Parent Rights

Parental Rights under IDEA

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Right to Obtain an Independent Educational Evaluation

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Confidentiality and Access to Student Records

IDEA and other federal laws protect the confidentiality of your child’s education records. These safeguards address the following three aspects:

the use of personally identifiable information;
who may have access to your child’s records; and
the rights of parents to inspect their child’s education records and request that these be amended to correct information that is misleading or inaccurate, or that violates the child’s privacy or other rights.

Right to Receive Prior Written Notice (Part B of IDEA)

Parental rights under IDEA include the right to receive prior written notice from the school each time that the school proposes to take (or refuses to take) certain actions with respect to your child. Specifically, the school must provide parents with prior written notice each time that it:

proposes to initiate or change the identification, evaluation, or educational placement of your child;
proposes to initiate or change the provision of FAPE to your child (that’s a free appropriate public education);
refuses to initiate or change the identification, evaluation, or educational placement of your child;
refuses to initiate or change the provision of FAPE to your child.

Parental Right to Participate in Meetings

The right to participate in meetings related to their child is one of the most important and powerful of parent rights. Parents have the right to participate in meetings with respect to the:

their child’s identification,
their child’s evaluation,
their child’s educational placement, and
provision of FAPE (free appropriate public education) to their child.

Right to Receive a Complete Explanation of IDEA’s Procedural Safeguards

At least one time a year, the parents of a child with a disability must receive from the school system a complete explanation of all the procedural safeguards available to them, as parents, under IDEA. This explanation is called the “Procedural Safeguards Notice.” In this page, we’ll examine the purpose and contents of this notice, the times that parents will receive it, and other aspects of this important safeguard.

Requesting an Independent Evaluation of Your Child

There are times when you, as a parent, may want to communicate in writing with your child’s school about some problem or concern with your child’s education or well-being. This page presents a model letter or email you might write the school to request an independent educational evaluation of your child at public expense (meaning that the school pays for the evaluation).

Requesting an Initial Evaluation for Special Education Services

There are times when you, as a parent, may want to communicate in writing with your child’s school about some problem or concern with your child’s education or well-being. This page presents a model letter or email you might write the school to ask that your child be evaluated to see if he or she has a disability and is eligible to receive special education and related services.

Parental Consent in Special Education

One of parents’ most important rights is the right to give (or not give) their consent for certain actions of the school system with respect to their child with a disability. This short page will explain this right in detail.