Procedural Safeguards and Advocacy Issues

Procedural Safeguards

While gifted is not part of IDEA, it is important to be familiar with IDEA and its mandates because Florida follows them for gifted in most areas. It is because of IDEA and its mandates that we have the Procedural Safeguards for Exceptional Students Who Are Gifted and other policies for protection (e.g.,conflict resolution, due process, etc.).

When a child is identified and staffed into the gifted program, one of the legal documents the parent receives is a copy of the procedural safeguards. This contains the guidelines and the legal proceedings for each step of the way. It is of the utmost importance that teachers have a full understanding of this document.

The document is broken down into seven sections.

  1. Prior notice: This section informs parents that they have a right to be notified in writing (in their first language) within a reasonable amount of time prior to any meeting regarding exceptional placement of their child. It also specifies what information must be contained in the notice.
  2. Content and Provision of the Procedural Safeguards to Parents: This section explains that the parent has a right to receive a copy of the procedural safeguards including when the child is first referred for testing and upon notification for each EP meeting
  3. Informed parental consent: In this section parents are informed that they must give written consent before their child is evaluated individually on any test other than those designated as standardized by the State and before a student can be placed in any exceptional education program for the first time. It also guarantees parents that if they refuse to sign, it will not interfere with the student’s basic right to attend school.
  4. Parents' opportunity to examine records and participate in meetings: This section states that parents (or their representative) may review and inspect their child's educational records and must be afforded an opportunity to participate in meetings when developing their child's educational plan.
  1. Evaluations obtained at private expense: This section states that independent evaluation results may be obtained by the parent at their expense and the evaluation results must be considered by the school district if they meet the stated requirements.
  2. State Complaint Procedures: This section describes in detail the process when parents allege that a school district has violated state requirements regarding the education of their gifted child.
  3. Due process hearings: This section contains numerous subsections that describe all aspects of the due process hearing procedures including how the process is initiated; the status of the student during proceedings; duties, responsibilities, and rights of all parties.

Every district is required to supply the parents of identified gifted students with a copy of their Procedural Guidelines – their legal rights. Whether your school district is using the document provided by the state or whether it has developed its own version, every time there is an official meeting with parents and school board personnel, this document is one of the required items. The ESE or Advanced Academics department and/or your LEA representative should have your district’s version on hand.

It is important for teachers to be familiar with the procedural safeguards. In the long run, it best serves the needs of the child and helps to guarantee the best placement.