years, with 11,973 mediation requests made in 2022-23 — the most reported in a decade. Both mediations held and mediation agreements reached increased in 2022-23 compared to the year before.
Overall, the volume of written state complaints, due process complaints filed, and mediations has increased by 71.6% from the 2012-13 school year to 2022-23. This increased activity can strain state and local special education offices with the additional volume of work, said Melanie Reese, director of CADRE.
Because of the uptick in formal dispute resolution activities — and anecdotal evidence of increases in school-family special education conflicts — CADRE has begun working with states to provide more training and resources to help school districts with conflict management, early dispute resolution and improving school-family relationships, Reese said.
"Early dispute resolution, it's well worth the energy, it's well worth the money, it's well worth the time," said Reese. Additionally, everyday activities that promote positive school-home communications can help reduce formal disputes in special education, she said. These can include involving parents in decisions and providing teacher training for IEP development and execution.
"Healthy family-educator relationships, it matters to student outcomes," Reese said.
