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Asotin-Anatone
Student Services Interim
Notice of Procedural Safeguards
for Special Education Students and Their
Families
P.O. Box 489 Asotin,
Washington 99402 509-243-4146
July 2005 |
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Interim Notice
of Procedural Safeguards for Special Education Students and Their Families
Dr. Terry Bergeson
State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Dr. Mary Alice Heuschel
Deputy
Superintendent
Learning and
Teaching
Bob Harmon
Assistant Superintendent
Special Populations
Douglas H. Gill, Ed.D.
Director of Special Education Operations
This is a publication of Special
Education, Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), and developed
under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004
(IDEA) federal grant and may be reprinted without permission.
This material is available in alternative
format upon request. Contact Special Education at (360) 725-6075, TTY (360)
586-0126, or speced@ospi.wednet.edu. OSPI
complies with all federal and state rules and regulations and does not
discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability,
age, or marital status.
Table of Contents
Introduction.......................................................................................................................................................................................... 1
Parent Participation.............................................................................................................................................................................. 11
Agreements between
You and Your School District.......................................................................................................................... 1
Definition of Parent and
Assignment of a Surrogate Parents................................................................................................................ 1
Prior Written Notice.............................................................................................................................................................................. 23
Parent Consent.................................................................................................................................................................................... 24
Transfer of Parental
Rights at Age of Majority.................................................................................................................................... 3
Independent Educational
Evaluations................................................................................................................................................... 36
Children Enrolled in
Private Schools by Their Parents......................................................................................................................... 4
Mediation.............................................................................................................................................................................................. 4
Impartial Due Process
Hearing ............................................................................................................................................................ 5. 10
Due Process Hearing
Rights................................................................................................................................................................ 62
Child’s Status During
Proceeding......................................................................................................................................................... 73
Civil Action........................................................................................................................................................................................... 73
Award of Attorneys’’ Fees................................................................................................................................................................... 73
Suspension and Expulsion
Rules For All Students.............................................................................................................................. 75
General Information
About Disciplinary Removal Under IDEA.............................................................................................................. 85
Removals for Drug,
Weapon, or Serious Bodily Injury Violations........................................................................................................ 85
Manifestation
Determination Process................................................................................................................................................... 87
Appeals Regarding
Discipline and Behavior........................................................................................................................................ 9
Protections For
Students Not Yet Eligible For Special Education Services.......................................................................................... 98
Educational Records............................................................................................................................................................................ 919
Resources......................................................................................................................................................................................... 11
On
December 3, In 2004, Congress amendedreauthorized the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and renamed it the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Improvement Act. The law
continues to be referred to as IDEA and will be used as this throughout this document. and renamedretitled it the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement
Act (IDEA 2004). Changes
to the IDEA went into effect July 1, 2005.
The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) has provided this Interim Notice oOf Procedural Safeguards to inform you of your
rights given changes to the federal law. Some of
the information in this notice will change when the United States Department of
Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) finalizes regulations
based upon the changes made by the IDEA, and when Washington State changes its
regulations to implement final federal regulations.
Chapter
392-172 of the Washington Administrative Code (WAC) contains Washington State’s
special education regulations. These
WACs contain the policies and procedures designed to ensure that the
requirements of the IDEA 2004 are met in Washington. Therefore, the recent changes to your
procedural safeguards are in this notice but are not yet in the WACs. OSPI will update the WACs as soon as
possible after OSEP has issued its final regulations. Until
changed, the WACs remain in effect unless they are inconsistent with the
current federal IDEA
2004 law. To
check for updated information contact your local school district or OSPI’s webpage at http://www.k12.wa.us/specialed.
This
interim notice
of procedural safeguards provides parents, surrogate parents, and adult
students a full explanation of their educational rights, including changes made under IDEA 2004. References to “you”, and “your child” also apply to
surrogate parents and adult students. References in this notice to the “district” include
other public agencies, including educational service districts, if they are
providing special educational services to your child. These procedural safeguards apply to your Your school
districtdistrict , educational service
district, or other public agency in the State
of Washington that provides your child with special education services as is required by the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA). to provide you a copy of procedural safeguards, and
make sure that you understand them.
References in this notice
to the district, include other public agencies, including educational service
districts, if they are providing special educational services to your child. Unless in an educational
program for juvenile inmates, students are eligible for special education
between the age of three and twenty-one. Eligibility for juvenile inmates in
state adult correctional facilities ends at age 18.
A
notice of procedural safeguards must be given to you at least once one time every a year and:
·
The first time
you or others refer yourr
child is referred for a special education
evaluation.
·
·
The first timeIf
you or the district requests files a due
process due
process hearing request hearing during the year.
·
·
Anytime you ask for a
copy.
The IDEA is a federal special
education law that requires school districtdistricts to provide
a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to students eligible for special
education. FAPE means special education and related services necessary for your
child to benefit from his or her education. Unless a student is
incarcerated in a state adult correctional facility, sStudents are eligible for
special education between the ages of three and twenty-one. Incarcerated youth in a
state adult correctional facility and who are eligible for special education
are entitled to a FAPE until age 18. Eligibility for juvenile
inmates in state adult correctional facilities ends at age 18.These
services will be provided to your child in the least restrictive environment as
described in an Individualized
Education Program (IEP.).
Changes to the IDEA went
into effect July 1, 2005. OSPI has
issued this notice to inform you of your rights now that these changes are in
place. Some of the information in this notice may change
when the United States Department of Education, Office of Special Education
Programs (OSEP) issues regulations based upon
the changes made by the IDEA.
Chapter 392-172 of the
Washington Administrative Code (WAC) contains Washington State’s special
education regulations. These WACs
contain the policies and procedures designed to ensure that the requirements of
the IDEA are met in Washington. The recent changes to your procedural safeguards
are in this notice but are not yet in the WACs. OSPI will update the WACs as soon as possible after OSEP has
issued its final regulations. To check for updated information contact your
school district or OSPI’s webpage at http://www.k12.wa.us/SpecialEd.
For more information:
Your local school districtdistrict is the first
stop for more information. There are a number of people in the school
districtdistrict
who can answer questions about your child’s education. You may contact your
child’s general or special education teacher, the school principal, or the
district’s special education director.
Your school districtdistrict may have
information about its special education programs including notice of your
procedural safeguards on its webpage.
Your school districtdistrict may allow
you the option of receiving special education notices by e-mail. OSPI has program
supervisors to assist you with questions about your child’s special education
program. You may reach OSPI, Special
Education Operations at (360) 725-6075, TTY (360) 586-0126, or speced@ospi.wednet.edu. ,
________________
Your
participation in
making decisions about your child’s special education program is valuable. You
will be given opportunities to participate in any meetings about the
identification, evaluation, educational placement of your child, and other
matters relating to your child’s free appropriate public
education (FAPEthe provision of special education and related services (FAPE) to your child).
This includes the right to participate in meetings to discuss the eligibility
of your child, meetings to discuss the need for
evaluations, development
or revision of your child’s IEP, and and meetings to makewhen
your
child’s individualized education program (IEP) is
developed or revised and, and meetings where when a placement
decisions is are made. Your child’s IEP
describes the special education services that will be provided to your child
and identifies educational goals for your child. More information about IEPs is available from your school
district.
Districts may discuss
issues affecting your child’s
program without including you. These
discussions include preparation for
an upcoming IEP meetings,
lesson plans, methodology, and coordination of service delivery. However you must be invited to participate
in any meetings where decisions will be made aboutinvolving the identification,
evaluation, placement and provision of a FAPE to your child.
A meeting does not include informal or unscheduled
conversations involving school district personnel and conversations on issues
such as teaching methodology, lesson plans, or coordination of service
provision if those issues are not addressed on your child’s IEP. A meeting also does not include preparatory
activities that public agency personnel engage in to develop a plan or response
to a parent proposal that will be discussed at a later meeting.
Agreements
Between You and Your School District
You
and your school districtdistrict may agree to
waive some procedural requirements. You
and the school districtdistrict can agree, in writing, to:
1.
Mmake changes
to your child’s IEP
without a meeting
after the you and the district have developed the annual
IEP. meeting for a school year has been held. UpoOn request, the school
districtdistrict
must provide you with a
revised copy of the IEP. with the
changes that were added without meeting
2.
. You and the school district can also agree
to Eexcuse
a member of the IEP
team members from attending an IEP meeting, in whole or part i. If:
(a)
Yyou and the district agree
that the attendance of
such member is not necessary because the member’s area of curriculum or related
services is not being modified or discussed in the meeting; or
(b)
You and the district
mutually consent in writing to the excusal of an IEP team member when the meeting involves a modification to or
discussion of the member’s area of the curriculum or related services. Under this circumstance, the excused IEP team member
must submit, in writing to you and the IEP team, input into the development of the IEP in prior to the meeting. to excuse an IEP team
member from a meeting involving the services they provide, that team member
must submit written input to you and the rest of the IEP team.
3.
You and
the school district can also agree to Wwaive the
requirement that the district conduct a reevaluation at least once every three
years. or theor Yyou and the district can also agree to reevaluate your child more limitation
against holding a reevaluation more than once a year. You may withdraw from the
above agreements, however, your withdrawal from an agreement does not negate an
action that occurred when the agreement was in place.
The agreements to waive
requirements must be in writing. You
may withdraw from the agreements, h.owever, your withdrawal from an agreement does not negate an action that occurred when the agreement was in
place. A request to withdraw from an agreement should also be in writing. (LETs make
sure that we address the in writing portion of these agreements that you are
not calling consent.)
The
definition of a “parent” is a natural or adoptionve parent, and includes:;
·
a foster parent (if the child has not been