Legal Rights of Persons With Disabilities - Ossh.com

The school district must make it as easy as possible for the parents of a child with a disability to
participate in the planning of their child's education. The school district must give the parents notice of the
meetings of the IEP team in the parent's own language or primary method of communication, and must
schedule the meetings at a time convenient for the parents. The parents have the right to present
information to the rest of the team and to have their opinions carefully considered. If the parents do not
speak English or are hearing-impaired, the school district must provide an interpreter for them at the
meetings of the IEP team. The parents are entitled to a copy of their child's IEP at no cost to them. If the
parents request it, the school district must give them a copy of their child's IEP written in their own
language. (20 U.S.C. '' 1401(11), 1412(4), and 1414(c)(1); 34 C.F.R. ' 300.345.)
c. Placement in Special Education and Related Services
i. General Law
Once the evaluation and planning processes are completed, and the parents have given their
consent, the school district must immediately begin to provide the special education and the related services
listed in the IEP.
However, if the total cost of all special education and related services provided to a child with a
disability is greater than $20,000 per year, the Superintendent of Public Instruction must review the IEP to
determine if the IEP team made adequate efforts to find an appropriate, but less expensive, placement for
the child. At most, this can delay the child's special education and related services for two or three weeks.
ii.
Parental Consent is Required in Order to
Provide Special Education or Related Services
No child may be placed in any special education program or provided with related services without
the written consent of the child's parents. The parents may consent to only a part of the IEP and object to
the rest. For example, the parents may consent to all or part of the related services listed in the IEP and
refuse to consent to the proposed special education program. If the parents consent to some part of the IEP,
then the school district must immediately provide the services for which consent has been given. A parent
may object to any part of the IEP, either on the ground that it is unnecessary or on the ground that it is
inappropriate or inadequate. (Ed. Code, ' 56346; 34 C.F.R. ' 300.505.)
If the parents refuse to consent to any part of the IEP prepared for their child, then either the
parents or the school district may request a hearing before an independent hearing officer provided by the
California Department of Education. If the dispute is over a service demanded by the parents and denied by
the school district, then the hearing officer must make an independent determination of the needs of the
child. However, if the dispute is over a service offered by the school district and rejected by the parents,
then the duty of the hearing officer is less clear. Because parents have a constitutional right to control and
direct the education of their children, both the school district and the hearing officer may lack the authority
to overrule the parents unless a child's presence is disruptive of a regular classroom or the parents are
endangering the child. (However, see also Wilson v. Marana Unified School District (9 th Cir. 1984) 735
F.2d 1178.)
d. Changes in Placement or Education Program
of a Child With a Disability
i. There Must Be a Periodic Reassessment
of the Child
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