Minnesota Department of Education (MDE)

Mediation - Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) for Special Education

A neutral third person works with opposing sides of a dispute to help reach an agreement or settlement

Description

Mediators are third parties that can help opposing sides of an argument or dispute by facilitating discussions and working with the parties to come to a decision. The mediation service called Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is used for resolving special education conflicts.

If problems cannot be resolved by meeting with educators in your district, the Department of Education offers:

• Mediation - impartial mediator works with families and education teams
• Facilitated team meetings - impartial facilitator leads a team meeting to promote effective communication and assist in developing an Individualized Education Plan (IEP)

Features

• Area Served by County
  • Aitkin County
  • Anoka County
  • Becker County
  • Beltrami County
  • Benton County
  • Big Stone County
  • Blue Earth County
  • Brown County
  • Carlton County
  • Carver County
  • Cass County
  • Chippewa County
  • Chisago County
  • Clay County
  • Clearwater County
  • Cook County
  • Cottonwood County
  • Crow Wing County
  • Dakota County
  • Dodge County
  • Douglas County
  • Faribault County
  • Fillmore County
  • Freeborn County
  • Goodhue County
  • Grant County
  • Hennepin County
  • Houston County
  • Hubbard County
  • Isanti County
  • Itasca County
  • Jackson County
  • Kanabec County
  • Kandiyohi County
  • Kittson County
  • Koochiching County
  • Lac qui Parle County
  • Lake County
  • Lake of the Woods County
  • Le Sueur County
  • Lincoln County
  • Lyon County
  • Mahnomen County
  • Marshall County
  • Martin County
  • McLeod County
  • Meeker County
  • Mille Lacs County
  • Morrison County
  • Mower County
  • Murray County
  • Nicollet County
  • Nobles County
  • Norman County
  • Olmsted County
  • Otter Tail County
  • Pennington County
  • Pine County
  • Pipestone County
  • Polk County
  • Pope County
  • Ramsey County
  • Red Lake County
  • Redwood County
  • Renville County
  • Rice County
  • Rock County
  • Roseau County
  • Scott County
  • Sherburne County
  • Sibley County
  • St. Louis County
  • Statewide
  • Stearns County
  • Steele County
  • Stevens County
  • Swift County
  • Todd County
  • Traverse County
  • Wabasha County
  • Wadena County
  • Waseca County
  • Washington County
  • Watonwan County
  • Wilkin County
  • Winona County
  • Wright County
  • Yellow Medicine County

• Payment
  • Free / no cost to everyone

• Specialization
  • Children and/or youth with disabilities
  • Family

Eligibility

If you have held more than one meeting and problems have not been resolved, consider mediation and consulting with advocates who are trained in special education processes.

Application Instructions

Call if you have questions about starting the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) process or download the request for mediation form.

Fee

There is no fee for mediation or plan facilitation.