§ 45.36 - Parent participation.

(a) Each school shall take steps to encourage that one or both of the parents of the handicapped child are present at each meeting including:

(1) Try to schedule the meeting at a mutually agreed upon time and place.

(2) Notifying parents of the meeting early enough to insure that they will have an opportunity to attend.

(b) The notice under paragraph (a)(2) of this section must indicate the purpose, time, and location of the meeting, and who will be in attendance.

(c) If neither parent can attend, the school shall use other methods to insure parent participation, including individual or conference telephone calls.

(d) A meeting may be conducted without a parent in attendance if the school is unable to convince the parents that they should attend. In this case the school must have a record of its attempts to arrange a mutually agreed on time and place such as:

(1) Detailed records of telephone calls made or attempted and the results of those calls;

(2) Copies of correspondence sent to the parents and any responses received; and

(3) Detailed records of visits made to the parent's home or place of employment and the results of those visits.

(e) The school shall take whatever action is necessary to insure that the parent understands the proceedings at a meeting, including arranging for an interpreter for parents who are deaf or whose native language is other than English.

(f) The school shall give the parent a copy of the IEP.