A sample letter to appeal an identification or placement decision

School boards are required to establish committees for the purpose of identifying and appropriately placing students with special needs. These committees are called IPRC (Identification, Placement and Review Committee). Any student is entitled to an IPRC, even if the student is in Kindergarten. Once the child is enrolled, the parents or the school principal can request an initial IPRC meeting or a review.

What does Identification mean?

Students with special needs may be formally identified under one or more of the Exceptionality Categories. There are 5 categories under the Education Law: Behavioral, Communication, Intellectual, Physical and Multiple. Specific diagnoses are included in these categories. For example, autism, learning disability, deafness, and speech impairment are included in the communication category. In the Intellectual category, there are Gifted, Mild Intellectual Disability, and Developmental Disability.

What are the location options?

School boards must provide a variety of placement options to meet the needs of all of their students. Some examples are: Regular Class, Regular Class with Indirect Support, Regular Class with Resource Assistance, Regular Class with Withdrawal Assistance, Special Education Class with Partial Integration, Full-Time Special Education Class, Provincial and Demonstration Schools, Care and Treatment Centers.

What is the next step if the parent agrees or disagrees?

Parents have the right to participate in the meeting and must agree or disagree with the decision within 30 days of the meeting. If the father agrees with the IPRC’s decision, she must sign the agreement form. The Identification and/or Placement will then be implemented or continued as the case may be. But what if the parent disagrees with the Identification or Placement decision or both? He/she must file a Notice of Appeal with the Director of Education stating which decision he/she disagrees with and why.

Below is a sample of that letter.

Mr. John Brown, Director of Education

X7Y 8Z9

Dear Mr. Brown;

Re: Adam Jones; Date of birth: 2008/08/08

IPRC DECISION – NOTICE OF APPEAL

I would like to appeal the Identification, Placement and Review Committee’s decision regarding my son, Adam. The committee originally met on April 5, 2013 at ABC Public School and, at my request, met again on April 16, 2013. Notes from both meetings are attached for your review.

• I disagree with the placement recommendation of the IPRC, which is “Regular class with indirect support”. This placement is inadequate to meet Adam’s educational needs as set forth in the Statement of Needs document (attached).
• I agree that Adam’s ID is Exceptional Communication – Autism

My representative for the Special Education Board of Appeals is Mary Smith. You can reach her at 905-555-6789. For Adam’s benefit, I expect this appeal to proceed within the timeframes set out in Ontario Regulation 181/98.

Sincerely,

janet jones

Phone: 905-555-1234

attach

• My School Board, IPRC Decision/Parental Consent Form, April 5, 2013
• Adam Jones – Statement of Needs, IPRC meeting, April 5, 2013
• Adam Jones – IPRC Meeting Notes, April 5, 2013 and April 16, 2013