Hispanic parental perceptions of the IEP process in the midwest

Abstract

As the Hispanic population within the United States and its schools continues to grow, schools must gain an understanding of how Hispanic parents are responding to and comprehending the information brought forth in the initial special education process in order to work towards increasing Hispanic parents' level of understanding and involvement in their child's education. The following study was completed to describe how Hispanic parents understood and were involved in their child's initial evaluation and IEP development. Hispanic parents across Minnesota and Wisconsin whose child had just gone through the special education process for the first time were interviewed within two weeks after their child's evaluation or IEP meeting. School psychologists from 30 school districts across these states helped recruit these Hispanic parents, and 17 of these 30 provided data on their experiences working with Hispanic parents in the Midwest. This data from participating parents and school psychologists was qualitatively analyzed. Parent participants reported high levels of involvement and understanding throughout the special education process while school psychologists reported lower levels of involvement and understanding amongst Hispanic parents in the Midwest. Implications for school psychologists in increasing involvement and understanding amongst Hispanic parents in the Midwest were then discussed.