Dispute Resolution Glossary

Allegation of IDEA violation: A statement describing how a district/program has violated the IDEA.
Compensatory services: Services provided at a later date to make up for the lack of appropriate services at an earlier time.
Complainant: The person or organization filing the complaint.
Continuing violation: A continuing violation is based on actions that occur, in part, within the last year but the action is part of repeated conduct or a series of acts going back further. (Continuing violations are not discrete acts, such as IEP team decisions or refusals to evaluate or pay for an independent evaluation more than one year ago.)
Education Specialist: An ODE employee or contractor with special education expertise who may assist an investigator with a complaint investigation.
Evidence: Documents, objects, pictures and verbal statements.
FAPE: A free appropriate public education, one of the key parts of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
Final order: ODE's findings of fact, conclusions and final order (including corrective action, if necessary) based on the allegations in the complaint.
IDEA: The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
Investigator: The person(s) assigned by ODE to do conduct the investigation related to the allegations. The investigator may be an ODE employee or contractor.
Mediation: A voluntary process in which an impartial third-party mediator assists and facilitates the complainant and district/program in reaching a mutually acceptable resolution of the dispute.
ODE: The Oregon Department of Education.
OSEP: Office of Special Education Programs for the U.S. Department of Education.
Reimbursement: Paying back.
SEA: The state educational agency. ODE is the SEA for Oregon.