Parent’s rights
When a school proposes or refuses to take action regarding a student’s identification or educational placement or access to a free appropriate public education, it must provide written notice to the parent after their case conference committee. That notice must be received by the parent no later than 10 business days from the date of the case conference committee meeting.
If the parent disagrees with the school, they can:
If a parent takes this action within 10 school days of receiving the notice from their child’s school, the corporation cannot take the proposed action and must continue to implement the student’s current IEP.
A parent can still take any of these actions after 10 days have passed, but the school is allowed to implement their proposed changes to the child’s special education services.
A parent or their representative also has the right to view their child’s educational record. The school must also obtain consent before allowing anyone not otherwise entitled under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act to view a student’s record.
A parent has the right to participate in all case conference committee meetings until their child reaches the age of 18. A parent can still participate after their child is 18 if the student invites them, or the parent has obtained guardianship or been appointed their educational representative. And if a parent can’t attend a meeting in person, they can attend by phone or some other means.
A parent can request a case conference committee meeting if they believe their child’s right to a free, appropriate public education is not being met by their current IEP.
A parent can also bring someone to the case conference committee meeting that they believe has knowledge or expertise about their child.
IEP vs. 504 Plan
IEPs and 504 Plans are governed by different laws — IEPs are covered by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and 504 Plan is covered by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which is a federal civil rights law to stop discrimination against people with disabilities.
To qualify for an IEP, a student has to have one of 13 disabilities covered under IDEA and that disability must have an adverse impact on the child’s learning. To qualify for a 504 Plan, the student must have a disability that interferes with their ability to learn in a general education classroom. In general, it’s easier for students to qualify for a 504 Plan. Under a 504 Plan, a school needs to provide reasonable accommodations to allow a student access to educational services. For example, a student who has diabetes may need to have their insulin checked multiple times per day. Under a 504 Plan, the school must provide that student with the accommodations they need to learn. However, the student wouldn’t need an IEP to have their insulin checked.
Students who need transportation, speech, physical, occupational, or psychological services and assistive technology would most likely qualify for an IEP.
Click on the below image to learn about a family's experience on this issue
Brandi said Caiden had a great teacher during his third and fourth grade years.
“They met his needs. I still got lots of phone calls, still always had communication, you know, every day from the school about what he is and what he's not doing. But they made accommodations; he couldn't sit in circle time, but they would allow him to stand up and rock back and forth behind circle time. No questions asked,” Brandi said.
But in fifth grade, when Caiden entered middle school, he began to struggle again.
“Hallways were difficult for him, passing periods were difficult. He was just lost. It was too much. He was getting overstimulated … it was, you know, trouble with relationships with students. He was never an aggressor, always a reactor. But things were difficult. He got picked on a lot,” Brandi said.
Brandi said Caiden liked to walk down the hallways of the school building dragging his hand against the lockers. But she was told that this was disruptive behavior. As a result, Brandi said Caiden was forced to sit in a chair during passing periods and once all the other students had made it to their classes, he was allowed to go to his classroom.
“They suggested that I pick him up from school every day,” Brandi said. “The buses were always loud and difficult, and the bus driver would have to pull over because Caiden would hide underneath the seat of the bus … So I had to start leaving my job early to pick him up at three o’clock everyday.”
When Caiden was at his first district, he received a 504 plan — which is a plan for how schools provide support to a student with a disability, but it does not provide special education services nor is it governed by the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. When Brandi and Caiden moved to their second school district, that corporation also provided Caiden with a 504 plan. Brandi said she asked the district for an IEP for Caiden. But she said they refused to provide an evaluation, saying it was unnecessary because his former school determined he was ineligible for an IEP.
Brandi took Caiden to a physician to evaluate him for a disability and took out a $3,000 loan to cover the cost.
“I have medical doctors saying certain things. And I'm going into these meetings and I have a school system saying no, no, no, no, no. And I feel like: Who am I supposed to believe?” Brandi said.
Brandi also contacted the nonprofit Disability Legal Services of Indiana. The group helped her file a request for due process — a formal way to resolve disputes between a school corporation and parents over special education services.
The request for due process alleged that the school was violating federal law by not providing Caiden access to a free and appropriate public education. Brandi said the evaluation from the physician bolstered their case.
Before the case could be heard in front of a state appointed hearing officer, Brandi said the school corporation agreed to settle and provide Caiden with his first IEP. Brandi said she requested that Caiden receive more time on tests and have people read things to him aloud.
“Just simple, simple things. Instead of taking notes, (give him) assistive technology to allow him to do it with his fingers or with his voice or whatever. Because he had trouble with fine motor skills and writing was very difficult for him,” Brandi said.
But Brandi said the trouble didn’t end there. She said she struggled to get the school to implement the accommodations in Caiden’s IEP. She decided to move back to their initial school district.
“At the time, I had actually lost my job. And so I moved into a family home,” Brandi said. “And it's like, well, why would you go back to a place that you knew wasn't serving him? Well, (because of) access to a support system and needing a place to live. Because I was poor at the time. I was so poor. There aren't choices, you know, you do what you have to do.”
Gaelle said the school provided two different therapists for Kymbrie — a shy child who speaks softly — to help build her confidence and deal with any social anxiety she might be experiencing.
“I appreciated those things, but it's like, as much as that would help her, that wasn't going to help her with her learning, which we still had an issue with,” Gaelle said.
Kymbrie’s doctor suggested that Gaelle reach out to an advocacy group called About Special Kids that helps parents navigate the IEP process with schools. Gaelle said she was initially hesitant.
“I felt defeated. So it was like, I don't really know if I want to go through this again. But I'll call anyway, it can't hurt. So I called and I spoke to someone, and from the very first phone call, it was so warm, it was amazing,” she said.
Gaelle said the group sent her a wealth of resources and made her feel like she was a part of the community, that she had support and didn’t have to face the IEP process alone.
ASK also provided Gaelle with an advocate, who contacted her school to look at the results from the initial IEP evaluation. Gaelle said she also took the time to ask her what she wanted the school to provide for her daughter. The advocate provided her with information that spelled out what the school can and is legally responsible to provide to students like Kymbrie.
“Not only am I not from America, I'm not from Indiana as well. So I really didn't know legally what the school had to do, what the school should be doing, and what the school can be doing,” Gaelle said.
Gaelle decided that she wanted a second IEP evaluation for her daughter.
“Once the advocate started sitting in the Zoom meetings with me, things were different,” she said.
Gaelle said the school staff member explained the assessments they would use to evaluate her daughter and what the school could provide to her in the meantime while the evaluation process was ongoing.
“This is a long, lengthy drawn out process. And especially when COVID happened last year,” Gaelle said. She said the pandemic had a noticeably negative impact on Kymbrie’s educational progress.
Kymbrie was re-evaluated for an IEP at the beginning of 2021. Gaelle said the school determined this time around that she did qualify for special education services.
“I felt such relief. But at the same time, I was so angry. Like, why did it take so much? Because she should have been qualified the first time around. I knew it. You knew it. Everyone knew it. Because this is not a new development,” Gaelle said. “But I felt like it's because the advocate stepped in this time around.”
Gaelle said Kymbrie’s IEP plan stipulates that an educator would pull Kymbrie from her general education class to work with her twice a week. She was also provided extra time on tests and other services as part of her IEP.
Gaelle said she’s deeply grateful to ASK and said the group still contacts her regularly to see if she needs any assistance.