Parental+Notification+Notes

Notify parents early in process of RtI or anything out of the ordinary
clowardr@byui.edu R. Dean Cloward, Ph.D. (School Psychologist and BYU College of Education) Date: Thu Jun 18, 2009 9:52 am ((PDT))

The letter of the law may not always be clear in all cases and clearly will vary across states, but the spirit of the law would suggest that when dealing with a child in any way that is different than we are dealing with those students in the mainstream, we should inform parents. As a parent I would like to know and be involved early in the process. Involving the parent early on in the process helps us to develop another collaborator in the intervention process as well. The spirit of the law and best practices would argue to inform and seek permission early in the process.

Clark County School District in Las Vegas, NV has parents sign a consent form early in the process called “Short-term Support Services” to assure that the provision of special services (i.e., psychological services, counseling, OT, PT, etc.) is not confused with “Special Education” when provided to support Tier II intervention strategies. And those services should be provided, as Guy correctly stated, providing needed support outside of the rigidity and rigor of Special Education and to avoid labeling a child incorrectly.

IDEA 2004 and 2006 Interpretation
Guy McBride , Wednesday, May 13, 2009, 8:06 PM, NASP-Listserv If the school suspects a disability, due process rights are triggered. The IDEA 2004 and the 2006 regulations muddied the waters a little, but the basic underlying precepts are the same.