Kathleen S. Whittier

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(i) a description of the action proposed or refused by the district;
(ii) an explanation of why the district proposes or refuses to take the action;
(iii) a description of any other options that the district considered and the reasons why those options were rejected;
(iv) a description of each evaluation procedure, test, record, or report the district used as a basis for the proposed or refused action;
(v) a description of any other factors that are relevant to the district’s proposal or refusal;
(vi) a statement that the parents of a student with a disability have protection under the procedural safeguards of this Part, and the means by which a copy of a description of the procedural safeguards can be obtained; and
(vii) sources for parents to contact to obtain assistance in understanding the provisions of this Part.

 (4) in language understandable to the general public , and provided in the native language of the parent or other mode of communication used by the parent , unless it is clearly not feasible to do so.

 If the native language or other mode of communication of the parent is not a written language, the school district shall take steps to ensure that the notice is translated orally or by other means to the parent in his or her native language or other mode of communication; that the parent understands the content of the notice ; and that there is written evidence that the requirements of this section have been met.

 (i) Upon receipt of a referral for initial evaluation or prior to conducting a reevaluation, such notice shall include a description of the proposed evaluation or reevaluation and the uses to be made of the information and indicate that the parent may submit evaluation information which, if submitted, shall be considered by the committee on special education as part of its evaluation or review.

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(ii) Upon a board of education’s disagreement with the recommendation of the committee on special education the notice to the parent and to the committee shall set forth in writing a statement of the board of education’s reasons and indicate that the recommendation will be sent back to the committee , with notice of the need to schedule a timely meeting to review the board’s concerns and to revise the IEP as deemed appropriate.

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(iii) Prior to the student’s graduation with a local high school or Regents diploma, such notice must indicate that the student is not eligible to receive a free appropriate public education after graduation with the receipt of the local high school or Regents diploma, unless the school district provides such services to nondisabled students

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(iv) Prior to the student’s graduation with an individualized education program
(IEP) diploma, such notice must indicate that the student continues to be eligible for a free appropriate public education until the end of the school year in which the student turns age 21 or until the receipt of a regular high school diploma.

 (vi) For a student whom the committee on special education has determined to be at risk of a future residential placement, information must be provided to the parent on community support services that may be available to the family, including the name and address of agencies which can perform an assessment of a family’s community support needs, where such list has been made available to the committee.
 (vii) For students recommended for an approved private school, a copy of the approved private school’s policy on the use of psychotropic medication must be provided to the student’s parents if the school uses psychotropic medication.

 Written consent of the parent, is required:
 (i) Prior to conducting an initial evaluation or reevaluation ,

 reviewing existing data as part of an evaluation or a reevaluation
 administering a test or other evaluation that is administered to all students unless,
 administration of that test or evaluation, consent is required of parents of all students.
 for a functional behavioral assessment that is conducted to meet the requirements of
Part 201 of this Title.

 for a reevaluation if the school district can demonstrate that it has taken reasonable measures to obtain that consent, and the student’s parents failed to respond.
 The school district must have a record of its attempts to obtain parental consent.

In the event the parent of the student to be evaluated does not grant consent
 for an initial evaluation, such parent shall be informed by the committee chairperson that, upon request, the parent will be given an opportunity to attend an informal conference with the committee or designated professionals most familiar with the proposed evaluation, the person who referred the student for such an evaluation, and counsel or an advisor of the parent’s choice, at which time the parent shall be afforded an opportunity to ask questions regarding the proposed evaluation.
 If at this meeting the parent and the person initiating the referral agree in writing that the referral is not warranted, the referral shall be withdrawn.

Except in the case of a preschool child,
 if the parent does not request or attend such a conference, or continues to withhold consent for evaluation otherwise required for a period of 30 days after the date of receipt of a referral , the board of education shall initiate an impartial hearing to be conducted for the purpose of determining whether such an evaluation shall be conducted without parental consent.

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Prior to the initial provision of special education to a student who has not previously been identified as having a disability;
( a ) Consent for initial evaluation may not be construed as consent for initial provision of special education services.
 ( b ) Except in the case of a preschool child, in the event that a parent does not grant consent for an initial provision of special education services within 30 days of a notice of recommendation, the board of education shall initiate an impartial hearing to determine if such provision of special education services is warranted without parental consent.

 (iv) Prior to releasing any personally identifiable information.
 (v) Prior to each time the school district proposes to access a parent’s private insurance proceeds.
 ( a ) The parents must be informed that their refusal to permit the school district to access their private insurance does not relieve the school district of its responsibility to ensure that all required services are provided at no cost to the parents.

 (2) If the parents of a student with a disability refuse consent for an initial evaluation or reevaluation, the school district may continue to pursue those evaluations by using the due process procedures
 (3) A school district may not use a parent's refusal to consent to one service or activity to deny the parent or child any other services, benefit, or activity of the school district, except for the conditions for which consent is required

 Parents must provide consent for their child to participate in any assessment activity including pre-placement evaluation.
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Parents have the right to review their child’s records regarding the assessment and educational placement.
 Parents may obtain an independent evaluation of their child by a qualified examiner who is not employed by the school. The evaluation is at no cost to the parent and is paid for by the public school.
 Parents, schools, or agencies have a right to an impartial hearing conducted by a hearing officer when disagreements occur. A hearing can be requested by either a parent or a school district.

 The test should be administered in the student’s native language or other mode of communication.
 The test must be validated for the purpose that it is being used.
 The test must be administered by trained personnel in conformance with instructions from the test publisher.

 The assessment should yield not merely an intelligence quotient but additional information about the student’s educational needs.
 The assessment of students with impaired sensory, manual or speaking skills must be completed with tests that are selected and administered to reflect the student’s aptitude or achievement level (or other factor) accurately. The tests should not reflect the student’s impaired sensory, manual, or speaking skills (except where these skills are the factors that are being measured).

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No single test can be used to determine a student’s eligibility for special education services.
 The student must be assessed in all areas related to the suspected disability including, where appropriate: health, vision, hearing, social and emotional status, general intelligence, academic performance, communicative status, and motor abilities.
 The assessment must be made by a multidisciplinary team including at least one team member with knowledge in the suspected area of disability.

(1) the parent has been fully informed, in his or her native language or other mode of communication, of all information relevant to the activity for which consent is sought, and has been notified of the records of the student which will be released and to whom they will be released;
(2) the parent understands and agrees in writing to the activity for which consent is sought; and

(3) the parent is made aware that the consent is voluntary on the part of the parent and may be revoked at any time except that, if a parent revokes consent, that revocation is not retroactive (i.e., it does not negate an action that has occurred after the consent was given and before the consent was revoked).

 Independent evaluation an individual evaluation of a student thought to have a disability, conducted by a person who is not employed by the public agency responsible for the education of the student.
Whenever an independent evaluation is at public expense, the criteria under which the evaluation is obtained, including the location of the evaluation and the qualifications of the examiner, shall be the same as the criteria which the school district uses when it initiates an evaluation

Individual evaluation
 any procedures, tests or assessments used selectively with an individual student, including a physical examination in accordance with the provisions of sections 903, 904 and 905 of the Education Law, an individual psychological evaluation, except where a school psychologist has determined that a psychological evaluation is unnecessary to evaluate a student of school age, a social history and other appropriate assessments or evaluations as may be necessary to determine whether a student has a disability and the extent of his/her special education needs, but does not include basic tests administered to, or procedures used with, all students in a school grade or class.

 written statements developed and provided to the parents of a student with a disability a reasonable time before the school district proposes to or refuses to initiate or change the identification, evaluation, or educational placement of the student or the provision of a free appropriate public education to the student.

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(a).
(c) Notice of meetings.
(1) Whenever the committee on special education proposes to conduct a meeting related to the development or review of a student’s IEP, or the provision of a free appropriate public education to the student, the parent must receive notification in writing at least five days prior to the meeting. The meeting notice may be provided to the parent less than five days prior to the meeting to meet the timelines in accordance with Part 201 of this Title and in situations in which the parent and the school district agree to a meeting that will occur within five days.
(2) Such notice shall
(i) inform the parent(s) of the purpose, date, time, and location of the meeting and the name and title of those persons expected to attend the meeting;
(ii) indicate that the parent(s) has the right to participate as a member of the committee on special education with respect to the identification, evaluation and educational placement of his or her child;
(iii) state that the parent(s) has the right to be accompanied by such individuals with knowledge or special expertise about his or her child, including related service personnel as appropriate, as determined by the parent(s);
(iv) inform the parent(s) of his or her right to request, in writing at least 72 hours before the meeting, the presence of the school physician member of the committee on special education at any meeting of such committee pursuant to section 4402(1)(b) of the Education Law;
(v) inform the parent(s) of his or her right to decline, in writing, the participation of the additional parent member at any meeting of such committee pursuant to section 4402(1)(b) of the
Education Law;
(vi) if the meeting is being conducted by a subcommittee on special education, inform the parent(s) that, upon receipt of a written request from the parent, the subcommittee shall refer to the committee on special education any matter on which the parent(s) disagrees with the subcommittee’s recommendation concerning a modification or change in the identification, evaluation, educational placement or provision of a free appropriate public education to the student; and
(vii) if the purpose of the meeting is to consider transition services, the meeting notice must also:
( a ) indicate this purpose;
( b ) indicate that the district will invite the student; and
( c ) identify any other agency that will be invited to send a representative.
(d) Parent participation in CSE meetings
. (1) Each school district shall take steps to ensure that one or both of the student’s parents are present at each committee on special education meeting or are afforded the opportunity to participate, including
(i) notifying the parent(s) of the meeting, consistent with subdivision (c) of this section prior to the meeting to ensure that he or she will have an opportunity to attend;
(ii) scheduling the meeting at a mutually agreed on time and place and in a location that is physically accessible to the parents; and
(iii) using other methods to ensure parent participation, including individual or conference telephone calls if neither parent can attend.
(2) A meeting does not include informal or unscheduled conversations involving school personnel and conversations on issues such as teaching methodology, lesson plans, or coordination of service provision if those issues are not addressed in the student’s IEP. A meeting also does not include preparatory activities that school personnel engage in to develop a proposal or response to a parent proposal that will be discussed at a later meeting.
(3) A school district may conduct a CSE meeting without a parent in attendance if the school is unable to convince the parents that they should attend. In this case, the school must have a detailed record of its attempts, and the results of those attempts to arrange a mutually agreed on time and place.
(4) A decision may be made by the committee on special education without the involvement of the parents, if the school is unable to obtain the parents’ participation in the decision. In this case, the school must have a record of its attempt to ensure their involvement.
(5) The school district must take whatever action is necessary to ensure that the parent understands the proceedings at the meetings of the committee on special education, including arranging for an interpreter for parents with deafness or whose native language is other than English.
(6) The parents of a student with a disability must be afforded an opportunity to inspect and review all education records with respect to the identification, evaluation, and educational placement of the student and the provision of a free appropriate public education to the student, in accordance with the requirements of 34 C.F.R. sections 300.562 through 300.576 (Code of
Federal Regulations. 1999 edition, Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402-9328: 1999 - available at the Office of Vocational and
Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities, Room 1624, One Commerce Plaza, Albany, NY 12234).
(e) Confidentiality of personally identifiable data . (1) Personally identifiable means
(i) the name of the student, the student’s parent, or other family member;
(ii) the address of the student;
(iii) a personal identifier, such as the student’s social security number or student number; or
(iv) a list of personal characteristics or other information that would make it possible to identify the student with reasonable certainty.
( 2) Each public and approved private school subject to the provisions of this Part shall preserve the confidentiality of personally identifiable data, information or records pertaining to students with disabilities. Such confidentiality must be preserved in a manner consistent with the procedures adopted pursuant to section 200.2(b)(6) of this Part and/or in accordance with 20
USC 1232(g) and the provisions of Part 99 of title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations or its successor. (United States Code, 1994 edition, Volume 10; Superintendent of Documents, U.S.