Parents or Guardians Responsibilities
Parents or guardians who
feel their child might need special education should immediately contact
their local public school principal, school psychologist, or special
education director in the school district in order to initiate the IEP
process. This should be done with a written request form that will in
effect document the date the process begins. The timeline usually does
not continue during July and August (summer vacation months) but resumes
again in September. Also note that some school districts may be able
to initiate assessments and IEP meetings much more quickly than others,
and this often depends on how many other referrals for special education
are pending.
Some children with learning
or behavioral problems may not need special education and are able to
return to their regular classrooms. Others may readily meet eligibility
criteria for a special education category. Their IEP may be a simple
process that can be quickly expedited after contact with the local school
or district. Unfortunately, a few children may have more complex cases.
These are cases in which the child's eligibility is disputed by the
schools, in which the appropriate classroom placement is not readily
available, or in which other public agencies such as mental health are
needed to assist in placement (for example, in certain states, a public
mental health worker must participate in any IEP decision in which a
residential school placement is to be authorized for children with emotional
disturbance). If parents or guardians anticipate having difficulty with
the process, they may eventually wish to avail themselves of the services
of an advocate who specializes in these matters.
