Attorney Laura Heneghan is a special education attorney dedicated to a collaborating with families, school administrators, and staff to bring about positive outcomes. As a parent of a child with disabilities, Laura leverages her personal insight and student-centered approach to ensure that children and adolescents who are struggling with disabilities of their own receive the appropriate services and support from their public-school districts. In this episode, you will learn more about parental rights under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Laura discusses procedural safeguards including right to parent consent and notification, right to meaningful parent participation, prior written notice, and more!   

Key Takeaways:

• “I've learned that knowing you have rights doesn't mean you have to assert them. My experience is that collaboration with your school district many times is the best way to work through issues, but when that isn't working, you need to know what you can do and that it is to exercise these guaranteed civil rights, regarding your child's education.”

• “You as a parent have certain rights based on where you are in the process, and this document {procedural safeguards} explains those rights.”

• The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) created in 1975 ensures all children with disabilities have the opportunity to receive a free appropriate public education (FAPE)

• §504 of the Rehabilitation Act protects qualified individuals from discrimination based on their disability AND provides students with disabilities a free appropriate public education (FAPE- but a different one)

Links from the episode:

• Procedural Safeguards Notice, State of CT DOE – Bureau of Special Education 

• Prior Written Notice

• Law Office of Laura Heneghan