I was interviewed by Education Week yesterday concerning the Winkleman decision. Apparently the word is out that I like to talk about this stuff!
It was a good interview. I was reminded of how much I enjoyed watching the oral arguments at the Supreme Court in Winkleman. Truly, democracy in action.
The writer asked one question that surprised me. He thought that because I do a lot of work for state departments of education, my orientation would be pro district. I told him that as a long time hearing officer and mediator, I view myself as impartial. (By the way, I hate the word "neutral." It has the same connotations as neutron, or worse, neutered. Many of my mediator friends never call themselves "neutral" because they find the people have a bad reaction.) I find that the state ed departments, at least those I work with, really try to be fair to parents as well as school districts. I wonder if others share this perception?
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Here is a link to the article.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/06/06/39scotus.h26.html?qs=gerl
Nice work Jim. I am not totally sure how to interpret the decision yet. Clearly it is a win for parents. But, I think this is a different kind of win than in years past. This is a win only for the parents. It seems to be less of a win for the children. Is it possible for a pendulum to swing in 3 directions? It now seems that it has to because the Supreme Court has identified 3 distinct parties under the law, kids, schools, and now, parents.