PARENTAL RIGHTS IN SPECIAL EDUCATION

As the parent of a child who is suspected to need or
identified as needing special education, you have certain
rights which are guaranteed by state and federal law.  These
rights are listed here.  If you would like a full explanation
of them, please contact your local school division director
of special education.

Both you and your local education agency (LEA) share in the
education of your child.  The term LEA, by definition in
state regulations includes state operated programs (SOPs).
If you or the school have concerns about the education of
your child, you and your child's teacher should hold early
and open discussions about the issues.

NOTICE

You have the right to:

   >  Receive a written prior notice each time the LEA
proposes or refuses to initiate or change the identification,
evaluation or placement of your child or the provision of a
free appropriate public education to you child.  The notice
shall include:
   >  A full explanation of all the procedural safeguards
available to you under the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act.
   >  A description of the action proposed or refused by the
LEA including:
   >  An explanation of why the action is proposed or
refused; a description of any options the LEA considered; an
explanation of the reasons why those options were rejected; a
description of the nature, purpose, and use of each
evaluation procedure, test, report, or record used as a basis
for the action proposed or refused; and a description of any
other factors relevant to the LEA's proposal or refusal.

     The notice must be written in language understandable to
the general public, and provided in the native language of
the parent or other mode of communication used by the parent,
unless it is clearly not feasible to do so.

     If the native language or other mode of communication of
the parent is not a written language, the State Education
Agency (SEA) or LEA shall take steps to insure: that the
notice is translated orally or by other means to the parent
in his or her native language or other mode of communication;
that the parent understands the content of the notice; and
that there is written evidence that these requirements have
been met.

CONSENT

     Consent means that you have been fully informed of all
information relevant to the activity for which consent  is
sought, in your native language or mode of communication.  It
also means you have agreed in writing to the carrying out of
the activity for which your consent is being sought and the
consent describes that activity and lists the records (if
any) which will be released and to whom.  **You should also
understand that the granting of your consent is voluntary and
may be revoked at any time.**

     You have the right to:

   >  Give written consent before an LEA conducts
preplacement evaluation of your child or initially places
your child in a program providing special education and
related services.
Evaluation means procedures used in accordance with federal
and state regulations to determine whether a child is
handicapped and the nature and extent of the special
education and related services that the child needs.  The
term means procedures used selectively with an individual
child and does not include basic tests administered to or
procedures used with all children in a school, grade, or
class.

   >  Be informed that if you do not provide consent for
preplacement evaluation or initial placement the LEA may use
the state procedures for due process hearings described in
this notice to override your refusal to give consent.

   >  Be informed that, except for preplacement evaluation
and initial placement, consent may not be required as a
condition of any benefit to the parent or child.

   >  Be informed that consent must be obtained before any
change in the program/placement, including any partial or
complete termination of special education and related
services, except for expulsions and graduation.  Consent for
placement may be revoked up until the first day of placement.

   >  Give written consent before any change in
identification of a handicapped child; and any evaluation
which is conducted other than the assessment components
required for the triennial evaluations.  Parental consent is
not necessary for reviewing the child's records for
conducting a reevaluation.

   >  Be informed that except for preplacement evaluation and
initial placement, consent or refusal to give consent for
those other situations requiring consent shall be given by
the parent to the LEA within ten administrative working days
after the notice is received.  If the parent fails to notify
the LEA within ten administrative working days, the LEA may
proceed as if consent had been granted, and the parent must
initiate due process to contest the action.  If the parent
refuses to give consent, the LEA shall attempt to resolve
parental withholding of consent through informal means.  **If
those informal methods are not successful, the LEA must use
other measures as necessary to ensure that, except for
preplacement evaluation and initial placement, parental
refusal to consent will not result in a denial of a necessary
free appropriate public education.**

RECORDS

     You have the right to:

   > Inspect and review any educational records relating to
your child with respect to the identification, evaluation,
and educational placement of the child, and the provision of
a free appropriate public education to the child, which are
collected, maintained or used by the LEA.  The LEA shall
comply with a request without unnecessary delay.  When a
request for disclosure of education record data is made, such
a request shall be granted immediately, if practicable, but
in no case more than five administrative working days after
the date of the request.

   > Have the LEA comply with a request to inspect and review
education records before any meeting regarding an
individualized education program or hearing relating to the
identification, evaluation, or educational placement of the
student or provision of a free appropriate public education.
The right to inspect and review education records includes:
the right to a response from the LEA to reasonable requests
for explanations and interpretations of the education
records; the right to request that the LEA provide copies of
the education records containing the information, if failure
to provide the copies would effectively prevent the parent
from exercising the right to inspect and review the education
records; and the right to have a representative of the parent
inspect and review the education records.

   > Be informed that the LEA may presume that both parents
have the authority to inspect and review records relating to
the student unless the LEA has been advised that both parents
do not have the authority under applicable state law
governing such matters as guardianship, separation, and
divorce.

   > Be informed that the LEA shall keep a record of parties
obtaining access to education records collected, maintained,
or used including the name of the party, the date access was
given, and the purpose for which the party is authorized to
use the record.

   > Inspect and review only the information relating to your
child or to be informed of that specific information even if
the education record includes information on more than one
student.

   > Upon request be provided with a list of the types and
locations of education records collected, maintained, or used
by the LEA.

   > Be informed that an LEA may charge a fee for copies of
the education record(s) at reasonable cost, not to exceed the
cost of reproduction.  Such fee shall not effectively prevent
the parents, or their designee, from exercising their right
to inspect and review said records.  An LEA may not charge a
fee for search or retrieval.

AMENDMENT PROCEDURE

     You have the right to be informed that:

   > The parent or eligible student who believes that
information in the education record of the student is
inaccurate or misleading or violates the privacy or other
rights of the student may request that the LEA amend it,
regardless of when the information was entered in the record.

   > The LEA shall decide whether to amend the education
record in accordance with the request within a reasonable
period of time - no more than 15 administrative working days
after the receipt of the request.  If the LEA agrees to
amend, then the amendment shall be made in writing, inserted
in the student's education records, and maintained in
accordance with maintenance and disposition.

   > The LEA may utilize informal attempts to reconcile
differences; however, the parent or eligible student may
exercise the right to a hearing without benefit of the
decision from any informal proceeding.

   > If the LEA decides to refuse to amend the education
record of the student in accordance with the request it
shall, within 15 administrative working days inform the
parent or eligible student of the refusal and advise of the
right to a hearing.

   > The LEA shall on written request provide an opportunity
for a hearing to enable the parent or eligible student to
challenge information in the education record to ensure that
it is not inaccurate, misleading or otherwise in violation of
the privacy or other rights of the student.

   >  If, as a result of the hearing, the LEA decides that
the information is inaccurate, misleading or otherwise in
violation of the privacy or other rights of the student, it
shall amend the education record of the student accordingly
and so inform the parent or eligible student in writing.

   > If, as a result of the hearing, the LEA decides that the
information is not inaccurate, misleading or otherwise in
violation of the privacy or other rights of the student, it
shall inform the parent or eligible student of the right to
place in the education record of the student a statement
commenting on the information or setting forth any reasons
for disagreing with the decision of the LEA.

   > Any such explanation placed in the education record of
the student shall be maintained by the LEA as part of the
education record of the student as long as the record or
contested portion thereof is maintained; and shall be
disclosed by the LEA when the education record of the student
or the contested portion thereof is disclosed to any party.

EVALUATION PROCEDURES

     You have the right to:

   > Have testing and evaluation materials and procedures
used for the purposes of evaluation and placement selected
and administered so as not be racially or culturally
discriminatory.

   > Have a full and individual evaluation of the child's
educational needs conducted in accordance with the
requirements before any action is taken with respect to the
initial placement of a handicapped child in a special
education program.

   > Be assured, at a minimum, that tests and other
evaluation materials: are provided and administered in the
child's native language or other mode of communication;
unless it is clearly not feasible to do so; have been
validated for the specific purpose for which they are used;
and are administered by trained personnel in conformance with
the instructions provided by their producers.

   > Be assured that tests and other evaluation materials
used include those tailored to assess specific areas of
educational need and not merely those which are designed to
provide a single general intelligence quotient.

   > Be assured that tests are selected and administered so
as to best ensure that when a test is administered to a child
with impaired sensory, manual, or speaking skills, the test
results accurately reflect the child's aptitude or
achievement level or whatever other factors the test purports
to measure, rather than reflecting the child's impaired
sensory, manual, or speaking skills (except where those
skills are the factors which the test purports to measure).

   > Be assure that no single procedure shall be used as the
sole criterion for determining an appropriate educational
program for a child.

   > An evaluation made by a multi-disciplinary team or group
of persons, including at least one teacher or other
specialist with knowledge in the area of suspected
disability.

   > A multi-disciplinary team for a child suspected of being
learning disabled shall include the child's regular teacher
or if the child does not have a regular teacher, a classroom
teacher qualified to teach a child of that age, or if a child
is below school age, a person qualified to teach that age;
and at least one person qualified to conduct individual
diagnostic examination of children and knowledgeable in the
handicapping condition.

   > LEA procedures to ensure that each child is assessed in
all areas related to the suspected disability, including,
where appropriate, health, vision, hearing, social and
emotional status, general intelligence, academic performance,
communicative status, and motor abilities.

   > Have the multi-disciplinary team when interpreting
evaluation data and in making placement decisions: draw upon
information from a variety of sources, including aptitude and
achievement tests, teacher recommendations, physical
condition, social or cultural background, and adaptive
behavior; insure that information obtained from all of these
sources is documented and carefully considered; insure that
the placement decision is made by a group of persons,
including persons knowledgeable about the child, the meaning
of the evaluation data, and the placement options; and insure
that the placement decision is made in conformity with the
least restrictive environment.

   > An individualized education program developed for the
child in accordance with the regulations if it is determined
that a child is handicapped and needs special education and
related services.

   > Have your handicapped child's individualized education
program reviewed annually.

   > Have your child reevaluated every three years or more
frequently if conditions warrant, or if the child's parent or
teacher requests an evaluation, or any time a significant
change in placement is being considered and the evaluations
are not current, based on procedures which meet the
requirements.

INDEPENDENT EDUCATIONAL EVALUATION

     You have the right to:

   > Obtain an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) of
your child.

   > Be provided, on request, information as to where an IEE
may be obtained.  Independent educational evaluation means an
evaluation conducted by a qualified examiner who is not
employed by the LEA responsible for the education of your
child.
    A parent has the right to an IEE at public expense if the
parent disagrees with an evaluation obtained by the LEA.
Public expense means that the LEA either pays for the full
cost of the evaluation or insures that the evaluation is
otherwise provided at no cost to the parent, consistent with
federal and state regulation.  However, the LEA shall have
the right to initiate a due process hearing to show that its
evaluation is appropriate.  If the final decision is that the
evaluation is appropriate, the parent still has the right to
an IEE but not a public expense.
    Whenever an IEE is at public expense, the criteria under
which the evaluation is obtained, including the location of
the evaluation and the qualifications of the examiner, must
be the same as the criteria which the LEA uses when it
initiates an evaluation.

   The results of the IEE, whether at public expense or
obtained by the parent:

   > Must be considered by the LEA in any decision regarding
a free appropriate public education for the child; and

   > May be presented as evidence at a hearing.
     A hearing officer may require an independent educational
evaluation of the child.  This evaluation shall be at public
expense and shall be conducted in accordance with the
regulations governing evaluation and assessment.

LEAST RESTRICTIVE ENVIRONMENT

     You have the right to:

   > Have your child educated with children who are not
handicapped to the maximum extent appropriate, including
those in public or private institutions or other care
facilities and

   > Special class placement, separate schooling or other
removal of handicapped children from the regular educational
environment occur only when the nature or severity of the
handicap is such that education in regular classes with the
use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved
satisfactorily.

   > Have a continuum of alternative placements available to
meet the needs of handicapped children for special education
and related services.

   > Have your child's educational placement determined at
least annually; be based on his or her individualized
education program; and be as close as possible to the child's
home.

   > Various alternative placements available to the extent
necessary to implement the IEP for each handicapped child.

   > Have your child educated in the school which he or she
would attend if not handicapped unless a handicapped child's
IEP requires some other arrangement.

   > Selection of the least restrictive environment
considering any potential harmful effects on the child or on
the quality of services which he or she needs.

In providing or arranging for the provision of non-academic
and extracurricular services and activities, including meals,
recess periods, and services and activities, each LEA shall
insure that each handicapped child participates with non-
handicapped children in those services and activities to the
maximum extent appropriate to the needs of that child.

SURROGATE PARENTS

Each LEA shall insure that the rights of a child are
protected when:

   > No parent can be identified.

   > The LEA after reasonable efforts cannot discover the
location of a parent; or,

   > The child is a ward of the State pursuant to applicable
law.

The duty of an LEA includes the assignment of an individual
to act as a surrogate for the parents, including a method for
determining whether a child needs a surrogate parent, and for
assigning a surrogate to the child.  An LEA may select a
surrogate parent in any way permitted under State law while
ensuring that a person selected as a surrogate has no
interest that conflicts with the interest of the child her or
she represents; and has knowledge and skills that ensure
adequate representation of the child.  A person assigned as a
surrogate may not be an employee of the LEA which is involved
in the education or care of the child.  A person who
otherwise qualifies to be a surrogate is not an employee of
the LEA solely because he or she is paid by the LEA to serve
as a surrogate.  The surrogate parent may represent the child
in all matters relating to:

   > The identification, evaluation, and educational
placement of the child: and,

   > The provision of a free appropriate public education to
the child.

IMPARTIAL DUE PROCESS HEARING

A parent or an LEA may initiate a hearing on any matters
relating to proposals and refusals to initiate or change the
identification, evaluation, or educational placement of the
child or the provision of a free appropriate public education
to the child.  The LEA directly responsible for the education
of the child must ensure the hearing is conducted in
accordance with applicable state statutes and regulations.
The LEA must inform the parent of any free or low-cost legal
and other relevant services available in the area if the
parent requests the information; or the parent or LEA
initiates a hearing.  A hearing may not be conducted by a
person who is an employee of the LEA which is involved in the
education or care of the child, or by any person having a
personal or professional interest which would conflict with
his or her objectivity in the hearing.  A person who
otherwise qualifies to conduct a hearing is not an employe of
the LEA solely because he or she is paid by the LEA to serve
as a hearing officer.  Each LEA shall keep a list of the
persons who serve as hearing officers which includes a
statement of the qualifications of each of those persons.

Any party to a hearing has a right to:

   > Be accompanied and advised by counsel and by individuals
with special knowledge or training with respect to the
problems of children with disabilities.

   > Present evidence and confront, cross-examine, compel the
attendance of witness.

   > Prohibit the introduction of any evidence at the hearing
that has not been disclosed to that party at least five days
before the hearing.

   > Obtain a written or electronic verbatim record of the
hearing.

   > Obtain written findings of fact and decisions.  After
deleting any personally identifiable information, the LEA
shall transmit those findings and decisions to the State
Special Education Advisory Committee and make them available
to the public.

Parents involved in hearings must be given the right to: have
the child who is subject of the hearing present; open the
hearing to the public; and have the hearing conducted at a
time and place which is reasonably convenient to the parent
and child involved.

The LEA shall ensure that not later than 45 calendar days
after the receipt of a request for a due process hearing:

   > A final decision is rendered in the hearing; and

   > A copy of the decision is mailed to the parties.

A decision made in a hearing is final unless a party to the
hearing appeals the decision.

Any party aggrieved by the findings and decision in the
hearing may appeal to the State Education Agency (SEA).  If
there is an appeal, the SEA shall conduct an impartial review
of the hearing.  The official conducting the review shall
examine the entire hearing record; insure that the procedures
at the hearing were consistent with the requirements of due
process; seek additional evidence if necessary; if a hearing
is held to receive additional evidence, all hearing rights
described above would apply; afford the parties an
opportunity for oral or written argument, or both, at the
discretion of the reviewing official; make an independent
decision on completion of the review; and give a copy of the
written findings and decision(s) to the parties.  The
decision made by the reviewing official is final, unless a
party brings a civil action.

The SEA shall ensure that not later than 30 calendar days
after the receipt of a request for a review:

   > A final decision is reached in the review; and

   > A copy of the decision is mailed to the parties.

Each review where a hearing is held to receive additional
oral arguments must be conducted at a time and place which is
reasonably convenient to the parent and child involved.  A
hearing or reviewing officer may grant specific extensions of
time beyond the periods set out in this section at the
request of either party.  Any party aggrieved by the findings
and decision(s) made in an administrative review has the
right to bring a civil action in State or Federal Court.  In
any such action or proceeding, the court may award reasonable
attorney's fees to the parents or guardians of a child or
youth with disabilities  who is the prevailing party.
During the pendency of any hearing, administrative, or
judicial proceeding regarding a complaint, unless the LEA and
the parent of the child agree otherwise, the child involved
in the complaint must remain in his current educational
placement.
If the complaint involves an application for initial
admission to the LEA the child, with the consent of the
parents, must be placed in a public school program until the
completion of all proceedings.
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