The due process hearing provides a forum where disagreements about the identification, evaluation, educational placement, and provision of a free appropriate public education for students with exceptionalities may be adjudicated. Although Federal regulations refer to due process rights for educators and parents of students with disabilities, in Kansas those same rights are also afforded to students with giftedness. Every special education due process hearing and review must be provided for at no cost to the child or the parent of the child. The costs of the initial hearing must be provided for and paid by the school district except for attorney fees.
Only as a last resort should the legal method of a special education due process hearing and appeal procedure be used. Parents considering a request for a due process hearing are encouraged to consult with an attorney who practices in special education law.
Either the school district or the parents of an exceptional child may initiate a special education due process hearing to resolve differences about a child’s identification, evaluation, educational placement, or provision of a free appropriate public education.
The due process complaint must allege a violation that occurred not more than two years before the date the parent or public agency knew or should have known about the alleged action that forms the basis of the due process complaint.
There are some exceptions to this timeline, including when a school has misrepresented that it has resolved the problem or the school has withheld information that it was legally required to give to the parent (34 C.F.R. 300.507(a)(2); K.S.A. 72-972a(a)(1)(A))