Parents' Rights and the Procedural Safeguards Manual

Question:  Is there one piece of advice you think is important for all parents of children in special education?

Answer:  Absolutely.  Every parent should carefully read the Procedural Safeguards manual that you were given at your child’s IEP meeting. Procedural Safeguards means Parents Rights.

Congress believed that informed parents are so important that in the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), it required schools to provide this booklet to parents.

The Procedural Safeguards Manual provides a general overview of information about special education and the rights available to parents and children under the IDEA. and the Iowa Administrative Rules of Special Education. Some of the areas reviewed in the manual are:

• Written notice to parents
• Parental Consent
• How to Obtain Your Child’s Records
• Evaluations
• School Discipline
• What You Can Do If You Disagree with Your Child’s IEP, or What’s Happening At School
• State Complaints, Due Process, Mediation

 Although the Procedural Safeguards Manual won’t answer every question a parent may have, it covers much of what parents most need to know.

If you have misplaced your copy, you may download a copy from the Iowa Department of Education’s website at: https://www.educateiowa.gov/pk-12/special-education/parent-information/procedural-safeguards-manual-parents-rights-children-ag-0  Downloadable copies of Iowa's Procedural Safeguards manual are available in English, and in Arabic, Bosnian, Loatian, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish and Vietnamese.