Special Education Letter Writing; 7 Items Parents of a Child With a Disability Must Include in Letters

Are you a parent of a child with a disability who would like to writenletters to special education personnel, but do not know what toninclude? Would a short list of things to include be helpful? Thisnarticle will address 7 specific items that should be included innletters to special education personnel, to make them effective.
Letters should be one page if possible, and contain these things:

Item 1: You should include your name in the letter as well as the namenof your child with a disability. If the special education person is annadministrator, they may not know you or your child.That’s why it isnimportant to include both in the letter.

Item 2: You should include your child’s birth date, if you are writingnto special education personnel who do not know your child. Specialneducation personnel often use a child’s birth date, for identificationnpurposes.

Item 3: You should include the date when you are writing the letter;nthe date should include month, day and year. Letters sent to specialneducation personnel become part of your child’s school record. Byndating the letters, anyone looking at the record can tell when it wasnwritten. The date the letter was sent may be important in the futurenif a dispute occurs between you and special education personnel.

Item 4: You should very clearly state the purpose of the letter. For
Example: I am writing you today to tell you of my conce
s for mynchild, Mary, whom I believe may have a learning disability, in thenarea of reading. I am asking that she be tested using a standardizednreading test such as the Woodcock Reading Mastery Test. When the testnresults are finished, we can discuss them at an IEP meeting."

Item 5: You should include the person’s name that you are sending thenletter to, their title, and school address.

Item 6: The letter should contain a hand signature at the bottom ofnthe page, by the parent writing the letter. If the letter is used innthe future, it holds more weight if it is signed.

Item 7: The letter should include any written documentation ornreports that help your case. For Example: I am including a letter fromnthe Occupational Therapist, about the behavioral difficulties myndaughter has been having during therapy time. After the signature putnthe word attachments in the left hand margin, and list the name of allnattachments.Be sure to include the attachments with the letter.

By including, these important items in your letters to schoolnpersonnel, you are ensuring that yourletter is easy to read and tonunderstand. Documentation is critical in case of a dispute between younand special education personnel, in the future. Happy Writing!!