Part B Notice of Procedural Safeguards for Parents …

1 Part B. Notice of Procedural Safeguards for Parents of Students with Disabilities Table of Contents As a parent, you are entitled to information about your rights under the Individuals with Disabilities General Information ..1. Education Act (IDEA). These rights, or Procedural Revocation of Parental Consent .5. Safeguards , are intended to ensure that you have the Confidentiality of Information ..5. opportunity to be a partner in the educational Mediation ..7. decisions made regarding your child. State Complaint Procedures ..8. Due Process Hearing Request Procedures ..9. This Notice of your Procedural Safeguards will be Due Process Hearings.

2 12. made available to you, at least one time a school Appeals .14. year, except that a copy also must be given to you: Procedures When Disciplining Students with Upon initial referral or your request for an Disabilities 15. evaluation Requirements for Unilateral Placement by In accordance with the discipline procedures Parents of Students in Private Schools at when a change in placement occurs Public Expense ..19. Upon receipt of the first State complaint in a Requirements for Students with Disabilities school year Enrolled by Their Parents Upon the receipt of the first request for a in Private Schools .. 19. due process hearing in a school year Under the IDEA, you have the following rights: In accordance with the provisions of Section , , upon the school district superintendent's recommendation to the GENERAL INFORMATION.

3 Commissioner of Education that an PRIOR WRITTEN Notice . extraordinary exemption for a given state assessment be granted or denied 34 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Upon your request to receive a copy Notice Your school district must give you Notice in writing You may elect to receive a copy of your Procedural whenever it: Safeguards and required notices by email if the school 1. Proposes to initiate or to change the district makes that option available. A district may identification, evaluation, eligibility also place a current copy of the Procedural Safeguards determination, or educational placement of your Notice on its Internet website.

4 Child, or the provision of a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to your child; or This pamphlet helps Parents of children in Florida 2. Refuses to initiate or to change the identification, understand the rights that go along with programs for evaluation, eligibility determination or students with disabilities. It includes a description of educational placement of your child or the the Procedural Safeguards that apply to students with provision of FAPE to your child. disabilities enrolled in public schools and those that apply to students with disabilities enrolled by their Content of Notice Parents in nonprofit private schools.

5 The written Notice must: 1. Describe the action that your school district Parents who have issues with the district regarding proposes or refuses to take;. their student's exceptional student education may be 2. Explain why your school district is proposing or able to resolve those issues informally at the local refusing to take action;. level. However, administrative remedies (mediation, 3. Describe each evaluation procedure, assessment, state complaint, and due process hearing request) are record, or report your school district used in also available. deciding to propose or refuse the action;. 4. Include a statement that you have protections under the Procedural Safeguards provisions in Part B of the IDEA.

6 5. Tell you how you can obtain a copy of a description of the Procedural Safeguards if the 1. action that your school district is proposing or PARENTAL CONSENT DEFINITION. refusing is not an initial referral for evaluation; 34 CFR 6. Include resources for you to contact for help in Consent understanding Part B of the IDEA; Consent means: 7. Describe any other choices that your child's 1. You have been fully informed in your native individual educational plan (IEP) team language or other mode of communication (such considered and the reasons why those choices as sign language, braille, or oral communication). were rejected; and of all information about the action for which you 8.

7 Provide a description of other reasons why your are giving consent;. school district proposed or refused the action. 2. You understand and agree in writing to that action, and the consent describes that action and Notice in understandable language lists the records (if any) that will be released and The Notice must be: to whom; and 1. Written in language understandable to the 3. You understand that the consent is voluntary on general public; and your part and you may withdraw your consent at 2. Provided in your native language or other mode anytime. of communication you use, unless it is clearly not feasible to do so. Your withdrawal of consent does not negate (undo).

8 An action that has occurred after you gave your If your native language or other mode of consent and before you withdrew it. communication is not a written language, your school district must ensure that: PARENTAL CONSENT. 1. The Notice is translated for you orally by other means in your native language or other mode of 34 CFR communication; Consent for initial evaluation 2. You understand the content of the Notice ; and Your school district cannot conduct an initial 3. There is written evidence that 1 and 2 have been evaluation of your child to determine whether your met. child is eligible under Part B of the IDEA to receive special education and related services without first NATIVE LANGUAGE providing you with prior written Notice of the proposed action and without obtaining your consent 34 CFR as described under the heading Parental Consent.

9 Native language, when used with an individual who has limited English proficiency, means the following: Your school district must make reasonable efforts to 1. The language normally used by that person, or, obtain your informed consent for an initial evaluation in the case of a student, the language normally to decide whether your child is a child with a used by the student's Parents ; disability. Your consent for initial evaluation does 2. In all direct contact with a student (including not mean that you have also given your consent for evaluation of the student), the language normally the school district to start providing special education used by the student in the home or learning and related services to your child.

10 Environment. If your child is enrolled in public school, or you are For a person with deafness or blindness, or for a seeking to enroll your child in a public school and person with no written language, the mode of you have refused to provide consent or failed to communication is what the person normally uses respond to a request to provide consent for an initial (such as sign language, braille, or oral evaluation, your school district may, but is not communication). required to, seek to conduct an initial evaluation of your child by using mediation or due process ELECTRONIC MAIL. procedures. Your school district will not violate its 34 CFR obligations to locate, identify, and evaluate your child If your school district offers Parents the choice of if it does not pursue an evaluation of your child in receiving documents by email, you may choose to these circumstances.