Current through Register Vol. 28, No. 3, September 1, 2024
9.1 Public agency responsibility, general: Each public agency shall take steps to ensure that one (1) or both of the parents of a child with a disability are present at each IEP team meeting or are afforded the opportunity to participate, including:
9.1.1 Notifying parents of the meeting, in writing, no less than ten (10) school days prior to the IEP team meeting (unless mutually agreed otherwise) to ensure that they will have an opportunity to attend, and no less than five (5) school days prior to a meeting to conduct a manifestation determination under 14 DE Admin. Code 926.30; and
9.1.2 Scheduling the meeting at a mutually agreed on time and place.
9.2 Information provided to parents: The notice required under subsection 9.1 shall:
9.2.1 Indicate the purpose, time, and location of the meeting and who will be in attendance; and
9.2.2 Inform the parents of the provisions in subsections 8.1.6 and 8.3 (relating to the participation of other individuals on the IEP team who have knowledge or special expertise about the child), and subsection 8.6 (relating to the participation of the Part C service coordinator or other representatives of the Part C system at the initial IEP team meeting for a child previously served under Part C of the Act).
9.2.2.1
The IEP team shall provide notice to the parent, and if appropriate, the child, that they may request the presence of any teacher, paraprofessional, and any additional staff members at an IEP meeting.
9.2.3
A summary of the procedural safeguards shall be included with the notice of meeting and a full copy of the procedural safeguards shall be provided to the parents at the IEP meeting.
9.2.4
The IEP team shall provide notice to the parent, and if appropriate, the child, that they may request any data (e.g. classroom assessments, formative assessments, behavior data, related service reports, multi-tiered system of support data) in the agency's possession relevant to the child's needs or disability prior to the IEP meeting.
9.3
The IEP team will ensure parent input through the following:
9.3.1
The IEP team shall provide a questionnaire requesting the input of a child's parent, and where appropriate, the input of the child, with respect to the child's progress to date and additional proposed steps that should be taken to adjust the child's goals, curriculum, services, aids, modifications, or other elements of the child's IEP.
9.3.1.1
The questionnaire shall be sent with or prior to the written meeting notice inviting the parent to attend the IEP meeting.
9.3.2
If the IEP team prepares a draft of the IEP prior to the date of the IEP meeting, the IEP team shall provide the parent, and if appropriate, the child, with a copy of the draft IEP accompanied by a letter clearly indicating that the document is a draft for discussion purposes only and is therefore subject to revisions.
9.3.3
The Department in collaboration with the Governor's Advisory Council for Exceptional Citizens shall create and provide a draft letter and associated guidance to assist public agencies with the content and application of the letter referred to in subsection 9.3.2.
9.4
For a child with a disability beginning with the earlier of the first IEP to be in effect when the child turns fourteen (14) or enters the eighth (8th) grade, or younger if determined appropriate by the IEP team, the notice shall also indicate that a purpose of the meeting will be the consideration of the postsecondary goals and transition services for the child, in accordance with subsection 7.2 and that the agency will invite the student; and identify any other agency that will be invited to send a representative. The invitation to the child shall be in writing.
9.5 Other methods to ensure parent participation: If neither parent can attend an IEP team meeting, the public agency shall use other methods to ensure parent participation, including individual or conference telephone calls, consistent with Section 14.0 (related to alternative means of meeting participation).
9.6 Conducting an IEP team meeting without a parent in attendance: A meeting may be conducted without a parent in attendance if the public agency is unable to convince the parents that they should attend. In this case, the public agency shall keep a record of its attempts to arrange a mutually agreed on time and place, such as:
9.6.1 Detailed records of telephone calls made or attempted and the results of those calls;
9.6.2 Copies of correspondence sent to the parents and any responses received; and
9.6.3 Detailed records of visits made to the parent's home or place of employment and the results of those visits.
9.6.4 Use of interpreters or other action, as appropriate. The public agency shall take whatever action is necessary to ensure that the parent understands the proceedings of the IEP team meeting, including arranging for an interpreter for parents with deafness or whose native language is other than English.
9.7 Parent copy of child's IEP: The public agency shall give the parent a copy of the child's IEP at no cost to the parent.
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1414(d)(1)(B)(i); 14 Del.C. §
3110)
9.8
The Department of Education, in conjunction with the Department of Justice, shall annually survey a random and representative sample of parents and their children who have IEPs with respect to the parents' and children's satisfaction with the IEP process. Information gathered through this survey shall be used by the Department of Education and Department of Justice to conduct follow-up examinations with school districts and charter schools as to their good faith compliance with state and federal laws and regulations.
9.8.1
Information gathered through this survey shall also be used by the Department of Education in carrying out monitoring duties as outlined in 14 DE Admin. Code 927 to ensure compliance with state and federal laws and regulations.
9.8.2
A summary of the survey results will be made available on the Department of Education's website.
