Dispute Resolution Under the Idea: Understanding, Avoiding, and Managing Special Education Disputes

The only book on the market focused solely and comprehensively on the special education dispute resolution system, offering a jargon-free, step-by-step practical guide for all parties at each stage of the process, from parent advocates to school and district administrators to school counselors and psychologists.

Mitchell L. Yell, PhD, is the Fred and Francis Lester Palmetto Chair in Teacher Education and a Professor in Special Education at the University of South Carolina. His professional interests include special education law, IEP development, progress monitoring, and parent involvement in special education. Dr. Yell has published 136 journal articles, 6 textbooks, 36 book chapters, and has conducted numerous workshops on various aspects of special education law, classroom management, and progress monitoring. His textbook, Special Education and the Law, is in its 5th edition. He co-authored the text Developing Educationally Meaningful and Legally Sound IEPs. Dr. Bateman and Dr. Yell are the editors of the Special Education Law, Policy, and Practice series published by Rowman & Littlefield. In 2020, he was awarded the Researcher of the Year from the Council for Exceptional Children. Dr. Yell also serves as a State-level due process review officer (SRO) in South Carolina and is on the Board of Directors of the Council for Exceptional Children. Prior to working in higher education, Dr. Yell was a special education teacher in Minnesota for 12 years. David F. Bateman, PhD, is a professor at Shippensburg University in the Department of Educational Leadership and Special Education where he teaches courses on special education law, assessment, and facilitating inclusion. He is also a senior consultant at the American Institutes for Research. He is a former due process hearing officer for Pennsylvania where is was involved with 580 hearings. He uses his knowledge of litigation relating to special education to assist school districts in providing appropriate supports for students with disabilities. His latest area of research has been on the role of principals in special education. He has been a classroom teacher of students with learning disabilities, behavior disorders, intellectual disability, and hearing impairments, and a building administrator for summer programs. He has recently co-authored the following books: A Principal’s Guide to Special Education, A Teacher’s Guide to Special Education, Charting the Course: Special Education in Charter Schools, Current Trends and Legal Issues in Special Education, and Developing Educationally Meaningful and Legally Sound IEPs. Drs. Yell and Bateman are the editors of the Special Education Law, Policy, and Practice series published by Rowman & Littlefield. Jonas Dorego, Med, is a retired Compliance Officer for the Guam Department of Education. Ms. Dorego has worked as a compliance officer for the last 20 years managing the Guam Department of Education’s General Supervision System, including managing special education disputes. Her experience includes providing direct technical assistance to school teams on how to develop legally defensible IEPs, preparing school administrators on how to avoid special education disputes with parents, assisting the DOE on how to resolve disputes without going to hearing, preparing school teams to prepare for the actual hearing, and how to implement hearing outcomes.