What is the issue?
The law is very clear about when parents have to give written permission for services. You have to give written permission for your child to be evaluated to determine if your child is eligible for special education. You also have to give written permission for your child to receive special education services in the first or “initial” IEP team meeting. However, your signature on IEP documents after that “initial” IEP signifies that you participated in developing the IEP. If you and the team disagree about some part of the IEP, it’s best to either schedule another meeting to continue to discuss the issues and concerns or simply sign your name and add a sentence stating that you participated in the IEP meeting.
Possible responses are:
“I am not ready to accept the entire IEP as written. I will sign that I participated in this meeting, but we will need to meet again to see if we can come up with a program that meets my child’s needs.”“Actually, it is not necessary for me to sign the IEP document. If the school district has a policy about parents signing their child’s IEP or losing services, I would like to see a copy of that policy.”
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