On February 14, 2022, the Department of Public Instruction (department) received a complaint under state and federal special education law from #### (complainant) against the #### (district). This is the department’s decision regarding the complaint. The issue identified is whether the district, in February 2022, improperly conducted an assessment of a student with a disability without obtaining prior parental consent.
Under special education law, a reevaluation is the set of procedures used to determine whether a student continues to be a student with a disability and the nature and extent of the student’s special education and related service needs, including, if needed, administration of individual assessments to the student. 34 CFR § 300.15. School districts must obtain informed parental consent prior to conducting any reevaluation activities with a student with a disability. 34 CFR § 300. 300(c). The district acknowledges that in February 2022, a district employee conducted an assessment with the student, which is considered a reevaluation activity without obtaining parental consent for the assessment.
Since the district became aware of the improper assessment on February 12, 2022, the district has conducted an investigation, provided training for the district employee on the parental consent requirements contained in state and federal special education law, and provided broader training on the requirements for all district special education staff. The department believes these corrective action steps are sufficient to ensure the district properly obtains informed parental consent in the future. No further corrective action is required.
This concludes our review of this complaint, which we are closing. This decision is final for the IDEA State Complaint process. These issues may be addressed through other dispute resolutions, including mediation and due process hearings. For more information, visit the department’s website at http://dpi.wi.gov/sped/dispute-resolution.