UC Irvine Extension Offers New Course on Dispute Resolution in Special Education

Neutral Mediators Can Create Optimal Solutions for Orange County’s 50,000 Children with Disabilities

IRVINE, Calif. – July 13, 2006 – With approximately 50,000 children with disabilities in Orange County’s schools, some of the overriding concerns of parents and school district personnel are the increasing fiscal and emotional costs of litigation surrounding special education matters. In response to these important issues, UC Irvine Extension is offering a new course entitled, “Dispute Resolution in Special Education.”  The course, which will take place Fridays and Saturdays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. from August 4 through August 12, is designed to educate parents, school district personnel and special education advocates in the development of alternative solutions that create positive outcomes as opposed to embroilment in adversarial litigious proceedings.

“Our objective is to equip parents, teachers, and administrators with communication and conflict resolution techniques that can be very effective when applied to special education disputes,” said Beverly Moss-Jones, assistant director of the Business, Management and Legal programs at UC Irvine Extension.

According to the Orange County Department of Education, there are approximately 500,000 students with disabilities in California, with 50,000 located in Orange County. In addition, approximately 10 percent of the students that attend public schools in the United Sates have a recognized disability as defined in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

“Dispute Resolution in Special Education” will provide attendees with an understanding of special education law, skills in conflict resolution and the importance of maintaining a positive collaborative relationship between parents and school officials. The course will also allow students to participate in simulations specific to Individual Education Program (IEP) meetings, mediations, settlement conferences and resolution sessions to practice oral and written communication skills. Because today’s schools are challenged with providing education services for students with disabilities from birth to 22 years of age, the relationship between parents, teachers and administrators is important to the child’s educational success. Thus, the course aims to teach parents and education leaders how they can benefit from learning to examine conflict and develop solutions in a cooperative effort.

“There are a number of options available to resolve special education matters between parents and education leaders other than ‘I’ll see you in court,’” said Richard Erhard, the instructor of the UC Irvine Extension course who has been involved in special education dispute resolution since 1989. “The fiscal cost, and more importantly the emotional cost, of being dragged through litigation are painful for everyone involved. Alternative dispute resolution offers a mechanism to deal with conflict in a manner where the parties retain the control of their own interests, rather than surrendering their control to a third party decision maker. I have yet to see a case resolved through a hearing where the parties weren’t back at the table within a year with the same or similar issues. Alternative dispute resolution will more likely lead to a durable agreement.”

Erhard, a seasoned special education administrator, with expertise in special education law and its impact on public school policy and who incorporates the practice of alternative dispute resolution in special education on a daily basis, designed the “Dispute Resolution in Special Education” course content under the requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). As the special education director and Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA) administrator for the Santa Ana Unified School District, he oversees programs for the district’s 6,000 students in special education. Erhard has been working with the Special Education Alliance in Orange County for the past year on the development of Alternative Dispute Resolution training for parents and school district personnel and has recently been nominated to sit on the Review Committee of the Alliance.

The two-week UC Irvine Extension course is open to the public and begins August 4 on the UC Irvine campus. The cost for the program is $350. To register for the course or for more information, visit www.extension.uci.edu or call (949) 824-5414.

About UC Irvine Extension

As the continuing education arm of UCI, UC Irvine Extension is dedicated to providing a university-level learning experience for students, offering thousands of exciting courses and programs to local, regional, and global constituencies. UC Irvine Extension offers a rich array of academic and community programs to support a diverse audience, from a wide selection of academic programs to numerous campus activities. For more information, please visit www.extension.uci.edu.

About the University of California, Irvine

The University of California, Irvine is a top-ranked university dedicated to research, scholarship and community service. Founded in 1965, UCI is among the fastest-growing University of California campuses, with more than 24,000 undergraduate and graduate students and about 1,400 faculty members. The second-largest employer in dynamic Orange County, UCI contributes an annual economic impact of $3.3 billion. For more UCI news, visit www.today.uci.edu.