We sign many documents before, during and after an IEP meeting. Ever wonder what they all mean? Let’s start by breaking down the Procedural Safeguards Notice.
The Procedural Safeguards Notice describes the rights of a parent of a child with a disability and the procedures that safeguard those rights under state and federal special education law, including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or IDEA.
Every IEP contains a section titled Procedural Safeguards Notice with a line for a parent’s signature and the date signed. By signing this section we are saying we received a copy of the Procedural Safeguards within the school year. We further confirm we know this document contains information related to our special education rights.
Information includes the procedure for requesting an independent educational evaluation, filing a complaint or due process hearing, filing state level appeals and much more.
The Procedural Safeguards need to be in the native language of the parents wherever possible and written in easily understandable way.
I encourage every parent with a student receiving special education to read your Procedural Safeguards at least once! If your District hasn’t given you a copy, ask for one! They may point you to their District website where it can be accessed online. PATTANs website has a copy too and even offers a video version.
A copy of the Notice and the videos explaining them can be found here: https://www.pattan.net/assets/PaTTAN/42/42c19055-0511-4d4a-a4f7-3740c388ebb0.pdf
Maddox Special Education Advocacy 