About the Advisory Council
An Advisory Council has been established to provide input, from the viewpoints of various stakeholders, on the development of policies and procedures that regulate mediation and the due process hearing system. The policies and procedures formulated by the Special Education Resolution Center, with the advice of the Council, will be presented to the Oklahoma State Department of Education as a recommendation for positive change. Membership is composed of six (6) parents, representatives from four (4) school districts, one (1) representative from the State Department of Education - Special Education Services, and one (1) mediator.
Members come from locations throughout Oklahoma. The school district membership reflects small, medium, and large districts with about half of the school district members having participated in due process and half have not. School district representatives are encouraged to work with their district as a team to represent school district views on the Council. The parents represent children having various disabilities across the school-age span; some parents have participated in the due process while others have not. The Council is ethnically and racially diverse.
Advisory Council Membership
Representatives: Oklahoma School Districts
- Lesa Elerick, Administrator, Jones Public Schools
- Shellie Gammill, Superintendent, Wewoka Public Schools
- Elana Grissom, CCOSA, Sped Director, Jenks Public Schools
Representatives: OSDE
Colin Raley, Dispute Resolution, Oklahoma State Department of Education, Special Education
Representatives: Parents of Children with Disabilities
- Shannon Esmeyer, Parent
- Sue Keller, Parent
- Ellen Kimbrell, Parent Agency
- Janice Morris, Parent Agency
- Melissa Stevens, Parent
- Lori Wathen, Parent
Representatives: SERC Service Provider
Lucy Kroblin, Mediator
Oklahoma Special Education Resolution Center
Advisory Council Rules
I. Name and Mission
- The name of the organization shall be the Special Education Resolution Center Advisory Council; hereafter identified as the Advisory Council.
- The Advisory Council is established pursuant to the terms of the contract between Oklahoma State University ABLE-Tech and the Oklahoma State Department of Education for the management of the special education mediation, due process hearing and appeal systems for the State of Oklahoma.
- It shall be the Mission of the Advisory Council to provide advice on: 1) the policies and procedures of the special education mediation, due process hearing and appeal system as developed by the Special Education Resolution Center (SERC) and 2) the recruiting, training and evaluation of mediators, hearing and appeal officers.
- SERC serves as a recommending body only. All work submitted to the Advisory Council will eventually be submitted to the Oklahoma State Department of Education-Special Education Services as a recommendation for change.
II. Definitions
- SERC means the Special Education Resource Center.
- Program Director means the program director for SERC.
- Program Manager means the program manager for SERC.
- State means the State of Oklahoma.
- Year means the project year beginning July 1 and ending June 30.
III. Duties of the Advisory Council
- Provide viewpoints from a variety of stakeholders to include a mediator, school districts, a community member, parents of students with disabilities and the Oklahoma State Department of Education during the development of recommended policy and procedure change;
- Advise whether the current policies and procedures are meeting the needs of the parents/school districts to be served;
- Recommend changes in policy and procedure of the special education mediation, due process hearing and appeal systems, and in the recruitment
;, training and evaluation of mediators, hearing and appeal officers, and - Help foster good relations between the stakeholder groups.
IV. Membership
A. Composition of the Advisory Council:
- All consist of thirteen (13) members.
- Shall be recruited to ensure a broad range of backgrounds and experience.
- Shall be geographically representative of the state and shall reflect the diversity of the state with respect to race, ethnicity, and types of disabilities across the school-age span.
- Shall consist of a majority, not less than fifty-one percent (51%), membership composed of parents of children with disabilities, throughout the range of school-age as defined by the IDEIA.
- Shall include six (6) parents of students with disabilities.
- Shall have one (1) member representing the Oklahoma State Department of Education – Special Education Services (OSDE-SES).
- Shall have four (4) members representing school districts: a superintendent, a special education director, a regular education teacher, and a special education teacher.
- Shall have one (1) member representing mediators of the mediation system.
- Shall have one (1) member representing community interests.
- Members appointed as a mediator and community representative shall not count toward the calculated majority membership.
B. Terms and Vacancies
- Advisory Council membership shall consist of three (3) years duration.
- At the end of the first two year period, Advisory Council members, except for the SDE-SES representative, will be replaced in staggered order. Original Advisory Council members will be replaced by a random drawing of names for replacement of one (1) or two (2) years in the parent category and the school district category of members. The representative of the OSDE-SES shall continue year to year and the representative shall be designated by the SDE.
- Advisory Council member replacement shall occur by selection from a nominating committee consisting of one school district representative, one parent representative, and the Director and Program Manager of the SERC.
- Advisory Council members shall be replaced within parameters of the original selection.
- Advisory Council members may be terminated if the member misses two (2) consecutive unexcused meetings.
C. Financial Compensation
- Expenses shall be paid by Oklahoma ABLE Tech for any member who incurs expenses for an attendant or interpreter services during Advisory Council meetings.
- Council members shall be reimbursed for any travel expenses incurred for attendance at Council meetings; (providing travel expenses are not paid by any other Agency source).
V. Meetings
- The Advisory Council shall meet quarterly.
- The Advisory Council activities shall function on a fiscal year basis of July 1 through June 30.
- Written notice stating the place, date, and hour of any meeting shall be delivered personally or by mail to the last known address of each member not less than ten (10) days before the date of such meeting.
Dates of Advisory Council Meetings for 2021-2023 School Years:
- September 10, 2021
- December 3, 2021
- March 4, 2022
- June 3, 2022
- September 9, 2022
- December 2, 2022
- March 3, 2023
- June 2, 2023
- September 8, 2023
- December 1, 2023