§ 45.35 - Approval of IEP and placement recommendation.

(a) The school must attempt to schedule a meeting which includes the school supervisor or designee, the child's parent(s), and the receiving teacher and others as identified in § 45.33.

(b) The parent(s) of the child must be provided full and effective written notice of the meeting and all reasonable efforts must be made by the school supervisor to ensure parental participation. The written notice to parents shall also contain the following information:

(1) A statement that the evaluation has been completed and that the parents have the right to meet with the School Supervisor, the Special Education Coordinator or any member of the IEP committee to discuss and plan the IEP.

(2) A statement that all papers relevant to the evaluation, including the actual written assessments, are available for inspection by the parents or a designated representative of the parents;

(3) A statement that the parent has a right to an independent evaluation as provided in § 45.28;

(4) A statement of the parent's options under paragraph (c) of this section and a form for indicating the option selected by the parent; and

(5) A statement explaining the consequences of the parent's rejection of the proposed IEP under the due process procedures established by § 45.58.

(c) The parent of a child, upon receipt of full and effective notice, may exercise any of the following options (by giving written notice to the school):

(1) To accept or reject a written evaluation finding that the child does not need special education;

(2) To accept or reject the IEP. A parent may accept an IEP in whole or in part and the school shall immediately implement the mutually accepted elements of the IEP;

(3) To accept a modified IEP that has been mutually agreed upon with the School Supervisor or designee following the meeting described in paragraph (a) of this section; or

(4) To postpone a decision on the IEP until the completion of an independent evaluation; and

(5) To obtain an independent evaluation of their child.

(d) This meeting may be the first and only full meeting of the IEP committee. The meeting must include a thorough discussion of the results of the child's individual evaluation, the child's proposed IEP and the child's proposed educational placement. The school supervisor or designee should take whatever action is necessary to insure that the parents understand the proposed IEP and the proposed educational placement before requesting consent for placement. At the close of the final meeting, each member of the committee shall sign the completed IEP to signify their participation and agreement with the educational plan.