SchoolTalk DC

SchoolTalk is a non-profit organization that aims to reduce the number of special education-related disputes in District of Columbia public schools. When special education disputes are resolved through the expensive and time-consuming use of due process hearings, parents and students are pitted against the schools. It is often a lose-lose situation. We hope to reduce the expense, acrimony, and lost educational opportunities that so often result.

SchoolTalk is unique in a number of regards. We are:

Neutral: we are not affiliated with parent advocacy groups, private attorneys, or DCPS, so we can offer training and resolve disputes without bias;
Professional: our management team has years of DC experience in dispute resolution and education consulting;
School-based: we believe that by locating our efforts in individual schools, we can develop a relationship with staff and parents, which will help us to better understand and address the problems that lead to special education disputes;
Comprehensive: SchoolTalk can provide training based on the interests and needs of each school, and can then follow-up that training with on-call concern management, facilitation, information and referrals.