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Mediation cannot be used to deny or delay your right to an impar-
tial due process hearing or any other rights afforded under Part C.
You can request mediation alone or simultaneously with a re-
quest for an
impartial due process hearing and may refuse or withdraw from
the mediation process at any time.

A request for mediation shall be in writing, signed and dated by
you or, with your consent, your representative. If you wish to file a
request for mediation, it is the responsibility of the service coordi-
nator, RAU, and/or the CQI Coordinator to assist you with access
to the process in your primary language and/or mode of commu-
nication unless it is clearly not feasible to do so and to prepare the
request in written form. If your primary mode of communication
is sign language or Braille, the request can be made utilizing your
primary mode of communication.

The mediation process including issuance of a written mediation
agreement, shall be completed within 30 calendar days of the re-
ceipt of the request for mediation unless a request for mediation
was made at the same time as a request for an impartial due pro-
cess hearing or complaint investigation. In that case, the mediation
must be completed within 15 calendar days to ensure adequate
time for completion of the due process proceeding or complaint
investigation.

Each session in the mediation process must be scheduled in a
timely manner and must be held in a location that is convenient to
the parties in the dispute. WVBTT will incur the cost of the media-
tion process.

If the parties resolve a dispute through the mediation process, the
parties must execute a legally binding agreement that sets forth
that resolution. The agreement must state that all discussions that
occurred during the mediation process shall remain confidential
and may not be used as evidence in any subsequent impartial
due process hearing or civil proceeding.

Neither the mediator nor any party to a mediation proceeding may
record or transcribe discussions held during the mediation.

Any agreement reached at the mediation shall be signed by both
the parent and representative of the WVBTT who has the au-
thority to bind such agency before the conclusion of the mediation.
The service coordinator will incorporate the terms of the me-
diation agreement into the IFSP as appropriate.

A written, signed mediation agreement is enforceable in any state
court of competent jurisdiction or in a federal district court of the
United States.

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