Due Process and Parental Right

Shannon Lassiegne

July 14, 2013

Grand Canyon University-SPE 350

Due Process and Parental Rights

Due Process and Parental Rights

Can you imagine a world without the current reform of special education for students with disabilities before the federal law of IDEA was passed? It is hard to imagine how students with disabilities abled themselves to get the education to succeed in life. How did the students achieve goals? Did the educational staff have the appropriate information? As facilitators in special education know, no, students did not achieve their goals and the educational staff did not have all the appropriate information because parents were not involved. Parents, previously to IDEA, were not given the opportunity to participate in the development of their child’s education. However, by 2005, IDEA put into place due process safeguards to protect students with disabilities. Parents are viewed as equal partner to a child’s education. Currently, school officials and parents are working together to develop a student’s individual education program (IEP). According to IDEA, parents must be given the opportunity to participate in the development of their child’s IEP. There are several court cases in reference to due process and parent right. The case that is most notable for due process and parents’ rights is the Board of Education of the Hendrick Hudson Central School District vs Rowley, 1982. In this case, the US Supreme Court ruled that an educational program is not appropriate unless the program was developed with the procedures from IDEA (Osborne, 2009). Another case in reference to due process and parents’ rights is Jaynes vs Newport News School Board, 2001.

PARTIES INVOLVED IN CASE

The plaintiffs of this case are a seven year old child and his parents, Brian and Juliana Jaynes. The seven year old child is named Stefan Jaynes. The defendant in this case is the local public school board of Newport News, Virginia.

BACKGROUND ON...