Kelley Baker kbaker@hslegalfirm.com
Karen Haase khaase@hslegalfirm.com @KarenHaase
Steve Williams
Bobby Truhe
swilliams@hslegalfirm.com
btruhe@hslegalfirm.com @btruhe
Special Ed Parents Get Input, Not Veto Power One of the most common misunderstandings in special education law deals with the power of parents. Many special education professionals mistakenly believe that IEP teams must have parental consent before changing a student's placement. This is not true. The school must confer with and receive input from parents, but parents cannot hold an IEP team hostage to their wishes. A Georgia federal court’s decision last Friday illustrates the way IEP teams should deal with parents who disagree with the team's placement decisions. In K.A. v. Fulton County Sch. Dist., 112 LRP 47342 (N.D. Ga. 09/21/12) the parents of a 7-year-old student sued the school after the IEP team modified the student's IEP without parental consent. The court explained that the parents had been notified of the IEP meeting and had been allowed to have meaningful input at the meeting. At the meeting, the district team members decided to assign the child to a more restrictive placement, despite the parents' objection. The parents sued. They claimed that the change in placement was invalid because they had not approved it. The court noted that parental consent is required when the parties agree to amend an IEP without a meeting. However, parental consent is not required when the change is made during an IEP team meeting. The implementing regulation at 34 CFR 300.324 requires the entire team to be present, but the team’s decision does not have to be unanimous. The court noted that parents play a significant role at the meeting and the team must consider their input. "But the school is not required to obtain the parents' seal of approval to implement an IEP change," U.S. District Judge Thomas W. Thrash Jr. wrote. If the parents disagree with a proposed change, their proper recourse is to file a due process complaint. The court also held that the district properly provided the parents with prior written notice of the proposed change, including the reasons for the change. It also sent them notice of their procedural safeguards, including their right to challenge the decision in an administrative hearing.
It is not easy to work with parents who disagree with the IEP team’s decisions. School officials should be solicitous of the parents' concerns and make every effort to gather and consider their opinions. However, when the education professionals are confident that a student's IEP should be changed, the school should not let the parents' objections prevent them from doing the right thing. If you are considering changing an IEP over parental objections, you should confer with your school district's attorney. If you have further questions about parental rights in special education, contact your school attorney or Kelley, Karen, Steve, or Bobby. I:\3\7613\E-mail Updates\128 - Sped Parents cannot veto IEP Team.docx