POLICY LETTER: July 2, 2001 to Marilyn Shepherd, Ed.D.
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July 2, 2001 to Marilyn Shepherd, Ed.D. (MS Word)
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July 2, 2001 to Marilyn Shepherd, Ed.D. (MS Word)
Dated July 2, 2001Marilyn Shepherd, Ed.D.Department of Special EducationFresno Unified School District1301 M StreetFresno, California 93721Dear Dr. Shepherd:This letter responds to your letter dated May 3, 2001, to the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) asking for clarification regarding whether members of the news media should be allowed to attend individualized education program (IEP) meetings under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). In your letter, you ask whether the Fresno Unified School District may lawfully refuse to allow the media, who have obtained parent consent, to attend IEP meetings; whether it is legally permissible for a school district to allow the media to attend IEP meetings; and the role of state law in determining the involvement of the media in IEP meetings.Under the IDEA, each local educational agency shall protect the confidentiality of personally identifiable information at collection, storage, disclosure, and destruction stages. Parental consent must be obtained before personally identifiable information is disclosed to anyone other than officials of participating agencies collecting or using the information under Part B of the IDEA. See 34 CFR 300.560-300.577. However, neither the IDEA statute or its implementing regulations specifically address whether members of the news media who have obtained appropriate parent consent under the IDEA may be observers at IEP meetings. Therefore, this is a matter of consideration under California State law. Since this is a matter of individual State law, you may wish to consult the California State Attorney General's Office for an opinion as to whether members of the media who have parent consent may be observers at IEP meetings. However, it is important to point out that IEP meetings are for the purpose of determining the appropriate services for an individual student under Part B of the IDEA. See 34 CFR Acting DirectorOffice of Special Education Programscc:Dr. Alice D. ParkerCalifornia Department of EducationPage PAGE 2 - Dr. Marilyn Shepherd
TOPIC ADDRESSED: Individualized Education Programs |
SECTION OF IDEA: Part B—Assistance for Education of All Children With Disabilities; Section 614—Evaluations, Eligibility Determinations, Individualized Education Programs, and Educational Placements
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Last modified on April 27, 2017