OAR 581-015-2750: Parent Participation — General — EI/ECSE Program

(1) For a child under age three, contractors or subcontractors must provide parents with an opportunity to participate in meetings with respect to the identification, evaluation, IFSP, placement of the child and the provision of appropriate EI services and transition to ECSE or other services. For IFSP meetings, contractors and subcontractors must also follow requirements of OAR 581-015-2755. (2) For a child age three and older, contractors or subcontractors must provide parents with an opportunity to participate in meetings with respect to the identification, evaluation, IFSP, placement of the child, the provision of a free appropriate public education and transition to school age or other services. For IFSP and placement meetings, contractors and subcontractors must also follow requirements of OAR 581-015-2755. (3) Contractors or subcontractors must provide parents and other participants with a written notice of the meeting sufficiently in advance to ensure that parents and others will have an opportunity to attend. The written notice must: (a) State the purpose, time and place of the meeting and who will attend; (b) Inform the parents that they or the agency may invite other individuals who they believe have knowledge or expertise regarding the child; (c) Inform the parents of a child age three or older that the team may proceed with the meeting even if the parent is not in attendance; and (d) Inform the parents of whom to contact before the meeting to provide information if they are unable to attend. (4) The contractor or subcontractor must take whatever action is necessary to ensure that the parents understand the proceedings at a meeting, including: (a) For a child under age three, conducting the meeting in the native language of the family or other mode of communication used by the family unless it is clearly not feasible to do so; and (b) For a child age three and over, arranging for an interpreter for parents who are deaf or whose native language is other than English. (5) A meeting does not include informal or unscheduled conversations involving public agency personnel and conversations on issues such as teaching methodology, instructional plans, or coordination of service provision if those issues are not addressed in the child's IFSP. A meeting also does not include preparatory activities that public agency personnel engage in to develop a proposal or response parent proposal that will be discussed at a later meeting. (6) Conducting a meeting without a parent in attendance: A meeting may be conducted without a parent in attendance if the public agency has given the parent notice under subsection (3) or, for IFSP or placement meetings, in accordance with OAR 581-015-2755.