Proposed state rule worries parents of special-ed youths

As a special education advocate for children and youth throughout the Metropolitan Washington DC area, I am very surprised to read that Virginia is proposal to eliminate special education services for children and youth, without parental consent. That is a major infraction to IDEA and the extensive history of Public Law 94-142, the original law, that ensured children with disabilities received an appropriate education based on unique and distinctive individualized needs. It has taken years to have parents become full and equal partners to the decision-making process. We certainly do not need to have less parental support and involvement. I have seen the detrimental effects of not having parents a part of the special education process, in the denial of their rights, and subsequently, those of their disabled children. This would be moving in the wrong direction and would most likely increase greater distance between home and school, a relationship that schools across and within districts nationwide are trying to improve. We cannot improve special education paper work without qualitative changes and greater accountability to those school personnel, who are in responsible charged at each and every level of identification, evaluation, and placement of children in need of special education services. I do hope communities throughout Virginia will strongly fight to prevent this particular change in policy and any other that adversely affects FAPE for families of children and youth with special education needs.

The proposed Virginia law will NOT eliminate special education services to eligible students with disabilities...the law would continue to meet the IDEA as that law does not require parental consent to exit a noneligible student. The IDEA allows for the IEP team, of which the parent is a member, to make eligiblity decisions. Should the student be determined to no longer be eligible for services, the IEP team must make the decision to exit the student. If the parent does not agree, the school members of the IEP team can make the decision to exit..without parental consent...the parent would then have the opportunity to pursue their rights under the IDEA to challenge that decision in a due process case....this proposed law would not authorize school teams to make decisions that are not in line with the provisions of IDEA.

"...the parent would then have the opportunity to pursue their rights under the IDEA to challenge that decision in a due process case....". The idea that due process (or any of the substantive rights under IDEA) are as easy as this poster states is such a falsehood. State education complaints, mediation, and due process are all exceptionally swayed in the school district's favor as to be outrageuous. In addition, due process can cost a parent thousands of dollars in expert witness fees and lawyer fees while the school district has unlimited resources (ie taxpayer dollards)to fight the parents at every level of appeal (just look at your school districts legal fees..they are in the millions). IDEAliterate seems to think that IEP teams always make the right decision and that "the proposed law would not authorize school teams to make decisions that are not in line with the provisions of IDEA". Ask any parent with a child who has special needs how often the school district has made decisions that weren't in line with IDEA....I've got news for you...it happens all the time.