Westwood To Stop Asking Parents To Waive Special Education Rights

Schools districts across Massachusetts (including Westwood) were asking parents of disabled students to waive their legal rights as a condition of attending virtual team meetings where a child’s services are discussed. According to SPEDWatch's Facebook page, these towns were Beverly, Franklin, Granby, Hopkinton, Malden, Marshfield, Methuen, Norfolk, Pembroke, Shrewsbury, Southwick-Tollland-Granville, Westfield, Westwood, and Whitman-Hanson.

“Parents were being asked to waive any and all claims they might have to procedural violations and to acknowledge that regulatory timelines and service delivery requirements would not be met,” said Ellen Chambers of SPEDWatch, Inc.

SPEDWatch is a nonprofit membership organization founded in 2006 to fight for the educational rights of all special needs Massachusetts schoolchildren. According to Chambers, Massachusetts school districts are often in violation of special education laws, and this waiver is just the most recent example. “It’s infuriating, and absolutely against the law, to tell parents they need to waive their rights if they want to engage in the special education process during this period of school closures,” she says.

A member brought the issue to SPEDWatch’s attention on May 12, 2020. By May 15 SPEDWatch had reached out to thousands of families with information on how to communicate with their school districts, filed state complaints against a dozen school districts, and made sure the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) addressed the matter with special education directors statewide.

“Parents have to remain vigilant when it comes to their kids’ special education programming. And if they have questions about special education regulations or process, they can always come to SPEDWatch for help,” says Chambers.