• Referrals can be made by parents or surrogates, students, judicial officers, professional members of the school district, licensed physician, or members of public agencies responsible for the welfare, health, or education of the student.
• Referrals submitted by persons other then the parent, student, or a judicial officer shall:
  1. state the reasons for the referral and include any test results, records or reports upon which the referral is based.
  2. describe prereferral strategies and services delivered and their outcomes or state the reasons why no such attempts were made.
  3. describe the extent of parental contact or involvement prior to the referral.

• School districts must document their efforts to notify families including logs of telephone calls made/attempted, home visits made/attempted, and correspondence (letters, e-mails) sent/received.
• School districts must provide a description of the proposed evaluation and the use of the information, invite parents to participate in the meetings of the CSE, inform parents that they can bring others to the meeting and can request that the school physician attend the meetings, and notify parents of their right to submit evaluation information.
• School districts must inform parents of their rights including the right to withhold consent, the right an impartial hearing, and the right to an independent evaluation. School district must also provide parents with information about the availability of free or low-cost legal and other relevant services.

• School districts must offer families the opportunity to participate in mediation. If families reject mediation, they must listen to a presentation on its benefits.
• If the school district and the family cannot agree, the school district can initiate a impartial hearing (also called a due process hearing) by:
  1. demonstrating that it has repeatedly attempted to contact the parents through efforts that were reasonably likely to succeed.
  2. establishing the need for the evaluation and that the student's current placement is detrimental and that there is a reasonable likelihood that the student will be found to have special education needs.
  3. documenting the prereferral services delivered and their outcomes.
  4. documenting that mediation services were offered and rejected.
• An impartial hearing or due process hearing is a quasijudicial process in which families and school districts present their cases relative to the issues under contention.
• The hearing is conducted by a hearing officer appointed by the school district from a list of qualified persons according to the following:
  1. A written or electronic verbatim record of the proceedings must be maintained and shared with both parties.
  2. Interpreters for individuals with hearing impairments or language interpreters shall be provided at district expense.
  3. Both parties have the right to be represented by counsel.
  4. Both parties have the right to present evidence and testimony and subpoena and confront witnesses.
  5. The hearing is closed to the public unless the family requests an open hearing. The family also determines whether the child shall attend the hearing.
  6. The hearing officer reports the decision, provides the reasons for the decision, and informs families and school districts of the right to appeal to the State Commissioner of Education.

• School districts must follow the legal guidelines for assessment and report the results of the assessment and its recommendations.

• School districts must describe in detail the recommendation including the proposed action and a rationale for the action.
• School districts must inform parents of their rights including the right to without consent, the right an impartial hearing, and the right to an independent evaluation. School district must also provide parents with information about the availability of free or low-cost legal and other relevant services.

• School districts must offer families the opportunity to participate in mediation. If families reject mediation, they must listen to a presentation on its benefits.
• If the school district and the family cannot agree, the school district can initiate a impartial hearing

• School districts must comply with the least restrictive environment (LRE) concept and guidelines for developing IEPs in the IDEA.
• School districts must first consider placement in general education with appropriate support for the student and the student's teacher(s).
• In making a determination of a student's placement in the LRE, school districts should consider:
  1. the anticipated educational benefits available in the general education setting as compared with the expected educational benefits of the special education setting.
  2. the noneducational, social, and self-concept benefits that are likely to occur in the general education setting including interactions with classmates.
  3. the impact of the student with a disability on the education of classmates and teachers.
  4. the cost of educating the student in general education with supplementary aids and services, and the effect of these costs on the district's resources for educating other students.
• If the CSE recommends that a student should be removed from the general education setting, the CSE must:
  1. describe the placement options considered for the student and a rationale for those options not selected.
  2. clearly define the expected benefits of the alternative placement in terms of goals and objectives in the IEP that address the student's needs in the areas of academic, social, behavioral and physical development.
  3. conduct an annual review of the student's needs and progress including the continued need for special education programs and services, the educational progress of the student, and the student's ability to participate in general education programs.

1. School districts must offer families the opportunity to participate in mediation. If families reject mediation, they must listen to a presentation on its benefits.
2. If the school district and the family cannot agree, the school district can initiate a impartial hearing.

Copyright © 1995-2010, Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Prentice Hall Legal and Privacy Terms