An Examination of Special Education Due Process Hearings

Abstract

Due process is a key dispute resolution feature approved by Congress in accordance with the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, whose goal is to facilitate resolution and minimize conflict. Nonetheless, despite 35 years of use, due process has become a difficult emotional and financial problem. Consequently, there is a need to evaluate due process and develop less adversarial resolution practices. The goal of the study herein is to place in perspective a descriptive analysis of 575 due process hearings that occurred in 41 states in 2005 to 2006 by analyzing the petitioner, disability, dispute, and outcome including hearings of specific learning disabilities (26%), autism (20%), and health impairments (15%). The most common sources of dispute were placement (25%) and Individualized Education Program and program appropriateness (24%). Parents initiated 85% of the hearings, but school districts prevailed in 59%. Interestingly, the majority of states lacked easy retrieval and consistency with reporting their own published hearings.

Analysis of Special Education Due Process Hearings in Texas

“…Consistent with other investigations (Blackwell & Blackwell, 2015;Cope-Kasten, 2013;Mueller & Carranza, 2011;Shuran & Roblyer, 2012), most hearings have multiple issues. The two major categories of issues in these hearings include programming (IEP and placement) and eligibility (evaluation and identification).…”

“…In general, the major categories of issues are relatively consistent across hearings. Mueller and Carranza (2011) found that the most common issues were placement (25%) and IEP and program appropriateness (24%). Shuran and Roblyer (2012) found that FAPE was the most frequent issue (78.6%), and 50% of hearings had multiple issues.…”

“…Mueller and Carranza (2011) found the most frequent disability categories to be learning disability, autism, and health impairments. Shuran and Roblyer (2012) noted autism, low-incidence disabilities, multiple disabilities, and learning disability to be the most common disabilities in hearings.…”

A Longitudinal Study of Special Education Due Process Hearings in Massachusetts

“…The Newcomer and Zirkel (1999) study had an unexpected finding in that students with multiple disabilities were involved in 17% of the hearings in their sample, as compared with these students representing only 1.9% of the overall population of students receiving special education services. This finding was not supported by the Mueller and Carranza (2011) study.…”

“…Over the past 15 years, research on due process hearings has addressed the disability characteristics of children at the center of the disputes, the issues addressed during the hearings, the prevailing parties, and the extent to which legal and lay representation was utilized by the disputing parties. Regarding the characteristics of children involved in due process hearings, Mueller and Carranza (2011) reported that students with specific learning disabilities and students with autism spectrum disorders were at issue in just under half of 575 due process hearings held in 41 states. Students categorized as having other health impairments, emotional disturbance, or intellectual disabilities were the next most frequently occurring groups in the hearings.…”