What procedural requirements exist when a public agency does not agree with a specific request from the parent (e.g., including a specific goal or service in the IEP)?
State and federal regulations require that a prior written notice must be given to the parents of a child with a disability a reasonable time before the public agency proposes or refuses to initiate or change the identification, evaluation, or educational placement of the child or the provision of FAPE to the child. If the parent makes a request to have something included in the child’s IEP that involves FAPE (i.e., a specific goal, service, accommodation, modification, etc) and the team concludes that the item requested is not appropriate or necessary for the current IEP, then the agency must provide the parent with a prior written notice refusing the parent’s request. The Notice of Action Refused affords the parent the option of challenging the team’s decision through the Due Process Hearing system.
