Notice of Recommended Educational Placement

Special education services and accommodations provide crucial and needed support to students with disabilities. Effective modifications can be the difference between a student failing and succeeding at school.

For parents and guardians of students with disabilities, knowing how and when to advocate for their students can be challenging. Often, parents aren’t aware that both federal and Pennsylvania laws provide rights not only for children with disabilities but also for their parents and guardians.

One such right is Prior Written Notice, known as Notice of Recommended Educational Placement (NOREP) in Pennsylvania. While a small part of special education law, it’s an important source of information for parents and guardians and can help them navigate the best way to support their child and ensure they’re getting the services they need to succeed in school or as part of early intervention services.

Your child has the right to an education. That education includes the modifications and accommodations they require to succeed in school. Special education isn’t a luxury or a crutch. It’s an acknowledgement that education shouldn’t take a one-size-fits-all approach, and some students learn differently or require additional support than the standard requirements.

NOREP is one tool for parents to help ensure your child’s school provides them with the services they require. For parents of babies and toddlers, NOREP helps them make sure their children receive ever-important early intervention services.

The Education Law Team at the LLF National Law Firm works with families nationwide and throughout Pennsylvania to ensure their children get the services and support they require. We help our clients navigate the special education system, understand their rights, and advocate for their child and their child’s right to an education. Call us at 888-535-3686 or fill out an online form.

IDEA and Prior Written Notice

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is the cornerstone of special education rights in K-12 education. The law applies to all public schools and covers all babies, toddlers, children, and teenagers, even if they don’t attend their local public school.

IDEA covers qualifying disabilities and establishes that, for students with qualifying disabilities, access to special education is a right. All children have the right to a free, appropriate K-12 public education in the U.S., and for students with disabilities, that includes access to special education services.

IDEA not only establishes a student’s right to special education, but the law also places requirements for assessment and parent involvement. The law recognizes that while special education services and accommodations are the key component for supporting students with disabilities, they’re one part of a larger support system.

School districts must conduct annual meetings, which include parent and guardian participation, to review a student’s IEP and determine if any changes should be made. IDEA gives parents and guardians the right to request a meeting at any point.

One of the lesser-known parts of IDEA is prior written notice (PWN). PWN can be found in both Part B and Part C of IDEA. While similar, the two sections target different demographics.

PWN in Part B

Part B of IDEA focuses on all children with disabilities. For PWN, Part B requires that schools and other education agencies give notice to parents or guardians in a reasonable time before:

• Proposing to change their child’s identification, evaluation, or educational placement

• Refusing to change their child’s identification, evaluation, or educational placement

• All notices must include:

• A description of the action the school is proposing or refusing

• Why the school is taking this action

• Other options the IEP team considered and why they were rejected

• Any other factors that were relevant to the school’s decision

• Information about every evaluation procedure, assessment, record, or report the school used when making its decision

• What protection the family has under procedural safeguards, such as dispute resolution options, and how the family can request a description of the procedural safeguards

• Who the parents or guardians can contact for assistance with understanding the notice or related information

• The burden is on schools to make sure parents understand the notice

  • All notices must be written to be understandable to the general public

  • Notices should be in the parent or guardian’s native language, unless it isn’t feasible

  • PWNs must include all of the above requirements to comply with IDEA. Schools must be able to provide written evidence that they met the requirements for PWN.

One of the challenges with the PWN requirements is what’s meant by reasonable time.

PWN in Part C

Part C covers babies and toddlers with disabilities and focuses on early intervention services. Notices sent under Part C have fewer requirements than notices sent under Part B.

Schools or other departments or agencies that provide early intervention services must send a written notice to parents or guardians, and in a reasonable time, before proposing or refusing a change to their child’s identification, evaluation, or placement.

All notices sent under Part C must include:

• What action the provider is proposing or refusing

• The provider’s reasons for taking that action

• Information on all procedural safeguards available under Part C, including all dispute resolution options

• The burden is on schools to make sure parents understand the notice

  • All notices must be written to be understandable to the general public

  • Notices should be in the parent or guardian’s native language, unless it isn’t feasible

There must be written evidence that the provider has met the requirements for PWN.

Notice of Recommended Educational Placement: PWN in Pennsylvania

Each state is responsible for overseeing its special education services, which includes PWN, known as NOREP in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania has different forms depending on why schools or educational service providers are contacting parents.

For K-12 students, Pennsylvania requires schools to send NOREPs to parents or guardians when they are proposing or refusing to change a student’s:

• Identification

• Evaluation

• Educational placement, which can include some suspension and all expulsions

• Provisions of a free, appropriate public education

If there are proposals to change a student’s evaluation, programming, or placement, and a school doesn’t provide a NOREP, parents and guardians can request one. One advantage of having a NOREP is that it provides families with written documentation of suggested changes and a school’s decisions.

Reasonable Time and NOREP for K-12 Students

One common question about NOREP is what’s meant by a reasonable time. For parents and guardians, the good news is that the Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network (PATTAN) provides families with a guide on timelines for special education in the state. 

In Pennsylvania, the general rule is that a reasonable amount of time is 10 calendar days. While this covers the majority of special education notification, the PATTAN guide breaks down notification by type.

Schools may not follow the general guidelines depending on the individual circumstances, and if the school believes that it requires additional days to respond. For example, a school may require more than 10 days if a student has recently enrolled in the district.

For an initial evaluation, the general guideline is 10 calendar days. For IEP meetings, however, the requirement is enough time to give parents the opportunity to attend.

In other words, while the 10-day guideline can be useful, it’s not a hard-and-fast requirement. As long as they provide notice, schools may inform parents in more or less than 10 days.

The Education Law Team at the LLF National Law Firm works with families to ensure they are receiving notices with enough time to attend meetings and minimize disruption to their child’s special education services. If your child’s school or services provider isn’t sending NOREPs in a reasonable amount of time, contact us to help protect your child’s right to these services.

NOREPs and Parent or Guardian Signature

NOREPs do have one set deadline, which is when parents or guardians must sign a NOREP. Parents or guardians must sign within 10 calendar days of receiving a NOREP.

A signature doesn’t mean that parents or guardians agree with a school’s decision. Parents can disagree or agree with a school’s decision, but if they don’t sign within 10 days, schools can make changes even if parents or guardians disagree.

If parents disagree with the school’s decision listed on a NOREP, they need to do the following:

• Sign and return the notice within 10 calendar days.

• In the Parental Consent section, list all actions they agree or disagree with.

  • Parents or guardians must put their agreement or disagreement in writing. Even if they chat with a student’s teacher or member of their IEP team about the proposed changes, they must still follow-up with a written list of their issues with the NOREP.

• For parents or guardians who disagree, they can request a meeting or pursue dispute resolution options, such as mediation.

The Education Law Team at the LLF National Law Firm works with families to ensure they are meeting deadlines and doing everything necessary to keep their opportunities to appeal and dispute proposed changes available.

Preventing a Change in Placement

If parents or guardians want to prevent a change in placement, signing and sending back the NOREP form isn’t enough. In addition to checking the box requesting mediation or a due process hearing on the notice, parents and guardians must also contact the Office for Dispute Resolution (ODR) to request mediation or a hearing. This request must be made within 10 calendar days to prevent a student’s change in placement.

Early Intervention Services and NOREP

For parents of babies and toddlers with disabilities, understanding how to navigate early intervention can be challenging. While K-12 students mostly receive support through schools, different counties may have different providers for early intervention services.

In Bucks County, the Department of Behavioral Health/Developmental Programs handles services for birth to age three. Bucks County Intermediate Unit handles ages three to five.

In Beaver and Allegheny Counties, the Alliance for Infants and Toddlers coordinates early intervention services until age three. Similar to Bucks County, the Allegheny Intermediate Unit manages services for toddlers between the ages of three and five.

For parents and guardians with babies and toddlers, however, this means one more challenge in getting the services their baby or toddler is entitled to by law. It’s not just about NOREP but also knowing who to contact to get initial services and support.

Public schools should be able to provide families with information about early intervention services and who to contact. This falls under IDEA’s Child Find provisions, which require schools to identify and evaluate any baby, toddler, or child within their district with a potential disability.

Pennsylvania has a guide for early intervention and NOREP / PWN. Similar to K-12 students, a reasonable time is generally 10 calendar days.

Parent consent is required for:

• Initial evaluations

• Initial placement

• Reevaluations

Parents and guardians have the right to revoke consent. Schools may proceed without consent in situations when the provider has made reasonable efforts to contact the parent or guardian without success.

Similar to parents and guardians of K-12 students, parents and guardians of babies and toddlers have the right to pursue dispute resolution following disagreements about evaluations, placements, or services. The Education Law Team at the LLF National Law Firm works with families to ensure they meet deadlines and file all necessary paperwork to pursue these options and protect their child’s right to early intervention services.

Protect Your Child’s Education

All children with disabilities have a right to an education and the services and accommodations they require to benefit from that education. For babies and toddlers, they have the right to early intervention services that can be crucial for their learning and development.

NOREPs, when properly used, can be a useful source of information for parents and guardians. They can help keep parents and guardians involved in the process and be a resource for understanding their rights.

Requirements and deadlines for NOREPs, however, can potentially hurt students if parents aren’t aware of them. The Education Law Team at the LLF National Law Firm works with families throughout Pennsylvania to guide them through the process and ensure they know their rights when navigating the special education process.

The Education Law Team at the LLF National Law Firm helps families understand their options and rights when navigating special education laws. We focus on student-centered solutions. Call us at 888-535-3686 or fill out an online form.