Doug C. vs. Hawaii: IEP parent involvement

The IEP court case of Doug C. vs. Hawaii

When a student is found eligible for special education, an individual education plan (IEP) is developed and updated annually. Special education teachers have traditionally sworn by those dates, allowing no room for flexibility. However, a landmark case (Doug C. Vs Hawaii DOE) in Summer of 2013, courts ruled that parent involvement is more important than exceeding timelines for annual or reevaluation deadlines. 

The case began when a parent requested a meeting to be rescheduled due to illness but because of the school was going to go over timeline, school staff met without him present and made decisions about their child's program. The IEP team told parents that they had decided that their 18-year old son with autism was to transition from a private placement to the public home school. Parents went and lost at due process but found victory in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Despite Hawaii's Department of Education's argument that the IEP meeting needed to occur before the annual review deadline to avoid a lapse in service, the panel reiterated the department's lack of authority to refuse services to a student whose annual review is past due.  The court further ruled that the department had violated IDEA by breaching parental participation requirements.

The importance of IEP meeting

An IEP is a legal contract, which outlines a students goals, services, and program roadmap for eligible special education students. The individualized plan is provided free of charge (FAPE) to students who need  delayed skills or other disabilities, are outlined to allow you to effectively advocate a child's educational needs. It is so important that parents understand their rights and their child's rights when their child has a disability but the rights differ between public and private schools: 

Parents who place their children with disabilities into private schools may not only miss out on services students receive in a public school, but your student may not receive these services at all. So, parents are advised to explore all of your options before making a decision.