How to Conduct a Special Education Due Process Case
The following Guide takes you step-by-step through a special education due process case in New Jersey*. This is especially designed for parents / families of children with disabilities who have a dispute with their school about services and accommodations being provided to their child.
*While most of these steps apply to all 50 states, there are some specific rules that are only applicable to New Jersey so consult with an advocate or lawyer in your state.
THIS GUIDE IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE. THIS IS ONLY AN EXPLANATION OF THE RELEVANT SPECIAL EDUCATION LAWS. YOU SHOULD CONSULT AN ADVOCATE OR LAWYER FOR MORE INFORMATION.
The primary law for special education cases is the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or “IDEA”. It is found at 20 U.S.C. 1400 – 1482. There are both federal and state regulations that further explain the law. IDEA’s regulations are located at 34 C.F.R. 300.1 – 300.818 and New Jersey’s regulations are at N.J.A.C. 6A:14-1.1 – 10.2 and N.J.A.C. 1:6A-1.1 – 18.5. (Don’t worry, we’ll point you to specific ones as we move forward through this guide.)
Within IDEA is a list of “Procedural Safeguards”, which are legal rights GUARANTEED to parents of a child with a disability in public school. Most of those Procedural Safeguards are listed at 20 U.S.C. 1415 and describe how a special education due process case proceeds. The federal regulations for these Procedural Safeguards are even more specific, 34 C.F.R. 300.500 – 300.599, as are the New Jersey regulations, N.J.A.C. 6A:14-2.1 – 2.10.
This guide will walk you through those procedures. When you see a link, it goes to a free website with the actual text of the law or regulation for that legal right. Below is the table of contents for this guide. You can click on the steps in any order and come back to this page as a starting point or simply click the finger image at the bottom to go to the next step.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Step 3 – The Due Process Complaint
Step 4 – 30 Day Resolution Period
Step 6 – After the Hearing / Appeals
This is not intended to be a comprehensive guide to special education due process cases, but provide explanations of the most common steps in resolving a dispute with your child’s school. If this guide doesn’t answer your questions, you should either consult an attorney or you may send an email to proposed Class Counsel from this website.
If at any time you are denied one of these Rights by a school district or Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), you may contact Counsel.
