The Massachusetts Bureau of Special Education Appeals has released its statistics for its fiscal 2011 year. From July 1, 2010 until June 31, 2011 the BSEA received 8,348 rejected IEPs, an increase of 473 over the past year.
The statistics reveal that the majority of rejected IEPs resulted in a resolution long before a hearing decision was issued, and if the dispute reached the hearing stage the school district was likely to prevail. 809 cases voluntarily participated in mediation and 86% ended in a legally binding agreement. 544 parties requested hearings, but the vast majority of disputes were resolved before a decision was issued. Only 35 hearing decisions were issued and the school district prevailed outright in 63% of the time, the parents prevailed in 20% of the decisions, and 17% of the time mixed relief was granted.
School districts were represented by counsel 100% of the time. Of the 22 cases where the school districts fully prevailed, parents were represented by an attorney in 9 cases (40% of the time). Of the 7 cases where parents fully prevailed, parents were represented by counsel in 5 cases (71% of the time). These statistics highlight the importance working with a special education lawyer when pursuing a due process claim.
Read the entire report here.
If you are considering filing a due process request with the Massachusetts Board of Special Education Appeals, contact the North Shore special education Law Office of Lillian E. Wong today.
BSEA Releases 2011 Statistics