Families who do not speak or write English as their primary language have the right to participate fully in special education proceedings. These rights include:

1. The right to a copy of the IEP document in the primary language of the parent at the parent’s request. [5 C.C.R. Sec. 3040(a).]
2. The right to be fully informed in one’s native language or other mode of communication of all information relevant to an activity of the school district for which a parent’s consent is being requested. [34 C.F.R. Sec. 300.9; Cal. Ed. Code Sec. 56021.1.]
3. The right to have assessments administered to a child of limited English proficiency in her native language or other mode of communication and in the form most likely to yield accurate information on what the child knows and can do academically, functionally, and developmentally. [34 C.F.R. Sec. 300.304(c)(1); Cal. Ed. Code Sec. 56320.]
4. The right to have an interpreter at IEP meetings. [34 C.F.R. Sec. 300.322(e).]
5. The right to written notice in one’s native language or other mode of communication, a reasonable time before a school district proposes (or refuses) to initiate or change the special education student’s identifying category, her evaluation data, her placement, or anything about the way the district is providing FAPE. [34 C.F.R. Sec. 300.503(c)(1).]
6. The right to have assessment plans presented to parents in their native language or other mode of communication. [Cal. Ed. Code Sec. 56321(b)(2).]
7. The right to have an interpreter at a due process hearing. [5 C.C.R. Sec. 3082(d).] Although not specifically stated, interpreters should be provided at mediation conferences as well. [5 C.C.R. Sec. 3086(b)(3).]
8. The right to a Procedural Safeguards Notice provided in one’s native language. [34 C.F.R. Sec. 300.504(d).]
9. The right to receive, upon request, information in one’s native language regarding the procedures for filing a complaint with local child protective agencies against a school employee or other person who commits an act of child abuse against a child at a school site. If the information is communicated orally, an interpreter must be provided. [Cal. Ed. Code Sec. 48987.]