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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

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