Page 125 - Special Education in Ontario, Kindergarten to Grade 12: Policy and Resource Guide

Draft PART D: The Identification, Placement, and Review Committee (IPRC) Process Before the Meeting of the Appeal Board
The school board contact person should, as soon as possible after receiving the request for the appeal, contact the parties (i.e., the parents and the school board) to identify when they will be available for the SEAB meeting and whom they have selected as their respective appeal board members.
In addition, the contact person should:
• inform all parties to the appeal how he or she may be contacted. Questions or concerns about the process should be directed to the contact person rather than to the appeal board members;
• make preparations for the meeting, including finding a facility in which to hold the meeting. The meeting should be held in a neutral location, preferably reasonably close to the parents’ home, such as a school that is not involved in the matter, a government office, or a hotel;
• inform both the parents and the school board that any information regarding the student’s needs and strengths that was brought up
at the IPRC meeting(s) may be submitted to the appeal board for consideration. Although the regulation does not indicate when this information should be sent to the appeal board members, it should be submitted sufficiently in advance of the meeting to permit the members of the SEAB and the other party to read it carefully;
• ensure that the parents and the student (if 16 years of age or older) are aware of their right to have a representative present at the meeting.
The chair of the SEAB:
• must send a notice to the parents, the student (if 16 years of age or older), the school board, and presenters within a reasonable period of time (at least ten days before the meeting) to inform them of the date, time, and location of the appeal board meeting. These details should have been worked out in consultation with the parents, the school board, and the SEAB members. The chair has an obligation to make sure the meeting takes place at a convenient time and place. Although appeal board meetings tend to be scheduled for a single day, there may be circumstances in which everyone agrees that more time is necessary;
• should request that the parents and school board each submit a list of the persons they wish to invite to the meeting, with an estimate of how much time these people will likely need to make their presentations to the appeal board. If time permits, both lists should be distributed to
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