- What is SERC?
- New SERC Wisdom Wednesdays Monthly Webinar
- Resources for Supporting Advocacy for Children with Disabilities and their Families
- Virtual Mediation and IEP Facilitation in Oklahoma
- Crucial Conversations Virtual Training Update
- Which Dispute Resolution Process is best for me?
- Upcoming Events
What is SERC?
The Special Education Resolution Center of OSU (SERC) has been collaborating with the Oklahoma State Department of Education for over 10 years to help families and school districts resolve conflicts at the earliest stage possible. SERC provides services for children from birth to 3 in SoonerStart and for students 3 through 21 in public schools.
What does SERC provide to schools, SoonerStart, and families at no cost?
- Training on communication and collaboration skills to help prevent conflict.
- An IEP Facilitator to manage conflict during contentious IEP meetings.
- A Mediator to guide a structured process in which parents and personnel can resolve specific issues related to special education.
- A Due Process Hearing Officer at an administrative hearing to resolve, what could not be resolved at an earlier stage. During the resolution time of the process, SERC can provide a facilitator to help the parties discuss the hearing issues in a safe and structured setting and try to resolve them if possible.
New SERC Wisdom Wednesdays Monthly Webinar
Working together and through conflict to support students with disabilities can be challenging for parents and schools. Learn helpful information, tips, and techniques from the experts that can help you navigate through difficult situations.
Join us for this 1.5-hour webinar series every month from 12 pm to 1:30 pm CST.
View the Wisdom Wednesdays flyer with information and registration links to monthly webinars here:
Resources for Supporting Advocacy for Children with Disabilities and their Families
As someone who supports children with or at risk for disabilities, and their families, you have resources, expertise, and stories of the importance and impact of early intervention/early childhood special education. The resources below may be helpful in gaining – or advancing – the skills to elevate your voice and advocacy efforts to new levels.
View the resources for Supporting Advocacy for Children with Disabilities and their Families here:
Virtual Mediation and IEP facilitation in Oklahoma
IEP facilitations and mediations are continuing to take place through online-video format with Zoom. This platform works well for facilitating meetings throughout the state of Oklahoma. To participate, you will need a computer/iPad/smartphone with WIFI and a place to meet without interruptions. Participants can also access by phone. An iPad with hot spot can be provided for use at no cost for those without access to a computer and/or WIFI. Contact SERC for more information about scheduling a virtual meeting.
Crucial Conversations Virtual Training Update
Crucial Conversations is a nationally recognized training that helps people have difficult conversations that they are afraid to have or that aren’t going well. And the focus of the training is not just about communication – it’s about helping people get the results they want and need.
Crucial Conversations can help you in your conversations with:
- School administrators
- School Staff and personnel including general ed teachers
- Service resource providers
- IEP team members
- Parents and their advocates
- Organizations that work with children with disabilities
Right now we are scheduling classes for Spring and Summer 2022. Because of travel restrictions related to COVID-19, we are still not able to offer in-person classes at this time. However, the virtual format with Adobe Connect that we are currently using is very effective. It consists of five 2-hour long sessions that can be scheduled over two days or one session at a time.
Recently we completed a virtual training for district administrators with Seminole Public Schools. Here’s what Special Ed Director Cindy Heupel had to say about the training, “I have long been a student and believer in Crucial Conversations as well as Critical Conversations and the wealth of knowledge and skills that it provides and that can be placed in one’s toolbox to be utilized in fulfilling administrative duties. The team at Seminole has provided me with positive feedback and enhanced our ability to now use a common vocabulary when collaborating on critical issues facing our district. In particular, it is proving extremely useful in providing feedback to teachers in post-observation and evaluation conferences. Dr. Keiter has been good in making the scenarios applicable to real life situations our administrative team encounters. The digital platform has been great. It is extremely interactive and provides an opportunity for group collaboration as well as individual responses. It is extremely engaging. I am quite sure that if it were not offered digitally, we would not have been able to take advantage of the opportunity.”
Crucial Conversations is available at no cost to those attending through our partnership with the Oklahoma State Department of Education. If you are interested in scheduling a future training for your district, please contact our offices at (888) 267-0028 or contact Rob Keiter at rob.keiter@okstate.edu.
View the Crucial Conversations Online Course Agenda here:
Which Dispute Resolution Process is best for me?
You may be wondering which dispute resolution process would be the best for you when dealing with special education-related disputes. This dispute chart will help you understand the differences between the three processes offered in Oklahoma. Each of these processes is offered at no cost to schools or parents. Please contact us with any questions related to our dispute resolution processes. We can help you decide which process will work the best for your situation.
View the English version of the dispute resolution chart here:
View the Spanish version of the dispute resolution chart here:
Upcoming Events
SERC Wisdom Wednesdays Monthly Webinars
December 15, 2021
What did 34 Years of Experience Teach Me?
Nancy Goosen, Program Specialist, OSDE- SES
Register for the December 15, 2021 Webinar here.
January 19, 2022
Behavior IS a Disability
Dr. Mary Ann Shepherd, Ph.D., HSP, BCBA-D
Register for the January 19, 2022 Webinar here.
February 16, 2022
What’s Trust Got to Do with It? Building Equitable and Trusting Partnerships between Families and Professionals
Dr. Tracy Gershwin, Ph.D., BCBA-D
Register for the February 16, 2022 Webinar here.
April 20, 2022
Parent School Engagement
Carlos Rossi
Register for the April 20, 2022 Webinar here.
May 18, 2022
Questions
Greg Abel, Sound Options Group
Register for the May 18, 2022 Webinar here.
June 15, 2022
Special Education “Ponders” from a Former School Attorney Andrea Kunkel, J.D., M.S.
Register for the June 15, 2022 Webinar here.
ABLE Tech Monthly AT Workshops
ABLE Tech has successfully completed several series of virtual workshops for special education and related service providers. The feedback was outstanding and focused on planning positive systemic improvements and changes.
Monthly workshops are currently scheduled through March, 2022. For more information about the ABLE Tech monthly workshops, visit the ABLE Tech calendar here.
Jo Anne Pool Blades, Program Manager
Special Education Resolution Center (SERC)
Oklahoma State University Sponsored Program. 9726 E. 42nd Street, Suite 203 | Tulsa, OK 74146
Phone: 918.270.1849
Email: jo.blades@okstate.edu