3 Ways Technology Can Safeguard Schools Against Due Process

March 1, 2016

Does Your District Have The Systems In Place To Prevent Your Next Due Process Claim?

Although parents have their children’s best interest in mind when disputing IEP services through mediation or a due process hearing, these disputes present significant consequences to students with disabilities and the schools that serve them.

As indicated in the report Rethinking Special Education Due Process, issued by the American Association of School Administrators (AASA), due process not only results in significant costs for school districts financially, but also has a profound affect on special education administrators, teachers, and related service staff, inducing stress and contributing to teacher attrition. In the report, the AASA surveyed a group of 200 superintendents from across the country in districts of varying size and demographic.  The results speak for themselves:

• 95% of respondents classified the stress experienced by special education teachers, administrators, and related service professionals as high or very high.

• 12% of respondents said that more than half of district special education personnel either left the district or requested a transfer out of special education after being involved in a due process hearing or subsequent litigation.
• The average legal fees for a district involved in a due process hearing were over $10,512.50, with compensation for parent’s attorney’s fees averaging over $19,241.38, and settlement costs averaging over $23,827.34.  The Council of School Attorneys estimates much higher average costs for all of these categories.

With the ongoing struggle of teacher retention in special education and districts already operating under tight budgets, it’s imperative that we find ways to prevent due process complaints and the associated stress and costs it presents to school districts.  Moreover, the time and resources spent battling the legal actions of parents is time that could be devoted to expanding services for students.

How Can Schools Prevent Due Process?

One of the most important steps schools can take in preventing due process is ensuring they have the right systems in place. With the right systems, schools can head off issues with service delivery before they escalate to due process complaints, ensuring students receive the appropriate level of care.  Here are three ways your systems can help you avoid due process:

• Interoperability:
  While all IEP systems claim to be built around ensuring compliance, if they are not agile and able to easily integrate with other systems, they are not doing their job.  Perhaps the most important feature to look for in an IEP system when it comes to avoiding due process is integration with other systems – what is known in the tech world as “interoperability.” As the emphasis in accountability moves from compliance to results, your IEP system’s ability to share information with the systems you are using to track and monitor student progress as well as service delivery is critical to not only ensuring compliance, but ensuring you have the data to backup your compliance with all students’ IEPs if a due process suit should come your way.

• Easy Service Tracking:
  Despite the fact that only 12-15% of an educator’s time goes into “planning” or building the IEP, with the remainder of their time devoted to delivering on the services prescribed in this document, districts spend a disproportionate amount of time focusing on and investing in the former. Ensuring your provider’s have access to simple, easy to use tools for documenting IEP services is one of the most sure fire ways you can prevent due process suits before they begin. And while service documentation may be adding to the “paperwork” problem faced by all service providers, the benefits far outweigh the costs of a due process claim, mentally and fiscally for everyone involved.

• Real-Time Reporting:
  Do you know where your next due process suit is coming from? For most district leaders, the answer to this question is no. Ensuring that your service tracking tools provide real-time visibility into service compliance and proactive alerts regarding students who may be falling behind may make the difference of tens of thousands of dollars (or more depending on your size) for your district’s special education program.

Accelify’s integrated solution empowers special education departments with the tools they need to streamline operations, gain complete program visibility, and maximize Medicaid reimbursement, all while lowering operational costs and ensuring program compliance. To learn more about how our solution can help you avoid Due Process claims, visit our website.