More parents are taking legal action against Georgia school districts over special education disputes, with cases often involving school officials accused of not following the law by allegedly failing to provide necessary resources for children.
What’s Happening
The numbers tell the story. According to the Georgia Department of Education, due process hearing requests — which ask a mediator to formally decide whether a school violated special education law — have surged 141% over the past five years.
The first two months of 2026 alone saw 111 hearings requested, nearly double all of 2021, which had 73 total.
Georgia special education disputes surge 141% in 5 years. What's behind the rise and how can parents advocate for their children?
Context
Heather Kinsinger knows the frustration firsthand. While she did not file or pursue a due process hearing, her case illustrates similar frustration with parents fighting a school district to get their child resources required under special education law.
Kinsinger’s daughter, Katie, now 15, is an honor student today. But a few years ago, her mother played a long game of offense against their former school district in Fayette County, fighting to help her daughter who struggled to read.
Quote: The due process hearing is going to be the highest level of dispute resolution that you can go to. Attribution: Dr. Brandi Tanner, School Psychologist and Former Teacher
Laura Lurns · Learning Success expert
Implications
Katie has dyslexia and wrestles with other learning disabilities. After Katie’s dyslexia diagnosis, Kinsinger said her school, Braelinn Elementary, knew she struggled to read but refused to provide the necessary reading instruction tailored to dyslexic children.
“The longer you let it go on, the worse it is,” Kinsinger said. “The longer it takes to remediate, the more mental [stress], and the more expensive …We spent tens of thousands of dollars in private services.”
Key takeaways
- Surge in Disputes: Due process hearing requests have increased 141% in five years.
- Parent Frustration: Parents are fighting for resources required under special education law.
- Systemic Issues: The surge in disputes reflects a perfect storm of more students needing help and less people to provide it.
Looking Ahead
Dr. Brandi Tanner, a school psychologist and former teacher who runs Your IEP Source, a metro Atlanta company that helps parents advocate for special education services, said the numbers reflect a perfect storm.
“The due process hearing is going to be the highest level of dispute resolution that you can go to,” Tanner said.
If you’re a parent struggling to get the resources your child needs, you’re not alone. The Learning Success All Access Program offers a free trial that includes a personalized Action Plan – and you keep that plan even if you decide it’s not the right fit.
See what All Access gives your child
See MTSS for schools
Is your child struggling in school?
Get your free personalized learning roadmap
You describe what you see at home. We turn it into a plan you start this week.
- Answer 5 short questionnaires about what you already notice, 30–45 minutes at your own kitchen table
- Your child sits no test and gets no score: nothing to schedule, nothing for them to dread
- You do the answering, the AI does the writing, and a person reviews it before it reaches you
- Access all 40+ courses instantly: reading, math, focus, processing and more, with new ones added regularly
Why we use AI, plainly: it writes from a knowledge base our team maintains and audits. We work through it line by line and pull anything the evidence stops supporting. The roadmap you get on Tuesday reflects what we corrected on Monday, and a human still reads it before you do.
Your school district must evaluate your child free of charge if you ask in writing, whatever your income and whatever the outcome (US, 34 CFR 300.111 and 300.301(b)). That route takes time and answers a different question than you do. This one starts today, from what you already know.
Your answers stay yours. We do not sell your personal information, and we do not hand identifiable assessment data to outside AI companies to train their models.
A screener is a starting point, not a diagnosis. If your child might need formal accommodations (an IEP or 504 plan), or you suspect a vision, hearing or medical cause, pursue a professional evaluation too. That is the only route to those supports.
References
- Georgia Department of Education - https://gadoe.org/
- Atlanta News First - https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/
