UMS Special Education Department

Procedural safeguards is a system put in place by the government to protect the rights of students with disabilities.

Before every Individualized Education Program (IEP) meeting parents are asked if they understand their procedural safeguards or if they need some clarification.

Procedural safeguards include:

For parents

• The right for to participate in all meetings
• To examine all educational records
• To obtain an independent educational evaluation of the child
• The right to written notice when the school proposes to change or refuses to change the identification, evaluation or placement of a child.
• Have the right to appoint a surrogate parent

Wrightslaw.com has a very informative article about Procedural Safeguards & Parent Notices.

The Guam Public School System has a booklet of the Procedural Safeguards available for download or it can be requested at the school.

So, you received a notice from the Consulting Resource Teacher, CRT, saying that you have an upcoming Individualized Education Program, IEP, meeting.  What do you do?

1.  Fill out the teacher written input, TWI, form that is attached to the IEP notice.  If one was not attached go ask the CRT in room 36 for a copy.  This is a sample of the TWI form.

2.  If you determine the child to have a unique need in behavior, reading, math, or language arts, you should write that information in your TWI.  It is good practice to bring proposed goals and objectives to the IEP meeting.  However, the IEP committee will determine whether the goals and objectives are appropriate and may edit them.  Form 22A is the goals and objectives form used by GPSS.

3.  If your student has previous goals and objectives in his or her IEP, then you will need to fill out Form 16B.  You need to report on your student’s progress on his or her goals and objectives.  NOTE:  Progress on the student’s goals and objectives should be reported every quarter when regular progress reports are given.

I have copies of these forms on Microsoft Word and Adobe PDF.  Send me an email and I will send them to you.

NOTE:  Bring samples of your student’s work in class, homework, journals, tests, portfolios, etc.