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).