Parental Consent & Objection

Yes. If a school district amends a student’s IEP/Evaluation Plan or writes a new IEP or Evaluation PWN, they can accept an electronic signature or an email from a parent confirming consent to an IEP and Evaluation PWN. This will expedite the process to ensure that the IEPs are in place and Evaluations are completed during this period of distance learning. If the district and parents are unable to reach agreement on how to provide FAPE to the student during the time a distance learning plan is in place due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the PWN would inform parents of their right to object to the proposal and seek alternative dispute resolution. See 34 C.F.R. § 300.530, Minn. Stat. § 125A.091 and Minn. R. 3525.3600.

If obtaining electronic consent via email, it is recommended that the three parental consent/objection questions get copied within the body of the email to make the process as parent friendly as possible. NOTE: the entire PWN/Parental Consent and Objection Form MUST be sent to the parent; email content does not replace this requirement, but is in addition to those required components. For convenience, those questions are listed below:

• Consent: I agree, so the school district will proceed with the proposed or refused action(s) in the prior written notice.

or

• Objection: I do not agree and I request a conciliation conference to be held within ten calendar days from the date the school district receives this request to resolve my concerns and understand the school district will not proceed with the proposed or refused action(s) in the prior written notice.

or

• Objection: I do not agree and I request a meeting with appropriate members of my child's IEP team to resolve my concerns and understand the school district will not proceed with the proposed or refused action(s) in the prior written notice.

  • • If you choose this option, please explain the specific part that you object to:

NOTE: Several of the options below involve creating a PDF file and uploading that file to SpEd Forms History. We are also obligated to print that documentation of consent and add it to the student's physical SpEd records in the school building. Coordinate with due process support staff in your building/district to determine a plan for collecting electronic SpEd records that must be printed and physically filed. For example, in some buildings case managers are BCC'ing an identified due process support person on emails to parents that contain due process paperwork. The identified due process support person is tagging these emails so that they are organized for printing in the building at a later time.

1. Email

   • Download as a PDF and upload to SpEd Forms History.

   • In Gmail, click the small printer icon in the top right corner of your screen. Select 'Print to PDF' as your printing destination instead of a real printer. You will then be prompted to save the PDF file somewhere on your computer.

2. Text Message (*Not recommended relative to the other methods because it is more complex)

   • Take a screenshot of the text exchange where consent was communicated. Send the screenshot image to your work email and then immediately delete the screenshot image from your phone. From your work email, proceed as if you plan to print the screenshot image, but select 'Print to PDF' as your printing destination instead of a real printer. Upload the PDF file to SpEd Forms History.

   • If you are using Google Voice on a computer/laptop, pull up your browser's settings menu (in Chrome, click the 3 dots in the upper right of your screen) and then click 'Print.' Select 'Print to PDF' as your printing destination instead of a real printer. Upload the PDF file to SpEd Forms History.

Review the Parental Consent/Objection Form or electronic communication to determine if the parent wishes to:

• 1. Meet with appropriate members of the IEP team;

  2. Request a conciliation conference; or,

  3. Request alternate dispute resolution activities (i.e., mediation, facilitated IEP, etc.) from MDE

Notify your SSS and determine next steps, typically:

If the parent wishes to meet with appropriate members of the IEP team, the case manager should contact the parent to identify those team members and schedule a virtual meeting to resolve the disagreement.

If the parent requests a conciliation conference, the SSS will contact the parent to better understand the reason for the disagreement and schedule the conciliation conference.

If the parent wishes to request an alternate dispute resolution activity, the SSS will coordinate with the parent and MDE regarding next steps.