(a) The department shall ensure that procedures are established and implemented to allow parties to resolve a dispute on matters related to a proposal or a refusal to initiate or change the identification, evaluation, or educational placement of a child with a disability, or the provision of a FAPE to the child, through a mediation process.
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 49-10-605

  • Child with a disability: means a child between three (3) and twenty-one (21) years of age, both inclusive, who has been evaluated and determined as having a state-identified disability in accordance with the rules and regulations of the state board of education or as having one (1) or more of the following disabilities, as defined in 34 C. See Tennessee Code 49-10-102
  • Department: means the department of education. See Tennessee Code 49-10-102
  • FAPE: means a free appropriate public education in compliance with the IDEA. See Tennessee Code 49-10-102
  • IDEA: means the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ( Tennessee Code 49-10-102
  • Special education: means specially designed instruction, at no cost to the parents, to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability, including instruction conducted in the classroom, home, hospitals, institutions, and other settings, and instruction in physical education. See Tennessee Code 49-10-102
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) In addition to the requirements set forth in the IDEA, the procedures must ensure that the mediation process:

(1) Is voluntary on the part of the parties;
(2) Is not used to deny or delay a parent’s right to a due process hearing or to deny any other rights afforded under state or federal law; and
(3) Is conducted by a qualified and impartial mediator who is trained in effective mediation techniques.
(c) All special education mediations shall be conducted by mediators who have been trained in accordance with Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 31 requirements and who are employed by or contracted by the secretary of state.
(d) The mediators who conduct special education mediations shall receive legal training in special education law.
(e) All parties shall participate in mediation in good faith.
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