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(6.32) If I refuse to consent to an assessment or services, can the district use due process to force me to sign an assessment plan or IEP?

(6.32) If I refuse to consent to an assessment or services, can the district use due process to force me to sign an assessment plan or IEP?

The district must get your “informed consent” in writing before it conducts an assessment or provides special education services to your child. Providing your informed consent means not only that you sign a document but that you have been “fully informed of all information relevant to the activity for which consent is sought, in [your] native language…” [34 C.F.R. Sec. 300.9; Cal. Ed. Code Sec. 56021.1.] The district cannot conduct an assessment or provide special education services to your child if you have not given your consent. The district must make “reasonable efforts” to get your consent.

If you fail to respond to a request for your consent for an assessment or you refuse to consent to a request for assessment, the district may use due process to obtain a consent override for an assessment. [Cal. Ed. Code Sec. 56501(a)(3).]

If you fail to respond to a request for your consent for special education services or you refuse to consent to a request for the provision of special education services, the district may not use due process to force your consent. If you refuse to give your consent for the district’s initial request to provide special education services to your child, the district will not be in violation of their responsibility to provide FAPE. It is also not required to hold an IEP meeting or develop an IEP. [34 C.F.R. Sec. 300.300(b), Cal. Ed. Code Sec. 56501(a)(3).]

If you revoke or withdraw your consent in writing for special education services called for in an IEP for your child, the district may not continue to provide those services and must provide you with prior written notice before it stops the services. [34 C.F.R. Sec. 300.300(b)(4)(i).]