Under IDEA 2004 school districts must share the Parent's Notice of Procedural Safeguards once per year with all parents/guardians of eligible students with disabilities. The Department recommends that school districts identify a specific date each school year when the parents of every eligible student enrolled in the district, including those in out-of-district placements, will be sent a copy of the PNPS.
In addition to the annual distribution of the PNPS, school districts must give the PNPS to parents when an initial evaluation of a student is requested by the parent or another person; upon the parent's request for a copy; and when a student with a disability is removed from his or her placement to an interim alternative education setting as a result of discipline.
If parents speak languages other than English or the nine languages translated by DESE, then school districts must take additional steps to ensure that parents have the information you are required by law to provide to them. Districts may need to obtain interpreters or prepare additional translated materials describing the procedural rights of parents and students under IDEA-2004.
The PNPS follows a question and answer format to provide information on the provisions in special education law that enables parents to be involved in educational decisions about their student. The electronic version of the PNPS, available on the DESE website, uses features that enable parents to find specific sections of the PNPS quickly through embedded hyperlinks. The electronic version of the PNPS also includes hyperlinks to additional useful information on the DESE Web site.
Parent's Notice of Procedural Safeguards: English | Español | العربية | Français | Kreyòl Ayisyen | Português | Tiếng Việt
Additional translated versions can be found here.
For more information you can visit the DESE website by clicking here.