Prior written notice
Last updated
Prior written notice is the explanation a school must give parents before it proposes or refuses a change to a child's evaluation, placement or services.
Topic: IDEA, law and procedure
In plain terms
Prior written notice, often shortened to PWN, tells parents what the school plans to do or will not do, and why. It must describe the options the team considered and why they were rejected, the evaluations, records or reports the decision is based on, and where parents can get help understanding their rights. It must be written in language the public can understand and, where feasible, in the parent's native language.
How it shows up in an IEP
A notice is needed when a team adds or ends a service, changes minutes, moves a student to a new setting, or turns down a parent's request. Clear data makes the notice stronger: "Based on six weeks of trial data showing 85% accuracy" says far more than "the team feels."
Example
A parent asks for daily one-to-one reading instruction. The team proposes small-group instruction instead, and the notice cites the student's progress monitoring data and the options considered.
The rule
Federal reference: 34 CFR §300.503.
Related terms
- Procedural safeguardsProcedural safeguards are the rights IDEA gives parents and students, and the steps schools must follow, to keep special education decisions fair.
- Informed consentInformed consent is a parent's written, voluntary agreement to a specific school action after being fully told what it involves, and it can be revoked.
- IEP teamThe IEP team is the group of people, including the parents, who develop, review and revise a student's IEP together.
- Due process complaintA due process complaint is a formal request for a hearing before an impartial officer to resolve a special education dispute between a family and a school.
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