Procedural safeguards
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Procedural safeguards are the rights IDEA gives parents and students, and the steps schools must follow, to keep special education decisions fair.
Topic: IDEA, law and procedure
In plain terms
The safeguards include the right to take part in meetings, to give or refuse consent, to receive prior written notice, to see records, to get an independent educational evaluation, and to resolve disputes through mediation, a state complaint or a due process hearing. Schools must give parents a written notice explaining these rights once a year and at certain points, such as the first referral for evaluation or a request for the notice.
How it shows up in an IEP
The safeguards notice is usually handed out at the IEP meeting. For the teacher, the practical effect is that decisions must be documented and explained, and data used to make them should be ready to share with the family in plain language.
Example
At a first IEP meeting, the case manager gives the parent the procedural safeguards notice, points out the sections on consent and disagreement, and offers a translated copy in the family's home language.
The rule
Federal reference: 34 CFR §300.504.
Related terms
- Prior written noticePrior 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- MediationMediation is a voluntary, confidential process where a trained, impartial mediator helps a family and a school reach agreement on a special education dispute.
- State complaintA state complaint is a signed, written complaint to the state education agency alleging that a school or district violated a requirement of IDEA.
- IEE (Independent Educational Evaluation)An IEE is an evaluation of a child by a qualified examiner who does not work for the school district responsible for the child's education.
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