D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 5, r. 5-A3009

Current through Register Vol. 71, No. 49, December 6, 2024

Rule 5-A3009 - PARENT PARTICIPATION IN IEP TEAM MEETINGS

3009.1

The LEA shall ensure that the parent of a child with a disability is present at each IEP Team meeting or afforded the opportunity to participate by making and documenting all reasonable efforts, as defined in this chapter, to:

(a) Notify the parent in writing of the meeting no later than five (5) business days prior to the meeting to ensure that the parent will have an opportunity to attend; and

(b) Schedule the meeting at a mutually agreed on time and place.

3009.2

The LEA shall demonstrate reasonable efforts, as defined in this chapter, to contact the parent for the purposes of inviting the parent to participate in the IEP Team meeting no later than five (5) business days before the meeting, unless the parent agrees to a meeting date within five (5) business days of the initial contact.

3009.3

The notice to the parent required in Section 3009.1 shall include:

(a) The purpose, time, date, and location of the meeting;

(b) Information advising the parent how to request participation via alternate methods described in Section 3009.5, including video conferences, conference telephone calls, and online telecommunication applications to which the parent has access;

(c) The names of the participants who will attend the meeting;

(d) Information advising that the parent may invite other individuals to participate in the IEP Team meeting who have knowledge or special expertise regarding the child, including related services personnel as appropriate or representatives from the IDEA Part C system for initial IEP meetings; and

(e) Beginning with the first IEP to be in effect when the child turns fourteen (14) years old, indicate that a purpose of the meeting will be the consideration of the postsecondary goals and transition services for the child, and that the LEA will:

(1) Invite the child;

(2) Identify any other agency that will be invited to send a representative including any participating agency the LEA proposes to invite because the agency is likely to be responsible for providing or paying for transition services; and

(3) Include consent forms to be signed by the parent for the purpose of allowing the LEA to invite a representative of any participating agency that is likely to be responsible for providing or paying for transition services or a representative of any other specified agency.

3009.4

The LEA shall provide, at no cost to the parent, an accessible copy of any evaluation, assessment, report, data chart, or other document that will be discussed at the meeting. Such accessible copies shall be provided no fewer than five (5) business days before a scheduled IEP Team meeting, if the purpose of which is to discuss the child's IEP or eligibility for special education and related services. However, if a meeting is scheduled fewer than five (5) business days before it is to occur, such accessible copies shall be provided no fewer than twenty-four (24) hours before the meeting.

3009.5

If the parent cannot physically attend the IEP Team meeting, the LEA shall use other methods of inclusion to ensure parent participation, including video conferences, conference telephone calls, and online telecommunication applications to which the parent has access.

3009.6

The IEP Team meeting may be conducted without the parent in attendance or participating by other means if the LEA:

(a) Is unable to convince the parent to attend or participate;

(b) The LEA has a record of its reasonable efforts, as defined in this chapter, to arrange a mutually agreed on time and place consistent with Section 3009.1; and

(c) The parent was offered at least two (2) meeting options on different dates or different times.

3009.7

The LEA shall take whatever action is necessary to ensure that the parent understands the proceedings and materials provided at the IEP Team meeting, including the following, as appropriate:

(a) Arranging for an interpreter for a parent with deafness or whose native language is other than English;

(b) Providing written material in the parent's native language or other mode of communication used by the parent, unless it is clearly not feasible to do so; and

(c) Providing a hard copy of the procedural safeguards, meeting the requirements of Section 3033, upon request by the parent.

3009.8

The LEA shall provide the parent with a copy of the child's new or amended completed IEP at no cost no later than five (5) business days after the IEP Team meeting, as follows:

(a) If the IEP has not been completed by the fifth business day after the meeting or additional time is required to comply with the D.C. Language Access Act of 2004 (D.C. Law 15-167; D.C. Official Code § 2-1931) , the LEA shall provide the parent with the latest available draft IEP; and

(b) Under the circumstances outlined in Section 3009.8(a), the LEA shall provide a completed copy of the IEP to the parent no later than fifteen (15) business days after the IEP Team meeting to develop the new or amended IEP.

D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 5, r. 5-A3009

Final Rulemaking published at 69 DCR 5902 7/1/2022