6 Principles of IDEA: Procedural Safeguards

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SUMMARY

An important component of IDEA is that the rights of parents are ensured. This is known as parents’ rights or procedural safeguards. It is important to note that IDEA law was set up as a team decision-making process utilizing the consensus model. However, if the time comes when all team members do not agree or cannot come to consensus, then this is when parents can invoke their parent rights.

There may be times as well when there is conflict among the IEP team members. Conflict is a signal or message that something is not working and needs to be changed, and there are many possible factors contributing to the conflict. When conflict occurs, it's imperative that parents understand their rights under the law, and key methods of dispute resolution. These include: 

• The Colorado Department of Education’s Early Dispute Resolution Project.
• Mediation, which is an informal, voluntary process in which a neutral person assists the parties in communicating and exploring possible options for resolving conflict. 
• State Complaint is a written complaint requesting an investigation of an alleged violations of the IDEA requirements. 
• Due Process complaint which entails a hearing held before an Administrative Law Judge

Related Resources

THE 6 PRINCIPLES OF IDEA

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