Special Education Model Forms - How You Can Use Them to Benefit Your Child's Education

Are you a parent of a child with autism or a learning disability receiving special
education services? Did you know that the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) required the Office of Special
Education Programs to develop 3 model forms? Would you like to
know what they are, and how they can help your child? This article
will discuss the three model forms, and how you can use them in
advocacy to help your child's education.

The Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) which is under the
Department of Education was responsible for developing the forms.
These forms may be downloaded at http://idea.ed.gov. Click
Part B, then in the lower left hand side box, click model forms. The
three forms are:

Form 1: Individualized Education Program (IEP) form. This form is
four pages long, and has all of the required elements that must be
included in your child's IEP. You can use this to help your child, by
downloading the form, and filling it in with the things that you think
your child needs. Bring the form with you to the meeting, and use
the filled out form to ask for services that your child needs.

Form 2: Prior Written Notice form. IDEA requires written notice
whenever the school district proposes to begin or change the
identification, evaluation, or placement of your child or the
provision of a free appropriate public education (FAPE), or refuses
to begin or change theidentification, evaluation, or placement of your
child, or the provision of a free appropriate public education. The
Prior Written Notice form is two pages long, and has all of the
required elements of PWN. You can use this to help your child, by
downloading the form and filling it in. Take the filled in form to an
IEP meeting,and discuss with disability educators all required parts
of PWN.

Form 3: Procedural Safeguards form. Procedural safeguards are rights
of parents that have a child with a disability, given to them by IDEA.
Some of these safeguards are: PWN, informed parental consent for
psychological evaluations, parent participation in meetings, right to
an independent educational evaluation (IEE), if you disagree with
school personnel's evaluation. You can use this to help your child by
reading and/or downloading the form at the address above. You can use
this to educate yourself about parent rights, so that you can
effectively advocate for your child.

By having access to the three model forms, you can be an active
participant in your child's education. School personnel may
be surprised when you bring in your own form to an IEP meeting. By
having things written down, it will make it easier for you to bring up
important issues for your child, at the meeting.