115.792 Procedural safeguards.

(1) Safeguards ensured.

(a) The local educational agency shall establish and maintain procedures to ensure all of the following:

1. That the parents of a child may examine all records relating to the child and may participate in meetings about the identification, evaluation and educational placement of the child, and the provision of a free appropriate public education to the child, and may obtain an independent educational evaluation of the child.

2. That a child's rights are protected by the assignment of an individual, who shall not be an employee of the department, the local educational agency, or any other agency that is involved in the education or care of the child, to act as a surrogate for the child's parents whenever the child's parents are not known; the local educational agency cannot, after reasonable efforts, locate the child's parents; or the child is a ward of the state. For a child who is a ward of the state, a judge overseeing the child's care may appoint a surrogate for the child's parents if the surrogate meets the requirements of this subdivision.

3. That a child's parents are offered an opportunity to use mediation under s. 115.797.

(b) The local educational agency shall establish and maintain procedures to ensure that a child's parents are provided prior written notice whenever the local educational agency proposes to initiate or change, or refuses to initiate or change, the identification, evaluation or educational placement of the child, or the provision of a free appropriate public education to the child. In this paragraph, “local educational agency" includes the nonresident school district that a child is attending under s. 118.50, 118.51, or 121.84 (1) (a) or (4).

(2) Notice. The notice required under sub. (1) (b) shall be in the native language of the child's parents unless the local educational agency determines that it clearly is not feasible to do so and shall include all of the following:

(a) A description of the action proposed or refused by the local educational agency.

(b) An explanation of why the local educational agency proposes or refuses to take the action.

(c) A description of any other options that the local educational agency considered and the reasons why it rejected those options.

(d) A description of each evaluation procedure, assessment, record, or report that the local educational agency used as a basis for the proposed or refused action.

(e) If the notice proposes to evaluate or reevaluate the child, the names of the evaluators, if known.

(f) A description of any other factors that are relevant to the local educational agency's proposal or refusal.

(g) A statement that the parents of a child with a disability have procedural safeguards under this section and, if this notice is not an initial referral for evaluation, the way in which the parents may obtain a description of the procedural safeguards under sub. (3).

(h) Sources for parents to contact to obtain assistance in understanding this subchapter.

(3) Procedural safeguards notice.

(a) In this subsection, “local educational agency" includes the nonresident school district that a child is attending under s. 118.50, 118.51, or 121.84 (1) (a) or (4).

(b) The local educational agency shall give to the parents of a child with a disability, once a year but also upon the child's initial referral or parental request for evaluation, upon the first occurrence of the filing of a request for a hearing under s. 115.80, and upon request by the child's parent, a full explanation written in an easily understandable manner, and in the native language of the child's parents unless it clearly is not feasible to do so, of the procedural safeguards available under this section and under applicable federal law relating to all of the following:

1. Independent educational evaluation.

2. Prior written notice.

3. Parental consent.

4. Access to educational records.

5. Opportunity to present and resolve complaints, including the period in which the child's parents may request a hearing and the opportunity for the local educational agency to resolve the issues presented by the request.

6. The child's placement during pendency of due process proceedings.

7. Procedures for pupils who are subject to placement in interim alternative educational settings under 20 USC 1415 (k).

8. Requirements for the unilateral placement by parents of pupils in private schools at public expense.

9. Mediation.

10. Hearings under s. 115.80.

11. Civil actions, including the period in which to file a civil action.

12. Attorney fees.

History: 1997 a. 164; 1999 a. 117; 2005 a. 258; 2015 a. 55.