There are many areas where pitfalls in special education may occur. The following suggestions will help you avoid a few of the more prevalent problem areas.

1. Give notice to the parents that they have the right to require an evaluation if it is determined that a reevaluation is not required. 
   
   The state regulations permit school divisions to determine that additional information is not required for a reevaluation. 8 VAC 20-80-54 F.5. If no additional information is needed, the school division must advise the parents of this determination, the reasons for the determination, and the right of the parents to require an evaluation. School divisions appear to terminate this process prematurely with the determination that no additional evaluation data is required. Be sure to give the required notice to the parents of their rights.
   
   

2. Conduct your own evaluations in determining eligibility or redetermining eligibility. 
   
   School divisions have the right to conduct their own evaluations. While it may be tempting to accept the parents’ private evaluations in lieu of completing your own evaluations, this mistake will weaken your position in any resulting hearing. The school division will lack the needed evaluative data of its own to support its determination. Insist on your right to complete your own evaluation.
   
   

3. Ceasing special education services because of the lack of agreement to a replacement IEP.
   
    Sometimes a subsequent IEP is not consented to by the parents. If the child has previously been in special education pursuant to a consented IEP, special education services may not cease simply because the parent has not signed a new IEP. The new IEP can be implemented provided there is no change in services reflected in the IEP. 8 VAC 20-80-70 E.1.c. Otherwise, the old IEP must continue to be implemented. It is not permitted for the school division to stop providing services because of the lack of parental consent to the IEP. (Of course, this advice does not apply to initial eligibility. In the case of initial eligibility, IEP services cannot be implemented until the parent consents to the IEP.) Please do not advise parents whose children are in special education that the children will not receive special education services because of the failure to sign the latest IEP. This advice is contrary to the IDEA.
   
   

4. Stopping special education services upon parent request. 
   
   Sometimes parents refuse special education services because they no longer want the special education services which their children are receiving. In order to terminate a student’s eligibility for special education services and to stop providing services, an evaluation must be conducted, eligibility held, and parental consent to a determination of ineligibility must be obtained. 8 VAC 20-80-52. The required regulatory process must be followed before services are stopped.
   
   

5. Provide accurate IEP meeting notices. 
   
   The notice of an IEP meeting must include the time, date, purpose and participants. 8 VAC 20-80-62 D.2. The notice must include notice of the parents’ right to bring other individuals to the IEP meeting whom the parents determine have knowledge or special expertise about the child. The IEP meeting notice must also include a copy of the procedural safeguards. 8 VAC 20-80-70 D.1.b. Frequently, school divisions forget to list the purposes of the meeting in sufficient detail to put the parent on notice as to what will be discussed. Also, school divisions frequently over-invite IEP participants. It is required that the school division have available at the IEP meeting all individuals whom it invited to attend. Please check at the IEP meeting to ascertain that the invitees are present and provide an amended notice, if necessary. If the parents object because someone who was invited is not present, then the IEP meeting may need to be rescheduled. (Note: the same advice applies if additional persons are present at the IEP meeting in addition to those listed on the notice.)
   
   

6. Complete the IEP in full at the IEP meeting. 
   
   An IEP must be developed at an IEP meeting and can only be amended at an IEP meeting. 8 VAC 20-80-62. Thus, if blanks are left in the IEP, then another IEP meeting will be required in order to complete the blank areas. Designations such as “to be determined” indicate that the IEP is incomplete and that there is a need for an adiditional IEP meeting. Make sure that the IEP is completed in full during the meeting and is not amended in any way without holding another IEP meeting.

Following these procedures, which are just a few of the problem areas for special education, will assist the school division in avoiding special education problems.