Virginia Regulatory Town Hall
Agency
Department of Education
Board
State Board of Education
chapter
Regulations Governing Special Education Programs for Children With Disabilities in Virginia [8 VAC 20 ‑ 80]    (Repealed)

Approval memo

3/21/2008
Governor
Result: Approved
I have reviewed the proposed regulation on a preliminary basis. While I reserve the right to take action under the Administrative Process Act during the final adoption period, I approve the advancement of this regulation to the next stage for the purpose of soliciting public comment. However, I would like to express some concerns that I have – concerns that parents across the Commonwealth have shared with me.
 
Virginia has long been a leader in the area of parental consent and involvement in the special education process. I have concerns about proposals in this regulation that reduce parental involvement in key decisions made about their children. These include, but are not limited to:
 
  1. Elimination of parental consent prior to partial or complete termination of or changes to special education and related services.
  2. Elimination of parental consent before providing special education services for transfer students.
  3. Removal of parents from the Functional Behavioral Assessment team.
  4. Addition of an option for the Local Education Agency to refuse a parent’s request for an Individualized Education Plan meeting if the LEA considers the request unreasonable.
  5. Reduction in the number of regular progress reports given to parents on their child’s Individualized Education plan.
 
I do not currently see any circumstance under which I would approve a final regulation reducing parental involvement in these ways.
 
I urge the Board of Education to take this and other public comments into account regarding these provisions and to act accordingly prior to submitting a final regulation for my approval.
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