What Is Prior Written Notice in an IEP?

When your child's school decides to change something important about their special education, or turns down something you asked for, it has to put that decision in writing and explain it. That document is called prior written notice, often shortened to PWN. It is one of the most useful papers in the IEP process and one of the easiest to miss, because it often arrives after the meeting, tucked into a stack of other forms. This guide explains what prior written notice is, when the school has to send it, the seven things it must contain, what a complete one looks like, and what to do when you don't get one.

Prior written notice is the school's written explanation of a decision about your child's special education. Federal rules require the school to give it to you a reasonable time before it proposes, or refuses, to start or change any of these four things (34 CFR 300.503):

• whether your child is identified as a child with a disability
• your child's evaluation
• your child's educational placement
• the provision of a free appropriate public education, which in practice means the special education, services and supports in the IEP

The word "prior" refers to the change, not to the meeting. The notice comes after a decision is made and before the school carries it out. When the federal rules were written, the U.S. Department of Education said the notice does not have to come before an IEP meeting, and that sending one beforehand could suggest a decision had been made without the parent's input (71 Fed. Reg. 46691). On the same page, it declined to put a number on "a reasonable time." Your state may say more.

Prior written notice is also different from the meeting notice. A meeting notice tells you when the team will meet, why, and who will be there (34 CFR 300.322). Prior written notice tells you what was decided and why.

These are the situations parents run into most often:

• The school proposes an evaluation. That includes a first evaluation and a reevaluation. For a first evaluation, the school must give notice and then get your written consent before it tests your child (34 CFR 300.300).
• The school turns down your request for an evaluation or a reevaluation. A refusal to evaluate is a refusal about evaluation, so it calls for notice.
• The IEP changes your child's services or placement. Adding, reducing or ending a service, changing how much of the day is spent in special education, or moving your child to a different setting.
• The school says no to a change you asked for in one of the four areas: more speech therapy, a one-to-one aide, a different placement, a different service.
• Your child is found no longer eligible for special education.
• Your child graduates with a regular high school diploma. Federal rules treat this as a change in placement that needs notice (34 CFR 300.102).
• You revoke consent for special education services in writing. The school must give notice before it stops the services (34 CFR 300.300).

Not every "no" needs a notice. A disagreement about a classroom routine, or about when to schedule a meeting, is not usually a decision about identification, evaluation, placement or services. If you are not sure whether a decision counts, ask for it in writing anyway. The cost is one short email.

The notice doesn't have to be a separate form. The Department of Education has said a school may use the IEP itself as part of the notice, as long as everything you receive together covers what the rule requires (71 Fed. Reg. 46691). In some districts it is a one-page form; in others it is a section of the IEP packet. If the school offers it, you can choose to get notices by email (34 CFR 300.505).

Federal rules list what every prior written notice must contain (34 CFR 300.503). In plain words:

1. What the school is proposing or refusing to do.
2. Why it is proposing or refusing it.
3. Each evaluation, assessment, record or report it used as the basis for the decision.
4. A statement that you have protections under the procedural safeguards, and in most cases how to get a copy of the procedural safeguards notice that explains them.
5. Who you can contact for help understanding your rights.
6. The other options the IEP team considered, and why they were rejected.
7. Any other factors that are relevant to the decision.

The notice must also be written in language the general public can understand, and in your native language or other mode of communication unless that is clearly not feasible (34 CFR 300.503). Some states require more, such as the date the change will take effect.

Here is an example of a notice that turns down a parent's request. The child and the numbers are made up; the structure follows the seven parts above.

Notice how specific it is. A notice that says only "the team determined the service is not needed" leaves out the reason, the data and the options, and you are entitled to all three. When you read a notice, check it against these questions:

• Does it name the decision precisely, with minutes, setting or start date where they apply?
• Is the reason about your child, or could it apply to any child?
• Does it list the actual data, with dates and the names of assessments?
• Does it mention the options that came up in the meeting, including the ones you raised?
• Does it reflect what you told the team?

If the school told you no in a meeting or on the phone, ask for the decision in writing. You don't need to cite the law, but it helps to use the name: "Could I have that decision and the reasons as prior written notice?"

If a change happened and you never got a notice, ask for one. Here is a short email you can adapt.

If a notice arrived but is missing parts, reply and name what is missing: "The notice doesn't list the data the decision was based on. Could you send that?" Keep the tone matter-of-fact. The goal is a complete record, not an argument.

If you never get one and the disagreement goes further, the rules have a backstop. If you file a due process complaint about a decision the school never sent notice for, the school must send you a written response within 10 days that explains its decision, the options it considered, and what it based the decision on (34 CFR 300.508). It is better not to need that, which is why asking early matters.

Keep every notice you receive with the IEP it belongs to. A year of notices is a clear record of what was decided, when, and on what evidence.

Receiving a notice doesn't mean you agree with it. It is the school's account of its decision, and a clear account makes it easier to respond.

• Put your disagreement in writing. Say what you disagree with and why, briefly, and keep a copy.
• Ask the team to meet if you think the decision should be looked at again. Our guide to requesting an IEP meeting includes a sample letter.
• If you disagree with an evaluation the decision relied on, you can ask for an independent educational evaluation (34 CFR 300.502).
• If the decision is that a service isn't needed but the IEP already includes it, that is a different problem. See what to do when an IEP is not being followed.
• Talk to your state's parent center. Its help is free and it knows your state's rules. You can find yours here.

A few decisions also need your written consent, not just notice: the first evaluation, the first special education services, and most reevaluations (34 CFR 300.300). In those cases the school asks for consent separately, and you can say no. For most other changes, the notice is the step that tells you the school intends to go ahead. Our overview of IEP parent rights explains mediation, state complaints and due process if it comes to that.

If you would like this kind of letter ready to send, the IEP Follow-Through System is our paid workbook for the year between meetings. Its seventeen short letters include a request for prior written notice, and its workbook gives you one place to keep each year's notices and records. It is optional. The sample email above is all you need to ask.

This is general information for parents, not legal advice about your situation. It doesn't cover the separate notices that apply to discipline, to education records, or to a child who doesn't yet have an IEP and is being referred for a first evaluation. If a notice involves a change of placement you strongly disagree with, or your child's safety, talk to your state's parent center, an advocate, or a special education attorney soon, because some options have deadlines.