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Michael Maday Session 1.4 - Presentation.ppt

Presenter:

Michael Maday, Harrison School District #2, Colorado Springs, CO

Special Education Director Designees fulfill a unique role in IEP/IFSP meetings and in preparation for these meetings. Designees often assume a dual role in this process. The designee has a substantive role in evaluating students and providing information necessary to determining handicapping condition and service delivery. The Designee also usually chairs/facilitates the IEP/IFSP meeting and is therefore often in the role of mediating sometimes conflicting interests between participants in these important meetings. This role is unique. While the Designee may be in a facilitator/mediator role, they also have a vested interest in the outcome of the meeting. They are seldom a disinterested third party as is the case in the common definition of mediator. But if the Designee can apply mediation skills to these meetings IEP/IFSPs are more likely to be supported by all participants. When this happens, collaboration between educators, parents and community professionals involved with students is much more likely to occur. Educational services for students are improved and the demand for due process procedures is reduced. This session will focus on defining this unique role and giving participants a theory base and skills to use to apply this role effectively.