Beth Ross is a Special Education Mediator who is assigned to the Westwood School District. Her job is to serve parents, students, school districts, private schools and state agencies in matters concerning eligibility, evaluation, placement, individualized education programs (IEPs), special education services and procedural protections for students with disabilities.

Special Education Mediation is a voluntary and confidential process that is available at no cost through the BSEA. When school districts and parents do not agree about the educational needs of a student with disabilities, either party has the ability to request mediation.

In the mediation process, mediator is assigned to helps both the parents and school staff understand the issues and concerns, discuss the different options and collaborate to reach mutually satisfactory agreements. The mediator is not the one to decide how to resolve the dispute. If there is a resolution to all or some of the issues, both parries work together with the mediator to put an agreement together. This is a collaborative problem-solving process between parents and school staff.