special education rights and responsibilities - Disability Rights ...

Information on IEP Process
[34 C.F.R. Sec. 300.320; Cal. Ed. Code Sec. 56345.]
All required members of the IEP team should attend and participate in the team
meeting and should not sign the IEP before the team meets.
While there is no legal procedure for how to reach agreement in an IEP meeting,
the IEP team should work toward consensus. However, if a team cannot reach
consensus regarding a service or placement, the district has the ultimate
responsibility to offer what it believes is an appropriate program. It is not
appropriate to make IEP decisions based upon a majority. Where consensus
cannot be reached and a parent disagrees with the district’s proposal, the district
must provide parents with “prior written notice” of that proposal, and the parents
may file for due process hearing. [34 C.F.R. Part 300.503; Cal. Ed. Code Sec.
56500.4.]
17. What is Prior Written Notice?
The district is required to give you a prior written notice “a reasonable time
before” it refuses to initiate or change the identification, evaluation, placement or
the provision of a free, appropriate public education (FAPE). The term
“reasonable time” is not defined in the statue. The notice must contain the service
or placement refused by the district, an explanation for the refusal, a description of
each evaluation procedure, assessment, record, or report used by the school district
to make their decision. The notice must also inform you of your right to challenge
that decision. [34 C.F.R. Sec. 300.503; Cal. Ed. Code Sec. 56500.4.]
If you are not given proper notice before the IEP, you may argue that the district
not only violated the prior written notice requirement, but also that the absence of a
notice prevented you from meaningful participation in your child’s IEP.
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