ODR Stakeholder Council Meeting December 12, 2013 Meeting Minutes Office for Dispute Resolution 6340 Flank Drive Harrisburg, PA 17112
Members in Attendance (in person) None Members in Attendance (via conference call) Janice Estabrook, Gifted Community Representative (PAGE) Jane Williams (substitute for Andrew Faust, Esquire, School District Attorney) Jill Hrinda-Patten, Parent Advocate Representative (Mission Empower) Debbie Leggens, Parent Advocate Representative (The ARC of Westmoreland County) Kay Lipsitz, Parent Education Network (PEN) Tanya Alvarado (substitute for Dennis McAndrews, Esquire, Parent Attorney) Robyn Oplinger, Parent Advocate Representative (DRN) Dr. Gina Scala, Higher Education Representative (CASE) Dr. Michael Thew, Intermediate Unit Representative (PAIU) ODR Representatives Kerry Smith, ODR Director Heather Strausbaugh, ODR Assistant Members not in Attendance Dr. Janice Cunningham, Mental Health Representative Dr. Mary Beth (Betsy) Gustafson, School District Representative Edward Titterton, Esquire, ODR Counsel Minutes The September 26, 2013 Stakeholder Council (SC) meeting minutes were adopted as written and will be published on the ODR website both in English and Spanish. Resignation of Council Member Dr. Michael Thew resigned as the Intermediate Unit representative on the Stakeholder Council. Dr. Thew’s replacement is to be determined. Virtual Hearings Pilot ODR Hearing Officer Jake McElligott provided a virtual hearing pilot, which benefits parties by being easily accessible, cost effective, and comfortable for users. The hearing sessions will not be recorded, but will still be transcribed. To begin the pilot, constituents will be brought in for mock hearings, starting with attorneys. Data indicates positive responses, which is split between LEAs and parents. Mock hearing trials will begin in March/April 2014. A SC member expressed concern over the impact of credibility of those who would be testifying as well as the safety and confidentiality of information.
Electronic Exhibits Pilot Kerry Smith advised Council that Hearing Officer Brian Ford will spearhead this pilot. The pilot provides for electronic submission of hearing exhibits by interested parties. SC members gave positive feedback, along with a concern regarding pro se parent accessibility. Further details will be provided at the next SC meeting. Searchability of Decisions ODR is currently upgrading its decision database, which will include the following features: filtering; sort function; and search capability by case number, IU number, LEA, Issues, keywords. Captioning Decisions ODR is researching the wording on how to caption decisions. Evaluation Conciliation Conference (ECC) Update Kerry Smith provided an ECC update. Rosemary Mullaly is now taking active cases and has been successful on the completion of cases. ODR is receiving positive feedback on the updated process. The ECC procedures have been updated and are available on the ODR website. Collaboration with Temple University (Trish Jones) Kerry Smith provided information on a Conflict Coaching pilot. The pilot will work with Abington and Southeast Delco School Districts. This pilot would be providing Creating Agreement and Conflict Coaching training with the idea to improve student achievement. A pilot summary was provided to SC members via email after the SC meeting. Parent Guides ODR has completed the Parent Guide update, which was posted to the ODR website. The Parent Guide for gifted students is in the final edits and will be posted upon completion. Progress Monitoring Panel Kerry Smith provided a brief statement on progress monitoring, where ODR is collaborating with PaTTAN and various other stakeholders. This panel was developed due to the successful school avoidance panel held in the spring. SC members should email Kerry Smith with any suggestions. CADRE Consultation Kerry Smith will be traveling to Oregon in January to train other states on ODR’s dispute resolution system. Miscellaneous Issues There are no miscellaneous issues to report. The meeting concluded at 11:00am. The next quarterly meeting of the Stakeholder Council will be held on Thursday, March 13, 2014.
