Nebraska Public Media

In the Nebraska Legislature on Tuesday, senators rejected an attempt to give parents of special education students more power over their children’s education. Sen. Victor Rountree is the sponsor of the proposal to require that parents must approve any changes to a special education student’s individualized education program, or IEP. Rountree said the bill was brought to him by the Defense Department following complaints from military families that Nebraska schools sometimes denied their students services they had previously received in other states. 

Rountree said he was trying to address a power imbalance between parents, who are often on their own, and schools, which have experts and lawyers on their side. “At the end of the day, this bill is about whether we believe parents matter, whether we believe their voices should carry equal weight, and whether we are willing to correct a system that, as it stands, too often leaves families without a meaningful path to advocate for their children,” Rountree said.

Sen. Bob Hallstrom opposed Rountree’s proposal, saying it went too far. “This amendment would expand consent requirements far beyond what is required by federal law, effectively giving parents veto power over every single decision made by educational experts for special education students,” Hallstrom said.