4.5.1 Basic Principles

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.