As time goes on, more and more entities and individuals are moving away from the traditional litigation system after seeing that it does not always provide the desired results. Parents may not be satisfied about how their child’s education or discipline was handled at school and may turn to the court system only to be dissatisfied again. Schools may find themselves involved in public litigation that tarnishes the reputation of the school system. To combat these negative consequences, many parents, students and schools turn to the mediation system.

Mediation has been used in a variety of ways in the education realm. It has helped parents resolve issues related to the discipline of their child, including suspension and expulsion cases. The mediator does not represent either side of the dispute and helps the parties focus on what is in their mutual best interests. Mediation often allows the parties to talk candidly about issues that are affecting the case since the process is confidential.

Mediation is also used in higher education to resolve student loan disputes. Using this mechanism often allows graduates to more effectively deal with student loan burdens. Through collaborative efforts, they may be able to consolidate their loans, defer payments, forebear payments or extend the length of the loan in order to have more affordable payments.

A common area where mediation is used is in special education. Parents, staff and the administration may have differing options on various aspects of special education, including eligibility for services, which services are necessary, the frequency of services, how students can be educated with their peers who do not have learning difficulties and what benefits the student is entitled to under special education law. Understood.com reports that in the 2011-2012 school year, there were 6,055 special education mediations, which resulted in 5,394 agreements, representing an approximately 89% agreement rate. Given this success, mediation is likely to be embraced for even more areas of education.