Mediation is an opportunity for the district administrator (in many cases the special-education director) to sit down with a family and negotiate in the presence of a mediator. Typically, the mediator is an administrative law judge (ALJ).  And the mediation usually takes place at the school district office.

From our point of view, the mediation should not be stressful. However, we say that from the point of view of people who do mediations on a regular basis.

We understand that it may still feel stressful for you.

We have developed some materials to help families understand what happens during a mediation.