Using Due Process Opinions as an Opportunity to Improve Educational Practice

Article: There is little question that today’s society is a litigious one, and few professions can escape the realities of such. Although there is no mandate for national data collection on special education due process hearings (Ahearn, 2002), Chambers, Harr, and Dhanani (2003) estimate that more than 9,000 requests for dispute resolution are made per year. The hearings that result from unresolved disputes between parents and school district personnel are often stressful (Lombardi & Ludlow, 2004; O’Shea, Bateman, Algozzine, & O’Shea, 2004), and the outcomes are frequently disappointing to both parties (Mills & Duff-Mallams, 2004; Vitello, 1990). In this article, we attempt to broaden discussion about due process by pointing out potential benefits frequently overlooked in practice and in the professional literature. We begin by offering a redacted or summarized version of a due process case as example. We present reasons why education professionals should view due process hearings as instructive, and then we follow up with suggestions about how educators can best use legal reviews of decision summaries.