Mediating at the Maryland Office of Administrative Hearings

Consortium for Appropriate Dispute Resolution (CADRE)

Mediating at the Maryland Office of Administrative Hearings

Judith Finn Plymyer

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I enter a conference room in a busy, crowded local Board of Education building. I see a nervous couple uncomfortably seated at two rectangular tables shoved together. Minutes late, a public school administrator, a classroom teacher, a speech/language therapist, and a Special Education coordinator join us, choosing the chairs across from the couple who are the child’s parents. I introduce myself to the participants, ascertaining gratefully, I concede, that no attorneys will be joining us. After asking everyone to regroup in a more circular pattern, we begin with introductions.

I explain the mediation process in a Special Education dispute, looking into the eyes of each participant with warmth and empathy. I include the fact that I am a parent of a college student who received two years of speech and language services in a public elementary school in a local county. We go on to read and sign an agreement to mediate and then get to work, sharing facts, concerns, suggestions, and expectations. Often, this is the first time a parent has had the full attention of the school staff and vice versa. The parent can share his/her unique experiences and the staff can respond and explain what is possible and what is not. Happily, the mediation process usually results in a settlement agreement.

I am an administrative law judge at the Maryland Office of Administrative Hearings and I am also a trained mediator. We began the mediation program in order to manage the high volume of hearing requests in the special education area. Since then, federal law mandates that mediation be offered as an alternative dispute resolution process.

For FY 2003, we received 425 special education mediation requests. 298 cases actually went to mediation and 193 of those settled for an agreement rate of 65%. Mediation is available in other types of cases, in addition to Special Education cases, by request of the parties or upon the suggestion of the administrative law judge. Mediation is particularly useful in resolving or narrowing the issues in complex multi-party cases such as environmental permitting.

All OAH administrative law judges, staff attorneys and paralegals are trained mediators and many find it very rewarding to mediate cases. While some OAH mediators are more successful than others, and not all of us enjoy mediation, the OAH strongly supports mediation. To that end, for several years, the OAH has offered a basic 40-hour mediation course and is now offering a shorter course in advanced mediation, all with the assistance of MACRO grants.

Contact ALJ Laurie Bennett for more information about OAH’s mediation program, 410-229-4210. This article appeared in the December 2003 issue of MACROSCOPE.
www.courts.state.md.us/macro

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CADRE Resources Home CADRE Continuum Literature Database Español Resources For Mediators IDEA & Legal Locate Professionals Locate Trainers Participating in Mediation Research & Evaluation Systems Design Training Resources CADRE Products State Information Diversity Calendar Archive This document does not offer formal policy guidance from the Office of Special Education Programs at the United States Department of Education. Subscribe to The CADRE Caucus WHAT'S CADRE CAUCUS? This site is funded by: Subscribe to CADRE's Practitioner List Serve WHAT'S PRACTITIONER LIST SERVE? Mediating at the Maryland Office of Administrative Hearings Judith Finn Plymyer Email this Print this I enter a conference room in a busy, crowded local Board of Education building. I see a nervous couple uncomfortably seated at two rectangular tables shoved together. Minutes late, a public school administrator, a classroom teacher, a speech/language therapist, and a Special Education coordinator join us, choosing the chairs across from the couple who are the child’s parents. I introduce myself to the participants, ascertaining gratefully, I concede, that no attorneys will be joining us. After asking everyone to regroup in a more circular pattern, we begin with introductions. I explain the mediation process in a Special Education dispute, looking into the eyes of each participant with warmth and empathy. I include the fact that I am a parent of a college student who received two years of speech and language services in a public elementary school in a local county. We go on to read and sign an agreement to mediate and then get to work, sharing facts, concerns, suggestions, and expectations. Often, this is the first time a parent has had the full attention of the school staff and vice versa. The parent can share his/her unique experiences and the staff can respond and explain what is possible and what is not. Happily, the mediation process usually results in a settlement agreement. I am an administrative law judge at the Maryland Office of Administrative Hearings and I am also a trained mediator. We began the mediation program in order to manage the high volume of hearing requests in the special education area. Since then, federal law mandates that mediation be offered as an alternative dispute resolution process. For FY 2003, we received 425 special education mediation requests. 298 cases actually went to mediation and 193 of those settled for an agreement rate of 65%. Mediation is available in other types of cases, in addition to Special Education cases, by request of the parties or upon the suggestion of the administrative law judge. Mediation is particularly useful in resolving or narrowing the issues in complex multi-party cases such as environmental permitting. All OAH administrative law judges, staff attorneys and paralegals are trained mediators and many find it very rewarding to mediate cases. While some OAH mediators are more successful than others, and not all of us enjoy mediation, the OAH strongly supports mediation. To that end, for several years, the OAH has offered a basic 40-hour mediation course and is now offering a shorter course in advanced mediation, all with the assistance of MACRO grants. Contact ALJ Laurie Bennett for more information about OAH’s mediation program, 410-229-4210. This article appeared in the December 2003 issue of MACROSCOPE. www.courts.state.md.us/macro

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Mediating at the Maryland Office of Administrative Hearings