Guidance on Procedural Safeguards Production and Required Dissemination
The Notice of Procedural Safeguards: Rights of Parents of Students with Disabilities (Procedural Safeguards) explains parents’ specific rights and responsibilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The Procedural Safeguards fulfills the current legal requirements for the federally prescribed content of this notice. When districts distribute this guide, other than adding local contact information in the designated space, they must not change the wording and format of the document.
A companion document to the Procedural Safeguards is A Guide to the Admission, Review and Dismissal Process (ARD Guide). The ARD Guide contains information that parents need to effectively participate in an ARD committee meeting for their child. The ARD Guide is not a replacement for the Procedural Safeguards. The purpose of the ARD Guide is to encourage a common understanding of the individualized education program (IEP) process for parents, school personnel, and communities.
Dissemination
IDEA requires that school districts and charter schools provide the Procedural Safeguards to parents. They must disseminate it once a year and on the following occasions:
- upon initial referral or on request for evaluation;
- upon the first occurrence of the filing of a due process hearing complaint or special education complaint during a school year;
- upon a disciplinary change of placement; or
- upon a request by a parent.
Documentation
Districts must continue to document the provision of Procedural Safeguards in a student’s eligibility folder. Documentation is subject to compliance review through the State’s monitoring system.
Language Requirements
Schools must provide the Procedural Safeguards to parents in their native language or other mode of communication unless it is clearly not feasible to do so. If a parent’s native language or other mode of communication is not a written language, the school must translate the notice orally or by other means so that it is understood by the parent. The Special Education Information Center (SpedTex) has translated the Procedural Safeguards and ARD Guide into several languages. Both documents are available for download from the resources section of their website.
Production
Each school is responsible for downloading, printing, and distributing the Procedural Safeguards. The Procedural Safeguards document reflects current requirements. Schools should incorporate the Procedural Safeguards into their referral process for special education evaluation. The current version of the Procedural Safeguards is available on the Region 18 Education Service Center's Legal Framework IDEA 2004 Web site.
Parent Resources
Texas Project FIRST (Families Information Resources Support and Training) is a project of the Texas Education Agency committed to providing accurate and consistent information to parents and families of students with disabilities.
The Partners Resource Network (PRN) is a non-profit agency that operates the statewide network of federally funded Parent Training and Information Centers (PTI's) in Texas. The mission of PRN is to empower parents of children and youth with disabilities in their roles as parents, decision makers, and advocates for their children and to promote partnerships among parents and professionals.
Special Education Information Center Toll Free Information Line
The Special Education Information Center provides information related to special education to parents, school personnel, and other members of the public. The contact number is 1-855-773-3839 (1-855-SPEDTEX)