1342.12 Companion

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1342.12 Companion
July 12, 2017 Page 20
Consent
(E)4 (S)17 (p) 44-46. See also chapter 4 of this Companion for additional information
regarding parental consent.
The school must seek parental consent before any:
1. Initiation of formal evaluation procedures (including formal additional assessments) to
determine initial eligibility or conduct any re-evaluation;
2. Initial provision of special education or related services under an IEP.
Parents have the legal right to refuse the initial evaluation and/or placement and initial provision of
special education and related services proposed by the school. Parents also have the right to withdraw
or revoke consent at any time, in writing.
Consent for Evaluation: When a parent refuses consent (or fails to respond) to a request for evaluation,
the school may request:
 a conference,
 a facilitated IEP meeting
 mediation
 due process hearing
Consent for Initial Provision of Special Education and Related Services: When a parent refuses consent
to the initiation of services, the school may seek:
 a conference
 a facilitated IEP meeting
However, the school may NOT use mediation or due process procedures to obtain consent or an order
of initiation of services. The school is not required to convene an IEP meeting or to develop an IEP if the
parent refuses services and cannot be considered in violation of the requirement to make FAPE available
to the student. The student will be served in the general education setting. The parent may later revise
this decision and the school’s obligations would then begin.
Consent for Re-evaluation: Parents have the right to refuse consent to a re-evaluation. If a parent
refuses consent or fails to respond to a request for consent, and the school can document its efforts to
contact parents and obtain consent, then the school may conduct the re-evaluation without parental
consent.
PARENT REVOCATION OF CONSENT FOR CONTINUED SPECIAL EDUCATION AND
RELATED SERVICES
E4 S18 p 46, and 47
Please se of this Companion for details regarding parent revocation of consent.
Dispute Resolution and Procedures E6 p 55-73
Parents and teachers are encouraged to work to resolve differences as they occur through informal,
collaborative problem-solving meetings. Parent-teacher communication forms the basis for positive
working relationships between parents and school personnel, and often resolves concerns eliminating
the need to move to a more formal dispute process.