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In plain language
If your child has an IEP and English isn't your first language, federal law gives you specific rights. Here's what you actually get.
The right to understand
Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the school district must take whatever action is necessary to ensure you understand IEP team meetings — including arranging a qualified interpreter for parents whose native language is not English. This is from 34 CFR § 300.322(e).
"Whatever action is necessary" is the actual phrase. It is not a suggestion.
The district is also required to translate the procedural safeguards notice into your native language, unless clearly not feasible. This is the document that explains your rights — including the right to request an evaluation, the right to consent or refuse, the right to disagree, and the right to file a due-process complaint.
The right to give informed consent
The school cannot evaluate your child, change their placement, or change the services they receive without your written consent. And consent is only valid if you were fully informed in your native language about what you are consenting to. This is from 34 CFR § 300.9.
If you are handed a form in English you cannot read and asked to sign — you have not given informed consent. You can ask the school to provide a translated version, or to sight-translate the form before you sign.
The right to a qualified interpreter
The 2015 OCR/DOJ Dear Colleague guidance was explicit: schools must use qualified interpreters and translators — not children, untrained bilingual staff, or family members. "Qualified" means trained, ethics-bound, and competent in specialized educational terminology.
If a school asks an older sibling, a neighbor, or an untrained bilingual staff member to interpret an IEP meeting, that does not satisfy federal law.
The right to disagree
You have the right to disagree with the district's evaluation, with the proposed IEP, or with the proposed placement. Disagreeing does not waive any of your rights. If you disagree:
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