The Nebraska Department of Education is contracted with mediation West to provide all services at no cost to parents or school districts. Mediation can be requested by anyone with a special education situation at any time.
The Nebraska Department of Education is contracted with mediation West to provide all services at no cost to parents or school districts. Mediation can be requested by anyone with a special education situation at any time.
Mediators specifically trained in special education situations will help families, school districts, and other interested parties discuss problems constructively. Mediators are skilled at managing dynamics and helping people discern what they really want. As with any mediation, all parties will need to agree to solutions and no agreement can be imposed upon parents or school districts. If there are agreements, the mediator put these solutions in writing for the parents and school district.
Types of Special Education Issues that have been Successfully Mediated Include:
- disagreements concerning the identification, evaluation, educational placement, or the provision of the free appropriate public education of learners with disabilities.
- Communication problems among interested parties.
- Strained relationships between family and the school district, trust issues, or disputes over assessments.
Before a joint mediation session is scheduled, the mediator will contact the parents to learn their perspective of the situation privately; s/he will also contact representatives of the school district for their perspective in a private conversation. Things shared with the mediator in those individual sessions will not be shared without the permission of those who shared them. This gives parents and educators the opportunity to fully explore the situation without worrying about how their views might impact the other parties’ perceptions or actions.
Experience has shown that those who mediate have a high probability of finding a resolution. If you can’t reach an agreement or reach only a partial agreement, attempting mediation does not take away any of the other due process rights or timelines that are available to you.
Click here to request mediation through our contract with the Nebraska Department of Education at no cost. Students must have or be in the process of obtaining an IEP in a Nebraska school district.
Click here to open an education-related case for a Nebraska student without an IEP or for a student attending a school outside the state of Nebraska and apply for reduced fees. A $39 fee and uploading income verification will be required.
Click here to open an education-related case for a Nebraska student without an IEP for a student attending a school outside the state of Nebraska without applying for reduced fees. A minimum deposit of $149 will be required. This cover costs through your individual session. An additional fee of $330 will be due prior to your joint session. You may also choose to pay the entire $479 upfront if you prefer.
