Legal Issues for Gifted

Dispute Resolution Strategies

When issues regarding the education of a child cannot be resolved by parents and schools, dispute resolution strategies should be used. These strategies must begin at the lowest level. Negotiation, mediation, and due process are alternative avenues to litigation in resolving disputes.

Negotiation is an informed process by which both parties can discuss a problem to reach a compromise. Everyone involved should know the state laws and rules and regulations as well as local policies regarding gifted education. The process should begin at the level at which the dispute arose, which is usually with the classroom teacher. If negotiations are not successful at this level, then parents should meet with others up the administrative ladder—the principal, superintendent, and school board. Detailed notes should be kept of all correspondence and meetings. Mediation is the next step, if the issue(s) cannot be negotiated.

Mediation is a nonadversarial, voluntary process in which disputing parties can meet with an impartial, third-party facilitator. There are a number of advantages to mediation, which include reduced cost, expeditious processes, improved relationships, collaborative resolutions, confidentiality, empowerment of participants, and allowances for flexibility. A written mediation argument should be signed by both parties. If the issues can not be resolved through mediation, the next step is due process.

An aggrieved party has the opportunity to be heard by an impartial hearing officer during due process. There are several common requirements across the 16 states offering due process for the gifted:

• A notice to all parties that a hearing has been scheduled.
• Both parties can present evidence, have witnesses, and have oral arguments.
• Counsel may be present.
• Written and oral records of the proceedings are kept.
• The hearing officer writes a decision based on the arguments and evidence presented.

The last resort in dispute resolution is litigation, which is costly in time and money. Tuition reimbursement, early entrance, appropriate programming, twice exceptional, admissions, and personnel issues have all been addressed in court cases.

Seminal Cases

The federal courts become involved when issues pertaining to gifted education involve constitutional or statutory challenges. In Student Doe v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (1984) and Student Roe v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (1987), the use of minimum cutoff scores for admission into gifted programs was challenged. The courts in both cases found that minimum cutoff scores could be reasonably used for such purposes and did not violate the equal protection or due process clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Broadley v. Board of Education of the City of New Meridian (1994) and Centennial School District v. Department of Education (1988) are two seminal cases regarding gifted students with contradictory outcomes that reached the state high courts of Connecticut and Pennsylvania, respectively. Subsequent courts have relied on the rulings from these two cases in reaching decisions.

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