Special Education

Ed. Dept. Releases Rules for Parents Under IDEA

By Christina A. Samuels — December 05, 2008 3 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

The U.S. Department of Education has released changes to regulations governing the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act that affect rules regarding parental consent, non-attorney representation, and compliance requirements.

The rules, published in the Federal Register on Dec. 1, state that parents have the right to revoke their consent for their children to receive special education services, after making a request in writing.

Before the change, the regulations were unclear about how parents could stop their child from receiving special education services if they chose to do so, the Education Department said.

In an explanation that accompanied the rules when they were released for public comment earlier this year, the department said its “long-standing interpretation” was that parents could not unilaterally decide to have special education services stopped if the school district believed the child still needed such services to receive a free, appropriate public education.

The change allowing parents’ revocation of consent is “consistent with the IDEA’s emphasis on the role of parents in protecting their child’s rights,” the department said. A district may ask why a parent is choosing to revoke consent, but an explanation is not necessary.

Changing Minds

The change means that students who are removed from special education services are to be treated like general education students in all ways, the department said, including losing some of the protections given to students in special education who have discipline problems related to their disabilities.

Parents are also allowed to change their minds and have their children re-evaluated for special education services, even if earlier they had revoked consent, the department said.

Another change in the regulations will allow state law to determine whether non-lawyers can represent parents in due-process hearings.

The IDEA says that either side in a due-process hearing may be accompanied by counsel, or by people with expertise in special education. The law does not say, however, whether those experts can actually represent parents if the experts are not lawyers.

The Education Department referred to a 2000 case in Delaware, where authorities initiated proceedings against Marilyn Arons, a lay special education advocate, for unauthorized practice of law.(“Court to Weigh Expert Fees in IDEA Cases,” Jan. 18, 2006.) The Delaware Supreme Court ultimately decided that the IDEA did not require the state to permit non-lawyers to represent parents.

The federal special education law should respect the interest that states have in regulating legal practice, the Education Department said. The new rule would also apply to districts, which could also not be represented by lay advocates, such as special education administrators, if state law forbade it.

The rule would not prevent parents from representing themselves in due-process hearings. The U.S. Supreme Court decided in a 2007 case that such representation was permissible. (“High Court Backs Parents’ Rights to Argue Cases Under IDEA,” May 25, 2007.)

A third change states that if a school district determines it is out of compliance with any of the provisions of the IDEA, the district has one year from the time the problem is noted to correct it.

The timeline is needed because problems weren’t being fixed quickly enough, the department said. Before the adoption of the rule, there was no timeline for correction in the IDEA.

Some commenters on the rules noted that some areas of noncompliance can be fixed quickly, such as those that may relate to a specific child. But larger, systemic problems might take a longer time to rectify.

However, a state or district can implement short-term correction plans while developing broader strategies, the department said.

A version of this article appeared in the December 10, 2008 edition of Education Week as Ed. Dept. Releases Rules for Parents Under IDEA

Events

Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Privacy & Security Webinar
Navigating Cybersecurity: Securing District Documents and Data
Learn how K-12 districts are addressing the challenges of maintaining a secure tech environment, managing documents and data, automating critical processes, and doing it all with limited resources.
Content provided by Softdocs

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Special Education Q&A Schools Should Boost Inclusion of Students With Disabilities, Special Olympics Leader Says
Schools have work to do to ensure students with intellectual and developmental disabilities feel a sense of belonging, Tim Shriver said.
6 min read
Special Olympics Chairman Timothy Shriver greets a child at one of the organization’s events.
Special Olympics Chairman Timothy Shriver greets a child at one of the organization’s events.
Courtesy of Special Olympics
Special Education Spotlight Spotlight on the Science of Reading for Students with Disabilities
This Spotlight will empower you with strategies to apply the science of reading to support students with learning differences and more.
Special Education Video A Student Wrote a Book About Her Learning Disability. Now, She Has Advice for Teachers
Zoe Kozina, 17, is the author of Your Beautiful Mind, a children’s book published this year.
Special Education Disability or 'Superpower'? The Push to Change Mindsets About Students With Learning Differences
Advocates are calling for a paradigm shift in how adults perceive, and educate, students with learning differences.
5 min read
Conceptual artwork, imagination dream and hope concept, Superhero boy
Jorm Sangsorn/iStock/Getty