Specifications include, but are not limited to:The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA) requires the Hawaii Department of Education (HIDOE) to have in place procedures for providing impartial mediators when such services are requested. The HIDOE must offer mediation services to parents of students eligible for special education services and to provide mediation services to parents and schools in dispute on any issue of special education. IDEA prohibits the mediators to be employees of the HIDOE, so the HIDOE is soliciting mediation services from the community. The HIDOE is seeking proposals from Offerors able to administer and manage the Special Education Mediation Program ("Program") statewide, including public charter schools, whenever a parent or school requests mediation. The Program will provide mediation intake and coordination statewide, with public schools, including public charter schools. The mediation services must be provided by trained impartial mediators who can skillfully mediate sometimes contentious parties to resolution, avoiding a formal hearing. Some of the issues that may be in dispute are around the identification, evaluation, placement or the provision of a free appropriate public education (FAPE) of a special education student.
