Conflict to Resolution

Disputes and conflict are part of special education leadership, but how leaders respond can make all the difference. This series equips special education directors with practical strategies to navigate disputes, address concerns early, prevent escalation, and lead confidently through challenging, high-emotion situations. Learn how to turn conflict into opportunities for resolution, collaboration, and stronger relationships.

Conflict to ResolutionThis three-part series features Dr. Angie Balsley. Founder and CEO of Unified Leadership, and is a Senior Consultant with the national Center for Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Special Education, CADRE. A former special education director and longtime CASE leader, she brings more than two decades of experience in special education leadership, dispute resolution, and systems improvement. Her research and publications focus on preventing and responding to special education disputes, strengthening early dispute resolution capacity, and improving collaboration between schools and families.

Session 1 (Free)     

When a Dispute Lands on Your Desk: What Special Education Directors Should Do Next

Registration for Session 1 FREE

 

Special education disputes demand more than procedural knowledge. This session gives district leaders a practical framework for navigating complaints, mediation, due process, resolution sessions, and facilitated IEPs while maintaining timelines, strengthening collaboration, and keeping the focus on the student.  
  1. Differentiate key special education dispute resolution processes and identify the director’s leadership responsibilities in each. 
  2. Apply practical strategies for fact-finding, timeline management, team preparation, family collaboration, and early resolution. 
  3. Use student-centered, collaborative approaches to reduce escalation and move disputes toward productive resolution.

Session 2, February 9, 2027

Conflict is Inevitable. Escalation Isn't: A Systems Approach to Early Dispute Resolution

Conflict can drain teams, strain family relationships, and consume leadership attention. This session gives district leaders a practical framework for recognizing persistent conflict, intervening before issues escalate, and building the staff and system capacity needed to keep difficult disagreements productive.  
  1. Identify the factors that cause conflict to escalate and the points where district leaders can intervene earlier.
  2. Evaluate district capacity for early dispute resolution.
  3. Prioritize a system-level improvement to strengthen future conflict responses.

Session 3, February 23, 2027

When the Room Gets Hot: Leading Through High Conflict, Emotion, and Adversarial Behavior

High-conflict behavior in meetings can quickly shift from disagreement to defensiveness, intimidation, or outright disruption. This session gives special education leaders practical strategies to stay grounded, respond to intense emotions and adversarial behavior, set appropriate boundaries, and reorient difficult conversations toward the student, meaningful progress, and FAPE. Description: High-conflict behavior in meetings can quickly shift from disagreement to defensiveness, intimidation, or outright disruption. This session gives special education leaders practical strategies to stay grounded, respond to intense emotions and adversarial behavior, set appropriate boundaries, and reorient difficult conversations toward the student, meaningful progress, and FAPE.
  1. Recognize the dynamics that drive escalation in high-conflict special education interactions, including emotion, fear, defensiveness, positional thinking, and adversarial behavior.
  2. Apply practical leadership strategies to de-escalate difficult conversations, set boundaries, and maintain a productive process when behavior becomes intense or disruptive. 
  3. Use a framework to reorient high-conflict conversations toward the student, meaningful educational progress, collaboration, and FAPE. 

Registration for Sessions 2 and 3

    Date       Time       CASE Member         Non Member    
Session 2     February 9, 2027   12:00-1:30 PM (CT)    $115   $300         
Registration Link
Session 3   February 23, 2027   12:00-1:30 PM (CT)   $115   $300  
Full Series (20% discount)          February 9 and 23, 2027   12:00-1:30 PM (CT)   $184   $379  

 

Become a Member

If you are not currently a CASE member, the total cost to join CASE and register for this full webinar series is $329. After you join CASE, you save $50 on this registration when you are able to register as a member rather than a non-member. 
 
Your membership includes:
  • CASE Membership (includes CEC Basic Membership)
  • Webinar Registration at the CASE Member Rate
By becoming a member first, you can take advantage of the discounted member registration rate for the webinar.