Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), parents of children with disabilities are granted specific rights to ensure their children receive a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). Here's an overview:
Right to Information: Parents have the right to be informed about their child’s identification, evaluation, and educational placement. All notices must be in the parents' native language or other modes of communication.
Right to Consent: Parents must give their consent before the initial evaluation and before the child can receive special education and related services for the first time. They also have the right to revoke consent at any time.
Right to Participate: Parents have the right to participate in all meetings concerning the evaluation, identification, educational placement, and provision of FAPE to their child, including the development and review of the Individualized Education Program (IEP).
Right to Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE): If parents disagree with the evaluation results obtained by the school, they can request an independent educational evaluation at public expense.
Right to Dispute Resolution: Parents have the right to engage in mediation, file state complaints, and initiate due process hearings if they disagree with the school’s decisions regarding their child's education.
Right to Records: Parents have the right to access educational records concerning their child and can request that corrections be made if they believe the information is inaccurate or misleading.
Right to Reimbursement: parents have specific rights to seek reimbursement for the cost of enrolling their child in a private school when the public school has failed to provide a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE)
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