With very limited exceptions, the right to special education extends to all students between the ages of three and twenty-one, inclusive,1  who meet the criteria for one or more of the 13 exceptionalities listed in the IDEA and state regulations: Autism, Deaf-Blindness, Deafness, Emotional Disturbance (“ED”), Hard of Hearing, Intellectual Disability, Multiple Disabilities, Orthopedic Impairment, Other Health Impairment (“OHI”), Specific Learning Disabilities (“SLD”), Speech or Language Impairment, Traumatic Brain Injury, and Visual Impairment Including Blindness.2  Children under nine may also be eligible for special education services under the category of Developmental Delay.3  Each exceptionality has its own set of legal criteria distinct from any related medical diagnosis. Some of these exceptionalities require evaluation procedures particular to that suspected disability in addition to the general evaluation procedures applicable to all exceptionalities.

• 120 U.S.C. § 1412(a)(1)(A); La. Bulletin 1706 § 230. States are not required to provide FAPE to students between the ages of 18 and 21 who are incarcerated in an adult correctional facility provided that the student was not identified as a student with a disability and did not have an IEP prior to being incarcerated. La. Bulletin 1706 § 102(A)(1). Furthermore, the right to FAPE ceases when a student graduates with a regular high school diploma. Id. § 102(A)(2). Students who turn 22 during their final school year of eligibility are entitled to continue receiving FAPE until the end of the school year if steps in the student’s transition plan have not been completed. La. Bulletin 1530 § 103(C)(2)(b).
• 220 U.S.C. § 1401(3)(A); La. Bulletin 1508 § 701, et seq.; La. Bulletin 1706 § 905;
• 320 U.S.C. § 1401(3)(B); La. Bulletin 1508 § 705; La. Bulletin 1706 § 111(B).

Under both the IDEA and Louisiana law, an LEA has an affirmative obligation, known as “Child Find,” to identify, locate, and evaluate any child suspected of having a disability residing within the LEA’s geographic boundaries.1  If the LEA is a charter organization to which traditional attendance zones do not apply, its Child Find obligations extend to any student enrolled in one of its charter schools. An LEA’s Child Find duty is triggered when it has reason to suspect a particular child has a disability and a reason to suspect that special education services may be needed to address that disability. When these suspicions arise, the educational agency must refer the student for evaluation “within a reasonable time after the school district is on notice of facts or behavior likely to indicate a disability.”2  The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has held that a four-month delay from notice of facts likely to indicate that a student has a disability before initiating an evaluation is unreasonable.3  The Child Find duty applies regardless of the severity of the disability and regardless of whether the student is advancing from grade to grade.4  Educators’ training, expertise, and direct student contact put them in a position to be able to identify red flags that a student may have a disability and refer the student for evaluation. The Child Find duty also extends to students with suspected disabilities residing in the LEA’s jurisdiction who are enrolled in private schools, preschools, or day care programs; who are not enrolled in any school; and who are highly mobile, including migrant students.5

• 120 U.S.C. § 1412(a)(3)(A); 34 C.F.R. § 300.111; La. Bulletin 1706 § 230(A).
• 2Dallas Indep. Sch. Dist. v. Woody, 865 F.3d 303, 320 (5th Cir. 2017).
• 3Krawietz ex rel. Parker v. Galveston Indep. Sch. Dist., 900 F.3d 673 (5th Cir. 2018).
• 434 C.F.R. § 300.111; La. Bulletin 1508 § 103.
• 534 C.F.R. § 300.111; La. Bulletin 1508 § 103.

If they suspect their child has a disability, parents and their advocates do not have to wait for school officials to act on their Child Find duties. Under the IDEA, “a parent of a child . . . may initiate a request for an initial evaluation to determine” whether the child is an eligible child with a disability.1  Within a reasonable time of the request, the LEA must either deny the request with a written explanation or obtain informed consent from the parent for the initial evaluation.2  LEAs use a team of educators and administrators known as the School Building Level Committee (“SBLC”) to make decisions regarding whether to refer a particular student for a special education initial evaluation.3  The SBLC can also choose to refer a child to other interventions in lieu of or as part of a referral for an initial special education evaluation.4  LEAs must conduct a “full and individual initial evaluation” in compliance with the IDEA before the “initial provision of special education,” but parental consent for an initial evaluation does not constitute consent for the provision of special education services.5

Once a parent consents to the initial evaluation, the LEA must “use a variety of assessment tools and strategies to gather relevant functional, developmental, and academic information about the student, including information provided by the parent.”6  Initial special education evaluations must be completed within 60 business days of the LEA having obtained parental consent.7  The timeline, however, is interrupted by summer and can be extended with the parent’s consent.8  Once assessments are completed, the evaluation team, also known as a dissemination team, meets to disseminate the final evaluation report and determine if the child is eligible for special education under one or more exceptionalities. If a parent refuses to provide consent for the initiation of special education services after an initial evaluation has found the student eligible, the LEA is relieved of its obligation to provide FAPE to the student.9

• 120 U.S.C. § 1414(a)(1)(B); La. Bulletin 1508 § 302(B).
• 2La. Bulletin 1508 § 509(B)­–(C).
• 3La. Bulletin 1508 § 303. In some districts and charters, the SBLC is called the Student Assistance Team (“SAT”).
• 4La. Bulletin 1508 § 303.
• 534 C.F.R. § 300.301(a); 20 U.S.C. § 1414(a)(1)(A).
• 620 U.S.C. § 1414(b)(2)(A); La. Bulletin 1706 § 305(B)(1).
• 7La. Bulletin 1706 § 302(C); La. Bulletin 1508 § 511(A).
• 8La. Bulletin 1508 § 511(A).
• 920 U.S.C. § 1414(a)(1)(D)(ii)(III); La. Bulletin 1706 § 301(B)(3).

Once special education services begin, a reevaluation must occur at least once every three years.1  The triennial evaluation operates on the same timelines as the initial evaluation, and the deadline can be extended by agreement of the LEA and parent provided that the reevaluation is completed on or prior to the three-year anniversary date.2  The LEA must conduct the reevaluation earlier if the LEA determines an earlier reevaluation is warranted by the educational or related service needs of a student, if the student’s teacher or parent requests a reevaluation, or if a significant change in placement to a more restrictive environment is proposed that would result in a student being in a regular class for less than 40% of the day.3  A reevaluation must also occur before removing a student no longer suspected of having an exceptionality from special education by terminating eligibility.4

An evaluation coordinator must be assigned as part of a reevaluation, and the coordinator must review any evaluations or information provided by the parents or student.5  The coordinator must also review the student’s educational history, progress monitoring data, and data from student observations.6  The reevaluation must also satisfy any reevaluation requirements for the specific disabilities at issue and include the development or review of a Functional Behavioral Assessment (“FBA”) if behavior is a concern.7  Under Louisiana regulations, no other particular assessments are required as a part of a reevaluation unless a parent requests an assessment to determine the student’s educational needs or the LEA determines that additional data is needed.8  However, when a different exceptionality from the student’s current one is suspected, the reevaluation must follow the same initial criteria and procedures for the suspected exceptional as a required for an initial evaluation.9

• 120 U.S.C. § 1414(a)(2)(B); La. Bulletin 1508 § 304(b)(2).
• 2La. Bulletin 1508 § 1105(H).
• 3Id. § 1101(A).
• 4Id. § 1101(A)(4).
• 5Id. § 1105(A).
• 6Id.
• 7Id.
• 8La. Bulletin 1508 § 1105(D)–(F). However, the federal regulations do not distinguish between evaluation procedures for initial evaluations and reevaluations, suggesting that LEAs must use a variety of assessment tools for both types of evaluations. 34 C.F.R. § 300.304.
• 9La. Bulletin 1508 § 1105(F)(1).

An Independent Educational Evaluation (“IEE”) is “an evaluation conducted by a qualified examiner who is not employed by the public agency who is responsible for the education of the student in question.”1  If a parent disagrees with an evaluation provided by the school district, the parent has a right to an IEE at public cost.2  The parent does not have to provide the LEA with the reason it disagrees with its evaluation and inquiring about the reason for the IEE request cannot be used as a method of unreasonably delaying the IEE.3  Once a parent requests an IEE, the LEA must without unnecessary delay either ensure that the IEE is provided at public expense or file a request for a due process hearing to show that the LEA’s evaluation is appropriate.4  Regardless of the LEA’s chosen course of action, it must provide the parent with information about where to obtain an IEE as well as the criteria for IEEs that the LEA has set.5  If the IEE is at public expense, the LEA may set criteria for the location of the IEE and the qualifications of the examiner so long as the LEA uses the same criteria for its own initial evaluations.6  The results of any IEE, whether or not provided at public cost, must be considered by the LEA if the parent shares the IEE and may be used as evidence at a due process hearing by either side.7  A parent is entitled to only one IEE at public expense per LEA evaluation.8

• 1La. Bulletin 1706 § 503(A)(3)(a); 34 C.F.R. § 300.502(a)(3)(i).
• 234 C.F.R. § 300.502(b)(1); La. Bulletin 1706 § 503(B)(1).
• 334 C.F.R. § 300.502(b)(4); La. Bulletin 1706 § 503(B)(4).
• 434 C.F.R. § 300.502(b)(2); La. Bulletin 1706 § 503(B)(2).
• 5La. Bulletin 1706 § 503(A)(2).
• 6Id. § 503(E).
• 734 C.F.R. § 300.502(c); La. Bulletin 1706 § 503(C).
• 834 C.F.R. § 300.502(b)(4); La. Bulletin 1706 § 503(B)(5).

The primary method of delivering a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) to special education students is through the development and implementation of an Individualized Education Program (IEP) that meets the student’s unique needs. Ultimately, “the essential function of an IEP is to set out a plan for pursuing academic and functional advancement.”1  Accordingly, students with disabilities must receive special education and related services that “[a]re provided in conformity with” an IEP developed pursuant to the requirements established in special education regulations.2  On a more substantive level, “a school must offer an IEP reasonably calculated to enable a child to make progress appropriate in light of the child’s circumstances.”3  The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has held that an IEP is reasonably calculated to provide meaningful educational benefit if a multi-factor analysis indicates: “(1) the program is individualized on the basis of the student's assessment and performance; (2) the program is administered in the least restrictive environment; (3) the services are provided in a coordinated and collaborative manner by the key ‘stakeholders’; and (4) positive academic and non-academic benefits are demonstrated.”4  An IEP that meets these four prongs should provide the academic and functional advancement that is central to FAPE.

Because not all children are capable of the same level of advancement, it can be a challenge to define appropriate progress in light of a child’s individual circumstances. In Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District, the Supreme Court recognized that while advancement from grade to grade is appropriately ambitious for most children in regular education, this may not always be the case for students in special education.5  Students in special education are nevertheless entitled to an appropriately ambitious educational program in light of their individual circumstances that grant them the opportunity “to meet challenging objectives” rather than simply to make de minimis progress.6  Thus, an IEP is appropriate only when the services and modifications allow for meaningful progress and educational benefit that is commensurate with a student’s capabilities.

In keeping with these requirements, an IEP has numerous components that must be developed, reviewed, and revised at least once a year at an IEP meeting in order to ensure the IEP is meeting a student’s unique needs.7  These key components are discussed in the following sections.

• 1Endrew F. v. Douglas Cnty. Sch. Dist. RE-1, 137 S. Ct. 988, 999 (2017).
• 234 C.F.R. § 300.17; La. Bulletin 1706 § 905 (definition of Free Appropriate Public Education).
• 3Endrew F., 137 S. Ct. at 999.
• 4Cypress-Fairbanks Indep. Sch. Dist. v. Michael F., 118 F.3d 245, 253 (5th Cir. 1997).
• 5Endrew F., 137 S. Ct. at 1000.
• 6Id.
• 7For a blank IEP template, see La. Dep’t of Educ., Individualized Education Program Form.

The IEP must include a statement of the student’s present levels of academic achievement and functional performance and a statement of the student’s measurable annual academic and functional goals.1  Functional goals are those that address needs in areas outside of traditional academic subjects. For example, a student in special education might have goals, also referred to as Instructional Plans, in areas such as Communication, Behavior, Social, Self-Help, Adaptive Physical Education, and Fine Motor Skills to address needs in those areas in addition to goals in traditional academic subjects. There must also be a description of how the team will measure progress towards meeting the student’s annual goals through periodic reports such as quarterly progress reports.2

• 120 U.S.C. § 1414(d)(1)(A)(i)(II); La. Bulletin 1706 § 320(A)(1)–(2).
• 220 U.S.C. § 1414(d)(1)(A)(i)(III); La. Bulletin 1706 § 320(A)(3).

The IEP must also include “a statement of the special education and related services and supplementary aids and services, based on peer-reviewed research to the extent practicable” and the “program modifications or supports for school personnel” that will allow appropriate advancement towards the student’s annual goals and progress in the general education curriculum.1  “Related Services” are “developmental, corrective, and other supportive services as are required to assist a student with a disability to benefit from special education.”2  The long, non-exhaustive list of related services enumerated in special education regulations include transportation, speech language pathology and audiology services, interpreting services, psychological services, physical and occupational therapy, recreation (including therapeutic recreation), early identification and assessment of disabilities in students, counseling services, including rehabilitation counseling, orientation and mobility services, medical services for diagnostic or evaluation purposes, school health services and school nurse services, social work services in schools, and parent counseling and training.3  Generally, any related service for which there is a documented needed should be included as part of a student’s IEP.4  For some related services to be added to the IEP, however, there must be a finding in a special education evaluation that the student meets specific eligibility criteria for the service established in Louisiana Bulletin 1508.5  The related services for which a student must qualify through a special education evaluation are school health services, occupational therapy, orientation and mobility services, physical therapy, school psychological, school social work, and speech/language pathology services.6

• 120 U.S.C. § 1414(d)(1)(A)(i)(IV); La. Bulletin 1706 § 320(A)(4).
• 2La. Bulletin 1706 § 905 (defining Related Services); 20 U.S.C. § 1401(26)(A).
• 3La. Bulletin 1706 § 905 (defining Related Services); 20 U.S.C. § 1401(26)(A).
• 4La. Bulletin 1530 § 309(A).
• 5Id.
• 6La. Bulletin 1508 § 1501(B).

IEPs must include “a statement of any individual appropriate accommodations that are necessary to measure the academic achievement and functional performance of the student on state and district-wide assessments.”1  The IEP form used in Louisiana contains several pages of accommodations that the IEP team can select from for use in both classroom instruction and testing and in statewide assessments.2  The list of accommodations, which is not exhaustive, includes modifying the manner in which information is presented to the student; how the student’s response is collected; the timing and scheduling of instruction, tests, and assignments; and the instructional or testing setting for a student.3

Special education regulations also specify a number of supplementary aids and services that must be included in the IEP if determined to be necessary for the provision of FAPE. These supports can include a public or private residential placement, assistive technology devices and services for use at school and at home, nonacademic and extracurricular services needed to provide an equal opportunity for participation in those activities, and regular or special physical education services.4  IEPs can also include additional supports and services within attached Individual Health Plans, Parental Communication Plans, and Behavior Intervention or Support Plans. Thus, IEP teams have a wide array of modifications and supports available to ensure that special education students are receiving FAPE.

• 1La. Bulletin 1706 § 320(A)(6); 20 U.S.C. § 1414(d)(1)(A)(i)(IV).
• 2See La. Dep’t of Educ., Individualized Education Program Form 5–11.
• 3See id.
• 434 C.F.R. § 300.104­–.108; La. Bulletin 1706 § 104–­108.

Starting with the first IEP to be in effect once a student in special education turns sixteen, the IEP must contain a transition plan consisting of appropriate measurable postsecondary goals based upon age-appropriate transition assessments related to training, education, employment, and, where appropriate, independent living skills as well as the transition services, including courses of study, needed to assist the student in reaching those goals.1  Transition services are a coordinated set of activities designed to be within a results oriented process, that is focused on improving the academic and functional achievement of the student with a disability to facilitate the student’s movement from school to post-school activities, including post-secondary education, vocational education, integrated employment (including supported employment), continuing and adult education, adult services, independent living, or community participation.2

Transition services can include instruction, related services, and community experiences and should be based upon the student’s individual needs and account for the student’s strengths, preferences, and interests. Many districts and schools offer extensive vocational programs through which special education students may receive training and even industry certifications in popular career paths such as welding, cosmetology, mechanical, hospitality, technology, and entrepreneurship. The transition plans of students whose post-graduation aspirations include higher education might focus more on preparing the youth to meet admission requirements and assisting them with navigating the college application process. Other students may need transition plans that target the development of skills needed to live independently like using public transportation, managing finances, acquiring daily living skills, or accessing community services.  

• 120 U.S.C. § 1414(d)(1)(A)(i)(VIII); La. Bulletin 1706 § 320(B).
• 2La. Bulletin 1706 § 905 (defining Transition Services); 34 C.F.R. § 300.43(a)(1).

Students in special education may also be entitled to special education instruction and related services known as Extended School Year (“ESY”) services during the summer break.1  ESY services, however, are not meant to function as a summer school for any special education student who would benefit from additional instruction or services in the months between school years. Rather, ESY services are only available to a student in special education if the IEP team determines they are required for FAPE based on any of three specific criteria: Regression-Recoupment, Critical Point of Instruction, and Special Circumstances.2

Regression-Recoupment applies to students with significant cognitive disabilities when performance data demonstrates a pattern of problems with recouping performance on any objective or skill across any two breaks within the current IEP.3

Students can qualify for ESY under Critical Point of Instruction (“CPI”) in two ways. A student qualifies under CPI-1 if the student would be at risk of losing general education class time or of increasing special education service time because of a lack of academic or social skill development without ESY services.4  A student qualifies under CPI-2 if the student would be at risk of losing significant progress made toward acquisition, fluency, maintenance, and/or generalization of skills relevant in the pursuit of critical life areas like self-help, community access, or social and behavioral skills.5

Finally, a student can qualify for ESY services based on Special Circumstances for a number of different reasons, including the need to support older students so they can maintain a summer job, the need to maintain performance skills and prevent regression for students transitioning from Early Steps to preschool, the need to complete action steps that are part of a transition plan that have not been completed by the LEA by the end of the student’s final year in school, and the need to catch up on projected progress for students with excessive absences for health-related conditions.6  Special Circumstances also include a broad category of Extenuating Circumstances in which a student can qualify for ESY when unusual situations or circumstances create a need for ESY services, but the student does not meet other eligibility criteria.7  Extenuating Circumstances exist if there is a determination that a break in instruction will negatively impact or cause the student skill loss that will restrict the student’s ability to function as independently as possible.8

In conclusion, in order to provide FAPE to a special education student, an LEA must develop and faithfully implement an IEP that includes appropriately ambitious goals and the related services, modifications, and other supports needed to achieve those goals.

• 134 C.F.R. § 300.106; La. Bulletin 1706 § 106.
• 2La. Bulletin 1530 § 705(C).
• 3Id. § 705(C)(1).
• 4Id. § 705(C)(2)(b)(i).
• 5Id. § 705(C)(2)(b)(ii).
• 6Id. § 705(C)(3).
• 7Id. § 705(C)(3)(e).
• 8Id. § 705(C)(3)(e)(ii).

One of the IDEA’s main purposes is to prevent the segregation and exclusion of students with disabilities from public education, a practice that was all too common prior to the law’s enactment. To achieve this purpose, the IDEA mandates:

To the maximum extent appropriate, children with disabilities . . . are educated with children who are not disabled, and special classes, separate schooling, or other removal of children with disabilities from the regular educational environment occurs only when the nature or severity of the disability of a child is such that education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily.1

This substantive protection is known as the right to be educated in the Least Restrictive Environment (“LRE”). Notwithstanding the robust nature of this protection, courts have held that schools 

need not provide every conceivable supplementary aid or service to assist the child. Furthermore, the Act does not require regular education instructors to devote all or most of their time to one [disabled] child or to modify the regular education program beyond recognition

as part of the right to education in the LRE.2  At the same time, a student in special education should not be “removed form education in age-appropriate regular classrooms solely because of needed modifications in the general education curriculum.”3  To determine if a student in special education is being educated in the LRE, one must look to the placement listed on a child’s IEP and determine if the student could be educated in a less restrictive setting with the appropriate supplementary aids and services.

• 120 U.S.C. § 1412(a)(5)(A); see also 34 C.F.R. § 300.114 (a)(2)(i); La. Bulletin 1706 § 114(A).
• 2Daniel R.R. v. State Bd. of Educ., 874 F.2d 1036, 1048 (5th Cir. 1989) (citations omitted).
• 3La. Bulletin 1706 § 116(A)(5); 34 C.F.R. § 300.116(e).

LEAs administer their special education programs using a number of different delivery methods in various settings, but all LEAs must offer a continuum of alternative placements categorized according to the amount of time the special education student spends with nondisabled peers.1  The continuum of placements must include, in order of least restrictive to most restrictive, regular classes, special classes, special schools, residential facilities, and hospital/homebound instruction.2  Students who are educated in a regular class with their non-disabled peers for 80% or more of the day are said to be placed in a regular education setting.3  This type of setting is also commonly referred to as “inclusion” or “mainstreaming”.” Within a regular education setting, students can receive special education and services within the regular classroom, a model known as “push-in” services, or in a separate resource classroom, in a model known as “pull-out” services.4  More restrictive settings include a resource setting (40-79% of the day inside a regular class) and a self-contained setting (less than 40% of the day inside a regular class).5  The placement must be reviewed at least once a year at the annual IEP meeting, and a student cannot be placed in a more restrictive self-contained setting without first conducting an evaluation.

• 134 C.F.R. § 300.115; La. Bulletin 1706 § 115(A).
• 2La. Bulletin 1706 § 115(B)(1); La. Bulletin 1530 § 117; 34 C.F.R. § 300.115(b)(1).
• 3La. Bulletin 1530 § 117(A)(1).
• 4Id. § 117(A)(1)(a).
• 5Id. § 117(A)(2)–(3).

The site determination (i.e., the particular school or type of classroom listed on a student’s IEP) is separate from but related to the student’s IEP placement. School districts will often concentrate a program or type of classroom for students with lower-incidence disabilities or needs at one or more school sites to serve students from across the district or regions of the district. To illustrate, one district may choose to create classrooms designed to serve the needs of children with severe or profound cognitive impairments at a few schools spread throughout the district. While allocating resources in this manner is allowable, a student should generally be assigned to a school as close as possible to the student’s home and should be educated in the school the student would attend if non-disabled unless the IEP requires some other arrangement.1  Site determination procedures require that students in special education “be placed in programs on the basis of their unique special education needs, not as a result of their particular disabling condition.”2  Furthermore, the LEA cannot base the placement or site determination either on its particular “special education delivery system or on the availability of related services.”3  For example, a school district should not place all students with Emotional Disturbance in the district’s alternative school for expelled students because that is the site where the district has chosen to place all of its social work and counseling services. Instead, the district should work to ensure those commonly needed services are available at schools throughout the district so students can go to the school in their zone of attendance.

• 1La. Bulletin 1706 § 116(A)(2)–(3); 34 C.F.R. § 300.116(c).
• 2La. Bulletin 1530 § 129(B)(1).
• 3Id. § 129(B)(2).

The procedural safeguards contained in special education laws and regulations are essential to ensuring the substantive rights related to FAPE and education in the LRE are being provided to students with disabilities. At the heart of these procedural protections are requirements related to accessing educational records, parental participation, conducting IEP team meetings, and providing prior written notice of decisions related to the IEP and FAPE. It should also be noted that many of the procedural protections within the special education framework relate to heightened disciplinary safeguards for students with disabilities; this category of procedural safeguards is addressed elsewhere.1

• 1On these heightened protections in the disciplinary context, see Section 8.5.

Parents of students with disabilities have the right to access their children’s educational records. Schools must “permit parents to inspect and review any education records relating to their children that are collected, maintained, or used by the agency under these regulations.”1  In terms of timing, the LEA must comply with a request without unnecessary delay by providing requested records before any meeting regarding an IEP, due process hearing, resolution meeting, or Manifestation Determination meeting.2  “[I]n no case can the LEA take more than forty-five days to provide the records after the request has been made.”3

Additionally, a state statute known as the Louisiana Parents’ Bill of Rights for Public Schools grants all parents of public school children under 18 the right “[t]o inspect their child’s school records, and to receive a copy of their child’s records with ten business days of submitting a written request.”4  Under this law, electronic records must be provided at no charge, and any charges for hard copies must be reasonable and set forth in the official rules and regulations of the school’s governing authority.5  The law applies to academic records, medical or health records, records of mental health counseling, records of vocational counseling, discipline records, attendance records, records related to screening for exceptionalities, IEPs, IAPs, and any other student-specific file, document, or other materials maintained by the school.6

The most well-known law related to the right to access educational records is the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (“FERPA”). Under FERPA regulations, “education records” are records that are directly related to a student and that are maintained by an educational agency or institution or a party acting for or on behalf of the agency or institution. These records may be maintained in any form (e.g., hard copy or electronic) and include but are not limited to grades, transcripts, class lists, student course schedules, health records (at the K-12 level), student financial information (at the postsecondary level), and student discipline files.7  If a record contains identifying information for another student, the educational agency may release the records after redacting the other student’s personally identifiable information.8

• 1La. Bulletin 1706 § 613(A); 34 C.F.R. § 300.613(a).
• 2La. Bulletin 1706 § 613(A).
• 334 C.F.R. § 300.613(a); La. Bulletin 1706 § 613(A).
• 4La. R.S. 17:406.9(B)(2).
• 5Id.
• 6Id.
• 734 C.F.R. § 99.2.
• 834 C.F.R. § 99.31(b)(1).

Parents of students with disabilities have the right to participate in decisions related to their children’s education. First, parents must in general be afforded an opportunity to participate in meetings with respect to the identification, evaluation, and educational placement of the student and the provision of FAPE to the student.1  Furthermore, parents are an integral member of the IEP team.2  As such, special education regulations require LEAs to “take steps to ensure that one or both of the parents of the student with a disability are present at each IEP team meeting or are afforded the opportunity to participate.”3  The LEA must provide parents with written notice of the meeting early enough to ensure they will have the opportunity to participate and must schedule the meeting at a mutually agreed upon time and place.4  A school may only proceed with an IEP team meeting without the presence of a parent if neither parent can attend and the LEA attempts to use alternative methods to ensure parent participation, such as telephone and video conferencing.5  If the LEA cannot convince the parent to attend after making reasonable efforts to schedule the meeting at a mutually agreed time and place and complying with notice requirements, it can proceed with the meeting but must keep detailed records of phone calls, correspondence, and visits made to the parents along with any responses received in an attempt to secure their participation. LEAs must also take whatever action is necessary, such as providing an interpreter to a parent with deafness or whose native language is not English, to ensure the parent understands what happens at an IEP meeting.6

Parents are also explicitly granted the right to participate in specific aspects of the evaluation and eligibility determination process, including SBLC meetings when decisions are made regarding their child, evaluation team meetings to consider the results of the data and determine eligibility, the initial IEP meeting, IEP meetings to discuss new concerns and to determine if a reevaluation is needed, and meetings for reevaluations to discuss the review of existing evaluation data to determine whether the student continues to have an exceptionality and continues to need special education and related services.7

• 134 C.F.R. § 300.501(b); La. Bulletin 1706 § 502(B)(1).
• 220 U.S.C. § 1414(d)(1)(B)(i); 34 C.F.R. § 300.321(a)(1); La. Bulletin 1706 § 321(a)(1).
• 334 C.F.R. § 300.322(a); La. Bulletin 1706 § 322(A).
• 434 C.F.R. § 300.322(a)(1)–(2); La. Bulletin 1706 § 322(A)(1)–(2).
• 534 C.F.R. § 300.322(c); La. Bulletin 1706 § 322(C).
• 634 C.F.R. § 300.322(e); La. Bulletin 1706 § 322(E).
• 7La. Bulletin 1508 § 109(A).

An LEA has a maximum of 30 days to hold an IEP meeting and complete the initial IEP after a student has been found eligible for special education through the initial evaluation process.1  The special education and related services listed in the initial IEP must made available to the student as soon as possible but no later than 10 school days after the IEP is developed.2  Afterwards, an IEP team meeting must be held at least annually to review and revise the document, though meetings can occur more frequently if needed.3  At any point after an annual IEP meeting, an IEP can be amended by convening another IEP meeting.4  An IEP can also be amended without convening a new IEP meeting if the parent and LEA agree not to meet and instead choose to develop a written document to amend or modify the IEP.5

Some students are eligible for special education services through an Interim IEP even before the completion of the initial evaluation and a determination of eligibility. An Interim IEP must be developed for students with severe or low-incidence impairments documented by a qualified professional while the initial evaluation is being conducted.6  Interim IEPs may also be developed while the initial evaluation is being conducted for students who have been receiving special education services out of state, who have been out of school altogether, or who formerly received special education services and left public school without obtaining a state diploma.7

• 1La. Bulletin 1530 § 105(A); La. Bulletin 1706 § 323(C)(1).
• 2La. Bulletin 1530 § 105(A)(2)(b); La. Bulletin 1706 § 323(C)(2).
• 3La. Bulletin 1530 § 111(B); La. Bulletin 1706 § 324(B).
• 4La. Bulletin 1706 § 324(A)(6).
• 5La. Bulletin 1530 § 113(A); La. Bulletin 1706 § 324(A)(4)(a).
• 6La. Bulletin 1530 § 111(C). Low incidence impairments include hearing impairment, visual impairment, deaf-blindness, traumatic brain injury, moderate or severe intellectual disability, multiple disabilities, some cases of severe autism, orthopedic impairments, and significant health issues. See La. Bulletin 1508 § 307(B).
• 7La. Bulletin 1530 § 111(C)(1)–(2).

In addition to one or both parents, the IEP team must be comprised of not less than one regular education teacher if the student is or may be participating in regular education, not less than one of the student’s special education teachers or providers, an officially designated representative (“ODR”) of the LEA, an individual who can interpret the instructional implications of evaluation results, any other individuals who have knowledge or special expertise regarding the student at the discretion of the parent or LEA, and the student with a disability, when appropriate.1  When it comes to invited members of the IEP team, the party who invited the individual to be a member of the IEP team is the party who determines whether that person has knowledge or special expertise regarding the student.2  Required members of the IEP team can be excused in whole or in part from attending the IEP team meeting if the parent and LEA agree in writing that attendance is not necessary because the member’s area of the curriculum or related services are not being modified or discussed at the meeting.3  The member can also be excused if the parent agrees in writing and the member submits, in writing to both the parent and the IEP team, input into the development of the IEP prior to the meeting.4

• 134 C.F.R. § 300.321(a); La. Bulletin 1706 § 321(A).
• 234 C.F.R. § 300.321(c); La. Bulletin 1706 § 321(7)(b).
• 334 C.F.R. § 300.321(e)(1); La. Bulletin 1706 § 321(E)(1).
• 434 C.F.R. § 300.321(e)(2); La. Bulletin 1706 § 321(E)(2).

A key procedural protection is that an LEA must provide Prior Written Notice to parents a reasonable time before the LEA initiates, changes, or refuses to initiate or change a student’s educational placement or the provision of FAPE to the student.1  In order for the notice to be sufficient, it must include:

1. A description of the action proposed or refused by the agency.
2. An explanation of why the agency proposes or refuses to take the action.
3. A description of each evaluation procedure, assessment, record or report the agency used as a basis for the proposed or refused action.
4. A reminder that parents have legal rights to procedural safeguards.
5. Sources for parents to get a written copy of their legal rights.
6. A description of other options that the IEP team considered and the reasons why those options were rejected.
7. A description of any other factors that are relevant to the LEA’s proposal or refusal.2

The notice must be written in language understandable to the general public and in the native language or other mode of communication of the parent.3

• 120 U.S.C. § 1415(b)(3); 34 C.F.R. § 300.503(a); La. Bulletin 1706 § 504(A).
• 234 C.F.R. § 300.503(b); La. Bulletin 1706 § 504(B).
• 334 C.F.R. § 300.503(c); La. Bulletin 1706 § 504(C).