Let’s track an example. For fun, let’s use the example of “equity.”
- Say you live in a district that wants to focus on the topic of equity. “Equity sounds great! Let’s do equity! What could possibly go wrong?! Yay, equity!”
- So somebody says, “Okay, community, let’s define equity. Are we talking about equity in outcomes? Equity in resources? Equity in hiring? Equity in spending?” (responses range from blank stares to bulging forehead veins)
- Then, “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa… who is this ‘we’ that’s doing the talking? Who gets to decide what we even mean about equity? That’s a big deal, right? Who is the “we”? Does it matter who is included and who is excluded in the conversations? (spoiler alert: YES)
As you’re sitting here imagining that meeting, how do you feel in your body? How’s your blood pressure right now? Are your palms sweaty? Is your breathing faster? Are you remembering that one time and instinctively reaching for your keys? Have you ever been to a meeting that felt like this? Was it super fun and productive? Did it include meaningful discussions? Did a variety of folks leave knowing the next action they could personally take to make things better? Was there singing?
- We’ve got to do better. If we could re-boot that meeting like we re-boot a computer, what could we do differently?
- I can hear you now: “Zip it, sister. We have spent a kajillion dollars on consultants and new programs and 1:1 technology and we get the side eye every time they see the attorney bill and we can’t even pay employees a living wage…”
- To which I respond, “Hold your horses.” What if we call on the technicians who are already paid to support us and provide expertise and resources? What might happen? Maybe we would learn that as it turns out, there is *already* a research-based, evidence-supported, paid-for program to help communities engage issues of equity? a program that gives communities a framework to grapple with root causes and consensus building, and meaningful action? For a fraction of the cost of hiring a consultant, we could build a local team to spearhead this effort. WEIRD.
So, what that could mean for you and your community? For one thing, you could focus your resources (energy, time, money, neighborliness) on your actual desired outcomes. The process itself doesn’t have to be draining. There is help available.
In the world of Special Education, we have DOZENS of Technical Assistance Centers. Because my specialty is dispute prevention, training, and resolution, I have the most experience with folks at CADRE (The Center for Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Special Education) and TAESE (Technical Assistance for Excellence in Special Education).
I encourage you to nose around these sites to get a feel for what is available, to understand how other folks are approaching similar challenges. I promise you that you are not alone.
In rambling closing, I want to make one essential point: my professional focus is on APPROPRIATE dispute resolution. This may come as a shock to you, but my goal is not always to prevent conflict.Different situations call for different interventions. The goal is always to try for the most appropriate intervention, not just the intervention that calms things down. Sometimes we can deescalate the situation. But sometimes the most appropriate intervention is strategic conflict escalation (I see you, Montgomery Bus Boycott). Some situations aren’t appropriately resolved in mediation. Sometimes we need a little more… sunlight. Check out the CADRE Continuum below. Without Stage V, Legal Review, we wouldn’t have IDEA. We wouldn’t have the Voting Act. We wouldn’t have ADA.
If you are involved in the education of a child with a disability, you are not alone. In the coming weeks, tens of thousands of IEPs and 504 plans will be rewritten and/or amended for children in American schools because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s a tricky time. Our laws and guidance were written for the “before times.” Things are different now. We’ve got really big, unanswered questions about our cornerstones: FAPE (Free and Appropriate Public Education) and LRE (Least Restrictive Environment).
If you are a parent, guardian, or self-advocate and you feel like your district is “giving you the runaround,” I need to tell you this. First, um, I’m obviously not a mind-reader. I don’t know *for sure* what folks are thinking, so this is a guess. Second, this is not legal advice; I am not an attorney. If you need one, go talk to one! Finally, third — my best guess is that districts are stuck between a rock and a hard place. They just. don’t. know. There literally is no precedent. We are fully in uncharted territory.
That being said, please do not despair. We are all here together. Folks are working hard to get resources to the most vulnerable. We’re reckoning with the impact of poverty, systemic racism, ableism, and the “school to prison pipeline.” I encourage you to reach out for support. 
Did you know that the Georgia Parent Mentor Partnership has over 90 full time paid parent mentors?
Your parent mentor is there to support you and help you navigate the system. Don’t be freaked out if they have a school district email address. Their salaries are paid half by the state of Georgia and half by your local district.