La. Admin. Code tit. 28 § LV-505

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 12, December 20, 2024

Section LV-505 - Participants

A. At any initial IEP meeting, the following participants must be in attendance: an officially designated representative of the LEA, the student's regular education and special education teachers, the student's parent(s), and a person knowledgeable about the student's evaluation procedures and results. The student, as well as other individuals the parents and/or LEA may deem necessary, should be given the opportunity to attend. Documentation of attendance is required.

1. An officially designated representative of the LEA (ODR) is one who is qualified to provide or supervise the provision of specially designed instruction to meet the unique needs of G/T students, is knowledgeable about the general curriculum, and is knowledgeable about the availability of resources of the LEA. The LEA may designate another LEA member of the IEP team to serve also as the agency representative, if the above criteria are satisfied. A special education teacher cannot serve as the ODR for a child's IEP if he/she is also the child's teacher. A LEA must have on file and must disseminate within the agency a policy statement naming the kinds of persons who may act as the official representative of the LEA. Representatives may include the director/supervisor of special education, principals, instructional strategists, teachers, or any other LEA employee certified to provide or supervise special educational services. A member of the student's evaluation team may serve in this capacity.

2. Parents are equal participants in the IEP process in discussing the educational and related services needs of the student and deciding which placement and other services are appropriate. As such, one or both of the student's parents should participate in the initial IEP/placement meeting(s). Other team members must rely on parents' to contribute their perspective of the student outside of school. Parental insight about the student's strengths and support needs, learning style, temperament, and ability to work in various environments is of vital importance to the team in making decisions about the student's needs and services. The concerns of the parents for enhancing the education of their child must be documented in the IEP.

NOTE 1: Parent is defined as a natural or adoptive parent of a child; a guardian, but not the State if the child is ward of the State; a person acting in the place of a parent of a child (such as a grandparent or stepparent with whom the child lives or a person who is legally responsible for the child's welfare); or a surrogate parent who has been appointed. A foster parent may qualify as a "parent" when the natural parents' authority to make educational decisions on the child's behalf has been extinguished under State law, and the foster parent has an ongoing, long-term parental relationship with the child; is willing to participate in making educational decisions in the child's behalf; and has no interest that would conflict with the interests of the child.

B. The LEA must take measures to ensure that parents and all other team members, including sensorially impaired and non-English-speaking participants, can understand and actively participate in discussions and decision-making. These measures (i.e., having an interpreter or translator) should be documented. Local education agencies shall further ensure that, for those parents who cannot physically attend the IEP meeting(s), every effort is made to secure parental participation. After documenting attempts to arrange a mutually convenient time and place, several possibilities remain.

1. The meeting(s) may be conducted via telephone conference calls.

2. The IEP team may consider parental correspondence to the school regarding the student's learning environment, any notes from previous parental conferences, and any data gathered during the screening and evaluation period.

3. Visits may be made to the parents' home or place of employment to receive parental suggestions.

4. If, however, every documented attempt fails and the IEP/placement document is developed without parental participation, the parents still must give written informed consent for initial placement before any special education services may begin.

NOTE 2: When a G/T student has a legal guardian or has been assigned a surrogate parent by the LEA, that person assumes the role of the parent during the IEP process in matters dealing with special educational services. When a G/T student is emancipated, parental participation is not mandated. Additionally, if the LEA has been informed that a parent is legally prohibited from reviewing a student's records, that parent may not attend the IEP meeting(s) without permission of the legal guardian.

NOTE 3: Beginning at least one year before the student reaches the age of majority, the parents will be informed that the rights under state statute will transfer to the student.

C. An evaluation representative is a required participant at an initial IEP meeting. The person may be a member of the pupil appraisal team that performed the evaluation or any person knowledgeable about and able to interpret the evaluation data for that particular student.

D. A regular education teacher is at least one of the student's regular teachers (if the student is, or may be, participating in the regular education environment). The teacher must, to the extent appropriate, participate in the development, review, and revision of the student's IEP.

1. Thus, while a regular education teacher must be a member of the IEP team if the child is, or may be, participating in the regular education environment, the teacher need not (depending upon the child's needs and the purpose of the specific IEP team meeting) be required to participate in all decisions made as part of the meeting or to be present throughout the entire meeting or attend every meeting. For example, the regular education teacher who is a member of the IEP team must participate in discussions and decisions about how to modify the general curriculum in the regular classroom to ensure the child's involvement and progress in the general curriculum and participation in the regular education environment.

E. A special education teacher is at least one of the student's special education teachers, or when appropriate, at least one special education provider of the student.

F. The student should be given the opportunity to participate in the development of the IEP. In many cases, the student will share responsibility for goals and objectives.

1. Beginning at least one year before the student reaches the age of majority, by the student's seventeenth birthday, the student must be informed that his or her rights under state statute will transfer to him or her.

G. Other individuals may be invited, at the discretion of the parent or LEA, who have knowledge or special expertise regarding the student, including related service personnel as appropriate. The LEA also must inform the parents of the right of both the parents and the agency to invite other individuals who have knowledge or special expertise regarding the child, including related service personnel as appropriate to be members of the IEP team. The LEA may recommend the participation of other persons when their involvement will assist the decision-making process.

1. It is also appropriate for the LEA to ask the parents to inform the LEA of any individuals the parents will be taking to the meeting. Parents are encouraged to let the LEA know whom they intend to take. Such cooperation can facilitate arrangements for the meeting and help ensure a productive, child-centered meeting.

NOTE: The determination of the knowledge or special expertise of any individual described above shall be made by the parent or LEA, whoever invited the individual to be a member of the IEP team.

H. When the LEA responsible for the initial IEP/placement process considers referring or placing the student in another LEA, the responsible LEA must ensure the participation of a representative of the receiving system at the IEP meeting.

La. Admin. Code tit. 28, § LV-505

Promulgated by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, LR 28:767 (April 2002).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 17:1941 et seq.