Parent Participation in Special Education Meetings.

Special education meetings generally.  The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction's rules require school districts to provide the parents or guardians of students with disabilities an opportunity to participate in meetings regarding their student's identification, evaluation, educational placement, and access to a free appropriate public education.

To ensure that parents or guardians have the opportunity to participate in the meetings, each school district must provide written notice, in a language the parent or guardian can understand, of the purpose, time, and location of the meeting, as well as who will be in attendance. 

A parent or guardian may request consent to record meetings, in accordance with applicable school district policies and state law.

Individualized education program team meetings.  An individualized education program (IEP) is a written plan for each student eligible for special education services, developed, reviewed, and revised by the IEP team in a formal meeting.  The IEP describes the student's special education and related service hours, as well as academic and behavioral goals for the year.  The IEP team must include the student's parents or guardians, certain teachers, designated school district representatives with expertise in curricula and resources, an individual who can interpret evaluation results, and other relevant participants, including the student when appropriate.

Recording Private Conversations.

The Washington Privacy Act limits the recording of private communications and conversations.  As a general rule, it is illegal for individuals, businesses, or government entities to intercept or record a private communication or conversation without first obtaining the consent of all participants.  There are exceptions to this rule for emergencies, instances in which one party is harassing or making unlawful threats on another, and communications with emergency responders.

When consent is required to record a private communication or conversation, it is considered obtained if one participant effectively announces to all others that the recording will take place, and this announcement is also recorded.

Parents or guardians have the right to audio record their student's individualized education program team meetings.  Other members of a student's individualized education program team must comply with the Washington Privacy Act.