Services

Special Education Mediation

Working collaboratively to define a “Free and Appropriate Public Education” (FAPE) and to develop Specially Designed Instruction (SDI) can be challenging. Disagreements will occur while negotiating for the educational needs of a student. Mediation offers a context in which parties can identify innovative solutions to these disagreements.

During the process, the Mediator will:

Ensure that all participants can share their view of the situation,
Facilitate a conversation for creating a deeper shared understanding of the core issues contributing to the dispute, and
Help participants develop solutions that are best for the children and youth involved.

Sound Options Cadre, LLC serves as the Administrative Agent to OSPI to provide Special Education Mediation in Washington State. This resource is a federally mandated service under the IDEA and is available at no cost to families, educators, and service providers. Participation is voluntary for all parties.

Mediation can be requested by calling
206-842-2298 or 1-800-692-2540.

A Case Manager will work with you to clarify the appropriateness of your request for mediation, issues to be negotiated, participants to the process, and a date and time for meeting.

Mediation can be provided in person or in a virtual format. The following link provides a more detailed description of this process:
OSPI Special Education Mediation Flowchart

IEP Meeting Facilitation

The challenges faced by IEP Teams require collective engagement and new shared learning. They require deep, adaptive work in both an individual and group context. The quality of this work is often supported and enhanced by a Facilitator.

The role of Facilitator has been described in a number of ways. For many the role is seen as simply “the person running the meeting”. In our context, we define the role as significantly more.

For example, the role of a Facilitator is:

To hold a space for shared learning and shared decision-making,
To support everyone to do their best thinking,
To create an opportunity for all voices to be heard, and
To do for the IEP Team what it has not been able to do for itself.

Sound Options Group, under our contract with OSPI, will provide a Facilitator for IEP meetings. The Facilitator's role is to support the team to collaborate effectively as they determine FAPE for an individual student. While this is not a federally mandated service under the IDEA, it is offered at no cost to families and educators.

IEP Facilitation can be requested by calling
206-842-2298 or 1-800-692-2540.

A Case Manager will work with you to clarify the appropriateness of your request for IEP Facilitation, create an agenda for the meeting, explain the expectations of the facilitator, and help schedule a date and time for meeting.

IEP Facilitation can be provided in person or in a virtual format. The following link provides a more detailed description of this process:
OSPI Special Education IEP Facilitation Flowchart

Seattle Area:
Toll Free:

(206) 842-2298
(800) 692-2540