Prior Written Notice

A set of rights guaranteed to parents under IDEA that protect their ability to participate in decisions about their child's education. These include the right to written notice before changes, access to records, informed consent, participation in meetings, and the right to disagree through mediation or due process.

The requirement that parents must agree in writing before the school can conduct an initial evaluation, begin providing special education services, or re-evaluate their child. Consent is informed — parents must be told in their native language what the school is proposing and that they have the right to refuse.

The right of every child with a disability to receive special education and related services at no cost to the family. "Appropriate" means the education must be reasonably calculated to enable a child to make progress appropriate in light of the child's circumstances, as established by the Supreme Court in Endrew F. v. Douglas County (2017).