Does this sound right?

Things families hear, and what the law says

• We have to wait until RTI (or MTSS) is finished before we can evaluate.

  What the law says: You can ask for an evaluation at any time. RTI or MTSS cannot be used to delay or deny an evaluation. The federal timeline (60 days, or your state's timeline) starts when you give consent.

  What you can say: I understand RTI is helping. I am still asking for a full evaluation now. Please send me the consent form, or prior written notice if you refuse.

  When to call for help: Call if the school still refuses in writing or you hear nothing within a few weeks. Find your parent center.

  The law: 34 CFR 300.301(b); 34 CFR 300.301(c); OSEP Memo 11-07, January 21, 2011 (A Response to Intervention (RTI) Process Cannot Be Used to Delay-Deny an Evaluation for Eligibility under IDEA)

• Your child gets good grades, so they cannot have an IEPWhat does IEP mean??.

  What the law says: A child can be eligible even while passing from grade to grade. Child Find includes these children. Eligibility is decided one child at a time. Under Section 504, grades alone are not enough to decide a student has no disability.

  What you can say: Grades are one piece. I am seeing [examples]. Please evaluate in all areas of concern.

  When to call for help: Call if the school refuses to evaluate based only on grades. Find your parent center.

  The law: 34 CFR 300.101(c); 34 CFR 300.111(c)(1); Office for Civil Rights, Questions and Answers on the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 for Students with Disabilities Attending Public Elementary and Secondary Schools (Q9, Q11)

• We do not offer that service, or not at this school.

  What the law says: The IEP must list the services your child needs, based on the evaluation and your child's needs. It is not limited to what a school already has. Placement is based on the IEP, and the school must have a range of options.

  What you can say: Let's first agree on what my child needs. Then we can talk about how and where the district will provide it.

  When to call for help: Call if a needed service is left off the IEP for this reason. Find your parent center.

  The law: 34 CFR 300.320(a)(4); 34 CFR 300.324(a)(1); 34 CFR 300.116(b)(2); 34 CFR 300.115(a)

• We put kids like yours in the program across town, because that is where the seats are.

  What the law says: Placement must be decided by a group that includes you, based on your child's IEP, in the least restrictive environment, and as close to home as possible. Your child should attend their home school unless the IEP needs something else.

  What you can say: I would like us to look at what my child needs first, starting with the regular class and supports. Please write down the options you considered and why they were rejected.

  When to call for help: Call if placement is decided before the IEP or without you. Find your parent center.

  The law: 34 CFR 300.116(a); 34 CFR 300.116(b); 34 CFR 300.116(c); 34 CFR 300.114(a)(2)

• You need to sign today.

  What the law says: Federal rules require your written consent for the first evaluation, the first time services start, and reevaluation testing. Consent must be informed and voluntary. You also get a free copy of the IEP. Federal rules do not require you to sign an IEP at the meeting. Your state may add rules.

  What you can say: Thank you. I would like to take a copy home to read. I will get back to you by [date].

  When to call for help: Call if you feel pressured or do not understand what the signature means. Find your parent center.

  The law: 34 CFR 300.9; 34 CFR 300.300(a); 34 CFR 300.300(b); 34 CFR 300.322(f)

• The IEP is already written. We just need you to look it over.

  What the law says: The school may prepare a draft ahead of time. But you must have a real chance to take part, and the team must consider your concerns. Placement is decided by a group that includes you.

  What you can say: I appreciate the draft. Let's treat it as a starting point. I have concerns I would like us to discuss and add.

  When to call for help: Call if the team will not change anything you raise. Find your parent center.

  The law: 34 CFR 300.501(b)(1); 34 CFR 300.501(b)(3); 34 CFR 300.322(a); 34 CFR 300.324(a)(1)(ii); 34 CFR 300.116(a)(1)

• You cannot bring an advocate, and you cannot record.

  What the law says: You can invite people who have knowledge or special expertise about your child, and you decide if they do. The federal IDEA regulations do not set a rule on recording IEP meetings. Recording is set by state law and district policy.

  What you can say: Federal rules let me bring people who know my child. Can you show me the written district policy on recording?

  When to call for help: Call to learn your state's recording rules and to find a trained advocate. Find your parent center.

  The law: 34 CFR 300.321(a)(6); 34 CFR 300.321(c); 34 CFR 300.322(b)(1)(ii)

• Come pick them up early. Or: they can only come half days for now.

  What the law says: A partial day counts as a school day. Sending a child home for behavior can count as a removal, and repeated removals can become a change in placement. Federal guidance says a shortened day must be an IEP team decision based on the child's needs, and using it as discipline could deny FAPE.

  What you can say: If my child needs a different schedule, let's hold an IEP meeting to decide that. Please count these early pickups as removals, and let's look at behavior supports.

  When to call for help: Call right away if this happens more than once or twice, or your child is close to 10 days. Find your parent center.

  The law: 34 CFR 300.11(c); 34 CFR 300.530(b); 34 CFR 300.536; OSEP Q&A 22-02, Questions and Answers: Addressing the Needs of Children with Disabilities and IDEA's Discipline Provisions, July 19, 2022 (Questions C-1, C-3, C-6)

• We do not do summer services, or ESY is only for certain disabilities.

  What the law says: ESY must be available if the IEP team decides your child needs it for FAPE. The school cannot limit ESY to certain disability categories or set the type, amount, or length on its own.

  What you can say: Let's look at my child's data on regression and recovery and decide as a team whether ESY is needed.

  When to call for help: Call if ESY is refused without an individual decision. Find your parent center.

  The law: 34 CFR 300.106(a)

• Let's just do a 504 plan instead. It is easier.

  What the law says: If your child may have a disability and need specially designed instruction, the school must evaluate under IDEA. If your child is eligible under IDEA, your child must have an IEP. An IEP also meets Section 504 duties.

  What you can say: I am asking for an IDEA evaluation so we can see if my child needs specially designed instruction. A 504 plan can help in the meantime.

  When to call for help: Call if the school refuses an IDEA evaluation and only offers a 504. Find your parent center.

  The law: 34 CFR 300.111(a); 34 CFR 300.8(a); 34 CFR 300.301(b); U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, Frequently Asked Questions: Section 504 Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE)

• We do not have the staff for that. Or: that is too expensive.

  What the law says: FAPE must be provided at public expense and follow an IEP based on your child's needs. The IEP must list services needed for progress. A question about who pays cannot delay the IEP. ESY type and amount cannot be limited by the school on its own.

  What you can say: I understand staffing is hard. My child's IEP should still list what my child needs. How will the district provide it?

  When to call for help: Call if a service is cut or refused only for staffing or cost. Find your parent center.

  The law: 34 CFR 300.17(a); 34 CFR 300.320(a)(4); 34 CFR 300.324(a)(1); 34 CFR 300.103(c); 34 CFR 300.106(a)(3)

• Just a verbal 'no.' Or: we do not need to put that in writing.

  What the law says: Any time the school proposes or refuses to change evaluation, eligibility, placement, or services, it must give you prior written notice. It must explain what, why, what it used, and what other options it rejected.

  What you can say: Thank you. Please send me prior written notice with your reasons.

  When to call for help: Call if you never get written notice after asking. Find your parent center.

  The law: 34 CFR 300.503(a); 34 CFR 300.503(b)

• These goals are the same as last year. We will keep working on them.

  What the law says: The IEP team must review the IEP at least yearly and revise it to address a lack of expected progress. Goals must be measurable, with a way to measure progress. Federal guidance says the IEP must aim for progress appropriate in light of the child's circumstances.

  What you can say: Can we look at the data? If my child did not meet the goal, what will we change in services or teaching?

  When to call for help: Call if goals repeat year after year without data or changes. Find your parent center.

  The law: 34 CFR 300.320(a)(2); 34 CFR 300.320(a)(3); 34 CFR 300.324(b)(1); OSERS Questions and Answers on Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District Re-1, December 7, 2017 (Q15)

• We cannot evaluate for dyslexia. We do not use that word.

  What the law says: Federal guidance says nothing in IDEA stops schools from using the terms dyslexia, dyscalculia, or dysgraphia in evaluations, eligibility, and IEPs. IDEA lists dyslexia as an example of a specific learning disability. The evaluation must cover all areas tied to the suspected disability.

  What you can say: I am asking that the evaluation look at reading, including skills tied to dyslexia. Federal guidance from October 23, 2015 says you may use the term.

  When to call for help: Call if the school refuses to assess reading skills. Your state may also have its own dyslexia law. Find your parent center.

  The law: 34 CFR 300.8(c)(10); 34 CFR 300.304(c)(4); 34 CFR 300.304(c)(6); OSERS Dear Colleague Letter on IDEA/IEP Terms (dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia), October 23, 2015

• We will not pay for an outside evaluation. Or: tell us why you disagree first.

  What the law says: If you disagree with the school's evaluation, you can ask for an IEE at public expense. The school must, without unnecessary delay, either pay for it or file for a hearing. The school may ask your reason, but cannot require it. The school can have criteria, but no other conditions or timelines.

  What you can say: I disagree with the evaluation and am requesting an IEE at public expense. Please send me your IEE criteria and list of examiners.

  When to call for help: Call if weeks pass with no answer or no hearing filed. Find your parent center.

  The law: 34 CFR 300.502(b)(2); 34 CFR 300.502(b)(4); 34 CFR 300.502(e)

• We will send the records after the meeting, or we cannot give you those.

  What the law says: You can inspect and review your child's records without unnecessary delay, before any IEP meeting or hearing, and in no case more than 45 days after you ask. You can bring someone to review them with you.

  What you can say: I am requesting to review all of my child's education records before the IEP meeting on [date].

  When to call for help: Call if records are not provided before the meeting. Find your parent center.

  The law: 34 CFR 300.613(a); 34 CFR 300.613(b); 34 CFR 99.10(b)

• Your child is suspended for 15 days. Or: expelled. No meeting needed.

  What the law says: A removal over 10 school days in a row, or a pattern over 10 days, is a change of placement. The school must notify you that day, give you your rights, and hold a manifestation determination within 10 school days. Services must continue after 10 days of removal.

  What you can say: Since this goes beyond 10 school days, when is the manifestation determination meeting? How will services continue?

  When to call for help: Call right away. Discipline timelines are short. You may ask for an expedited hearing. Find your parent center.

  The law: 34 CFR 300.530(d); 34 CFR 300.530(e); 34 CFR 300.530(h); 34 CFR 300.536; OSEP Q&A 22-02, July 19, 2022 (Questions F-1, F-2, F-6)

• We will think about life after high school in senior year.

  What the law says: By the first IEP in effect when your child turns 16, the IEP must have measurable goals for life after school and transition services, updated yearly. Your child must be invited. Many states start earlier.

  What you can say: My child is [age]. Let's add transition assessments, goals, and services to this IEP and invite my child.

  When to call for help: Call if your child is 16 or older and has no transition plan. Find your parent center.

  The law: 34 CFR 300.320(b); 34 CFR 300.321(b); 34 CFR 300.43

• Your child is getting a certificate, so services end this year.

  What the law says: The right to FAPE ends only with a regular high school diploma or aging out under state law. A certificate or other non-regular diploma does not end eligibility. Graduation with a regular diploma requires prior written notice. Your state may add rules.

  What you can say: Is this a regular diploma? If not, my child is still eligible. Please send prior written notice about this plan.

  When to call for help: Call if services are being ended before age out without a regular diploma. Find your parent center.

  The law: 34 CFR 300.102(a)(3); 34 CFR 300.101(a)