When parents and teachers build partnerships and work together, the student benefits. Information from parents is a part of the assessment. Parents concerns for their child are considered at the IEP meeting.
Parents participate in decisions about eligibility for special education.
Parents participate in meetings at which placement decisions are made. Progress on goals and objectives is reported to parents at least as often as parents of nondisabled students receive reports. Each regular and special education teacher and service provider who is responsible for carrying out the IEP must have access to that IEP and be informed of specific responsibilities noted in the IEP, such as accommodations and modifications of the general education curriculum. While a number of these procedures are not new in some states, they are now in federal law and become requirements for all states. IDEA, which is the Federal law governing special education, was reauthorized in 1997 and went into effect for the 1998-99 school year.