Sunday 26 August 2018

Bay Area Independent Educational Evaluation For Special Education

By Catherine Barnes


When it comes to parents of special needs children, it is often important to get regular updates. In some cases, parents may have an issue and need to request a Bay Area Independent Educational Evaluation to determine where a problem lies. After which, most often a hearing is scheduled to discuss the situation. If questioned during the waiting period, parents have the right to either answer or not answer any questions.

While it can sometimes be difficult to obtain one from a school administrator or teacher, it is important to know parental rights in such regard. In public schools, these evaluations are often provided at public expense if a parent disagrees with an assessment or evaluation by a public agency. Upon requesting the assessment, a school district must without hesitation or delay request a hearing to determine whether the assessment is accurate, or if the assessment did not meet agency standards.

When filing a complaint, there are several steps which must be taken in order to do so. For example, parents must send a letter to the school board noting the reason for the request. While the board may respond with questions, parents have the right to withhold answers until the time of a hearing.

When filing for such a request, it is important to do so in writing. In addition, it is also recommended that those doing so retain copies of all such letters for future reference. For, if there are questions which arise as to the reason for the complaint, the correspondence can often be a good resource with regards to an answer as to why such request is being made.

The next step is to wait for a response before taking further action. In most cases, this will take several weeks. At the same time, it should be noted that the state of California nor any federal agency provides a timeline with regards to a response. Instead, the law provides that a response need be made by the school district without delay.

Most states which have guidelines require a reply within thirty days from receipt of the complaint. Whereas, a California court has recently heard and ruled in which it was determined that a reasonable amount of time is up to 3 months. While this is the case in California, the reply is only regarding a hearing while other states must record a decision when making a reply.

With regards to this rule set by the court, California now considers 3 months a reasonable waiting period. Whereas, other states often consider 15 days a reasonable period as that is how long it takes for a response within a local school district for in-house issues. In any case, it is never okay to simply take no for an answer as parents are entitled to receive an assessment or evaluation upon request.

Ultimately, the timeline for a reply can depend on several factors, In one case, it can be related to the size of the school or district and the number of special education students. Whereas, in others it can depend on local and state guidelines. In most cases, individuals can obtain a good idea of response time by contacting and asking an administrator about reply times with regards to prior complaints.




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