Parent Consent
Federal and state laws and regulations have specific requirements for requesting parent consent. Consent must always be “informed consent.” The parent must agree in writing to the action for which his or her consent is sought (34 CFR § 300.300). In determining that informed consent is obtained, the following must be ensured:
- The parent is fully informed of all information relevant to the activity for which consent is sought, in his or her native language, or other mode of communication.
- The parent understands and agrees in writing to the carrying out of the activity for which his or her consent is sought, and the consent describes that activity and lists the records (if any) that will be released and to whom.
- The parent understands that the granting of consent is voluntary on the part of the parent and may be revoked at any time.
- If a parent revokes consent, that revocation is not retroactive (i.e., it does not negate an action that has occurred after the consent was given and before the consent was revoked). (34 CFR § 300.9)
Parent consent is required for the following event, though this is not an exhaustive list:
- Consent for use of Medicaid
- Consent to Conduct an Initial Evaluation (request for consent accompanied by PWN)
- Consent for the initial provision of services on the IEP (request for consent accompanied by PWN)
Parent consent is not required for the following, though this is not an exhaustive list:
- Review of existing data as part of an initial evaluation or a reevaluation,
- Administration a test or other evaluation that is administered to all children unless consent is required of parents of all children (34 CFR § 300.300(d)); or
- Change in placement (increase/decrease in amount of special education services) once parent has given consent for initial provision of special education services. In these situations, only PWN to the parent of the action proposed is required.
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