1. SEAC Due Process Report for SY 14-15 & SY 15-16
April 7, 2017

2. Purpose of Annual Review
Requirement of State Advisory Panels under IDEA to review due process hearing decisions
Annual Report a priority activity for SEAC since 2005
Began with move from independent hearing officers to DCCA
Effort to reduce high incidence of formal dispute resolution
Proactive preference for early dispute resolution to save money and relationships
Today’s report is the 12th in a row.

3. Center for Appropriate Dispute Resolution (CADRE)

4. CADRE Continuum: Stages of Conflict Resolution

5. Hawaii’s Continuum Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4 Stage 5 Prevention
Disagreement
Conflict
Procedural Safeguards
Legal Review
Parent engagement?
Stakeholder training?
Conciliation
Parent-to-Parent
(LDAH, SPIN, CCCs, HFAA)
Facilitated IEPs?
Mediation Prior to Hearing Request
Mediation Related to Hearing Request
Written Complaint
Resolution Session
Due Process
Hearing Requests & Hearings
State Civil Court Review
9th Circuit Court Review

6. Formal Dispute Utilization SY14-15 and SY15-16
THE BULK OF DUE PROCESS IS HEARING REQUESTS
OF THE 23 WRITTEN COMPLAINTS FILED, ONLY 10 HAD WRITTEN REPORTS.
ONLY FIVE MEDIATIONS WERE CONDUCTED.

7. Resolution of SY 2014-15 Hearing Requests
70 HR
28 Resolution Agreements
20 Withdrawn/
Dismissed
15 Hearing Decisions
(1 Expedited)
7 Requests unaccounted for
WHEN FAMILIES FILE A DUE PROCESS REQUEST, THEY MUST EITHER:
- ATTEND A RESOLUTION SESSION
- ENTER INTO MEDIATION
BECAUSE SEAC NO LONGER RECEIVES A LOG FROM DOE DESCRIBING THE DISPOSITION OF THE HEARING REQUESTS, WE DON’T KNOW HOW ALL OF THE REQUESTS WERE RESOLVED.

8. Resolution of SY 2015-16 Hearing Requests
87 HR
55 Resolution Agreements
11 Hearing Decisions
21 Requests unaccounted for
WHEN FAMILIES FILE A DUE PROCESS REQUEST, THEY MUST EITHER:
- ATTEND A RESOLUTION SESSION
- ENTER INTO MEDIATION
BECAUSE SEAC NO LONGER RECEIVES A LOG FROM DOE DESCRIBING THE DISPOSITION OF THE HEARING REQUESTS, WE DON’T KNOW HOW ALL OF THE REQUESTS WERE RESOLVED.

9. Issues Presented in Due Process Hearings
TYPE OF ISSUE
SY 14-15
SY 15-16
IEP adequacy or timeliness 7 4
Extended year services (ESY) 6
Private school reimbursement 3
Behavioral support
Evaluations 5 1
Related services
Parent/team member participation
Least Restrictive Environment/LRE 2
Compensatory education
Bullying/Discipline
Other (Stay Put, Eligibility)

10. Prevailing Parties 5 10 SY14-15 SY15-16 4 7 Student Student DOE DOE
INITIALLY DOE PREVAILED IN 9 HEARING DECISIONS. ONE WAS OVERTURNED ON APPEAL. 4 5 10 7
SY14-15
SY15-16

11. Hearing Extensions
FILE REQUEST
RESOLUTION SESSION (WITHIN 15 DAYS)
DUE PROCESS HEARING NO AGREEMENT AFTER 30 DAYS)
DUE PROCESS DECISION (45 DAYS FROM START OF HEARING)
THE TIMELINE FOR HEARINGS IN IDEA IS 75 DAYS:
30 DAYS FOR RESOLUTION PROCESS
45 DAYS FOR HEARING AND DECISION
NO HEARINGS WERE CONDUCTED WITHIN THIS TIMELINE
EXTENSIONS ARE GRANTED “FOR GOOD CAUSE” BY THE HEARING OFFICER, BUT IT IS NOT CLEAR WHY SO MANY EXTENSIONS ARE NECESSARY.
All but one of the hearings involved extensions beyond the 75 day timeline.

12. Trends in Hawaii Data: 10 Yrs. of Requests/Decisions

13. Trends in Hawaii data: 10 years % Requests Resulting in Hearings
NO DATA ON SETTLEMENTS.

14. Trends in Hawaii data: 10 years Prevailing Party
MANY FEWER HEARINGS. DOE PREVAILING THE MAJORITY OF TIME FOR LAST FEW YEARS.

15. Trends in Hawaii data: 10 years Resolution Session Agreement Rate
SCHOOL
YEAR
# RESOLUTION SESSIONS
# OF AGREEMENTS
% OF AGREEMENTS
128 8 6%
105 42
40%
114 41
36%
139 50
131 62
47% 98 49
50% 57 25
43% 56 9
16% 54 28
52% 78 55
70.5%

16. COMPARISON TO NATIONAL DATA: All Complaints (PER 10K SPED STUDENTS)
Dispute Resolution
Method
National
Average
SY 14-15
Hawaii
SY 13-14
SY 15-16
Written
Complaint
7.5
5.2
6.3
7.3
Hearing
Request
21.8
41.1
36.7
45.3
Hearings
Held
1.2
7.8
5.7
Mediation
9.2
2.6
1.6
0.5
BASED ON TABLE 7 OF IDEA DATA REPORTS – HEARINGS STILL PENDING WHEN FILED.

17. Missing Data ?
Costs involved in due process: attorney’s fees, private school placements, reimbursement for related services, etc. Reasons for steep decline in hearing requests and hearing decisions. Information on where formal dispute resolution is occurring. ? ?

18. Areas to Explore?
Whether families are having difficulty finding affordable and available legal representation. What key stakeholders (parents, A.G., plaintiff attorneys, DESs, Hearing Officers) see as barriers to early conflict resolution. Why mediation is so underutilized