C.F.R. » Title 34 » CHAPTER III—OFFICE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION AND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION › PART 300—ASSISTANCE TO STATES FOR THE EDUCATION OF CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES › Subpart E—Procedural Safeguards Due Process Procedures for Parents and Children

34 C.F.R. § 300.503

Prior notice by the public agency; content of notice

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(a) Notice. Written notice that meets the requirements of paragraph (b) of this section must be given to the parents of a child with a disability a reasonable time before the public agency—

(1) Proposes to initiate or change the identification, evaluation, or educational placement of the child or the provision of FAPE to the child; or

(2) Refuses to initiate or change the identification, evaluation, or educational placement of the child or the provision of FAPE to the child.

(b) Content of notice. The notice required under paragraph (a) of this section must include—

(1) A description of the action proposed or refused by the agency;

(2) An explanation of why the agency proposes or refuses to take the action;

(3) A description of each evaluation procedure, assessment, record, or report the agency used as a basis for the proposed or refused action;

(4) A statement that the parents of a child with a disability have protection under the procedural safeguards of this part and, if this notice is not an initial referral for evaluation, the means by which a copy of a description of the procedural safeguards can be obtained;

(5) Sources for parents to contact to obtain assistance in understanding the provisions of this part;

(6) A description of other options that the IEP Team considered and the reasons why those options were rejected; and

(7) A description of other factors that are relevant to the agency's proposal or refusal.

(c) Notice in understandable language. (1) The notice required under paragraph (a) of this section must be—

(i) Written in language understandable to the general public; and

(ii) Provided in the native language of the parent or other mode of communication used by the parent, unless it is clearly not feasible to do so.

(2) If the native language or other mode of communication of the parent is not a written language, the public agency must take steps to ensure—

(i) That the notice is translated orally or by other means to the parent in his or her native language or other mode of communication;

(ii) That the parent understands the content of the notice; and

(iii) That there is written evidence that the requirements in paragraphs (c)(2)(i) and (ii) of this section have been met.

(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1415(b)(3) and (4), 1415(c)(1), 1414(b)(1))
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 108 cases (23 in the last 5 years), 1984–2025 · leading case: Timothy O. v. Paso Robles Unified School District
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Timothy O. v. Paso Robles Unified School District (2016) ca9 · cites it 4× “34 C.F.R. § 300.503 (a) & (b). Further, any parent who is dissatisfied with the identification, evaluation, or educational placement of the child must have the opportunity to present a formal complaint.”
Middleton v. Dist. of Columbia (2018) cadc · cites it 2× “See 34 C.F.R. § 300.503 (a) (describing the notice requirement).”
Seth B. Ex Rel. Donald B. v. Orleans Parish School Board (2016) ca5 · cites it 2× “22 See 34 C.F.R. § 300.503 (1987). The decision cites § 300.”
T.R. v. School District of Philadelphi (2021) ca3 · cites it 2× “§ 1415(b)(3); 34 C.F.R. § 300.503 (a) (parroting statute).”
Renee J. v. Houston Indep School District (2019) ca5 · cites it 2× “The IDEA requires a school district to provide such notice to parents of children who have IEPs whenever it proposes or refuses "to initiate or change the identification, evaluation, or educational placement of the child or the provision of FAPE to the child.”
E.H. v. New York City Department of Education (2016) nysd · cites it 2× “34 C.F.R. § 300.503 (a)(1); 8 N.Y. Comp. Codes R.”
Herbin Ex Rel. Herbin v. District of Columbia (2005) dcd · cites it 3× “§ 1414 (b)(1) (requiring notice to parents of any evaluation procedures to be conducted); 34 C.F.R. § 300.503 (a) (requiring prior written notice to parents regarding public agency evaluation decisions).”
P.N. v. Greco (2003) njd · cites it 2× “§§ 1415 (b)(3)(A), (B); 34 C.F.R. § 300.503 (a); N.J.A.C. 6A: 14-2.”
Connor Durbrow v. Cobb County School District (2018) ca11 “§ 1415 (c), (d), (f)(3)(D) ; 34 C.F.R. §§ 300.503 (a)(2), (b)(4), 300.”
BV v. Department of Educ., State of Hawaii (2005) hid · cites it 5× “She argues that 34 C.F.R. § 300.503 25 required the DOE to respond to her requests in writing, and she further argues that 20 U.”
I.L. ex rel. Taylor v. Knox County Board of Education (2017) tned “§ 1415 (b)(3); 34 C.F.R. § 300.503 (a). The District gave notice on November 4, 2014.”
Roark Ex Rel. Roark v. District of Columbia (2006) dcd “§ 1415 (b)(3); see also 34 C.F.R. § 300.503 ; D.C. Mun. Regs. tit.”
Show all 108 citing cases →
— 34 C.F.R. § 300.503(a) — 2 cases
ND Ex Rel. Guard. Ad Litem v. Hi Dept. of Educ. (2010) ca9
N.D. v. Hawaii Department of Education (2010) ca9
— 34 C.F.R. § 300.503(b) — 3 cases
Hiller v. Bd. of Educ. of Brunswick Cent. Sch. D. (1988) nynd
Gwinnett County School Dist. v. JB Ex Rel. DB (2005) gand
Mandeville v. Department of Education, State of Hawaii (2022) hid
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.