Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), parents have a right to access their child’s educational records. That is a critical right. Parents need their child’s records to understand her special-education program and to participate as an equal member of her Individualized Education Program (IEP) team. In a recent case, Sandra S. v. Upper Darby School District, Berney & Sang argued that if a school district fails to provide a parent educational records, the parent can request a due process hearing to resolve the dispute. A federal court (the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania) agreed, writing “the IDEA allows parents to file an administrative due process complaint” to enforce their right to access “records relate[d] to the identification, evaluation, placement, or FAPE of a child.”
You can access the full opinion here.
