Monday, 9 February 2015

Why You Need To Be Aware Of The IEP Parent Rights

By Beryl Dalton


Normally, the disabled children and those with any special needs have the right to get the individualized educational programs (IEP) services. These services and rights to access the same in public schools and private schools are not similar. However, the services are accessible for free in public schools. This is only possible after the kid in assessed and the said services are approved by the professional team in charge. The parents have a big role to play in ensuring that their child gets to enjoy the special attention that they deserve. In order to help them play their role effectively, the IEP parent rights are usually available to the concerned parents to guide them through.

Any child with some difficulty in normal learning or functionality should access the individualized education program. However, the child needs to be accessed before the recommendation of what is actually needed is made. Normally, most of them may only need extra attention from the teacher in a normal class. There are many reasons that call for the extra attention. The common ones include the attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the speech, vision, or hearing impairment, any developmental delay, cognitive challenges, and emotional disorders.

If none of these conditions is severe, the IEP services can be achieved in a normal classroom in a standard school environment. The teacher just needs to pay special attention to the kid and offer extra assistance. However, some children have severe conditions and specialized resource rooms in the normal schools or specialized schools may be needed altogether.

In some cases, the doctor, the teacher, and the guardian of the concerned child may be convinced that the student has some troubles in class that calls for referral. Normally, the teacher first informs the school psychologist or the counselor after which the necessary data about the student's progress is gathered from parents, the student and other concerned parties.

This is done with consultation and permission of the parents. A professional team then takes over. In this team, the teachers and parents are included. The other likely members of this team are the physical therapist, the psychologist, the occupational therapist, speech therapists and other specialists as may be needed. The kid's parents have a say on who to be included and what tests are to be performed.

The team is tasked with developing an appropriate IEP program that should meet the short-term and long-term educational and development goals for the child. The program should consist of specific and measurable goals that address the shortcomings of the targeted student.

However, in order to ensure that the kid access the appropriate services and get the required treatment in the whole process, the parent needs to the well versed with the parental rights that are available in the safeguard document accessible during the process.

The legal services may be available for free or sometimes at a low cost and the parents should always liaise with the district attorney or other advocates that are experienced with the IEP services. When the parent is well versed with the right, he/she will be in a position to be in charge of the whole process and seek legal redress at any stage when he/she is not in agreement.




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