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Home » Family Rights »
Family Rights
Families of children with disabilities have the right to:
Be informed
Families must:
- be fully informed by the school about their rights in the special education process
- be notified in writing before an evaluation, re-evaluation or change in their child's classification or placement
- give "informed consent" (this means that parents understand and agree with the decisions) before an initial evaluation or placement
- attend and participate in any meetings in which their child's education is being discussed, including Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) meetings
- invite others involved in the child's life to participate in the meetings
- tape record meetings
- request translations if English is not their primary language
- be kept informed of their child's progress at least as often as parents of non-disabled children
- examine their child's educational records, have them explained, and request that information that is inaccurate or inappropriate be corrected
Participate in decisions
This includes decisions about:
- whether the child should be evaluated by a team of professionals who have knowledge about the child
- whether the child should be classified as disabled
- what goals should be included on the child's IEP or IFSP
- what related services the child should receive
- where the child should be educated
Disagree
When families do not agree with the school's recommendations about their child's education, they have the right to:
- request that their child be re-evaluated or be evaluated by someone outside the school (which may be done at the school's expense)
- refuse to consent to decisions about their child's classification, evaluation or placement
- refuse to sign an IEP document; parents have 10 school days to think about the IEP before signing it
- participate in a meeting to resolve disagreements with the child's IEP team within 15 days of notifying the team of their complaint in writing
- request an impartial due process hearing; this means that an impartial hearing officer listens to all parties and decides what is to be done, according to the law