Parents' Knowledge and Understanding of the Special Education Process and Rights: A Systematic Review

Overview & Synopsis

In order to effectively engage and be an advocate during the special education process, parents must be equipped with knowledge of the special education process as well as their rights. This article reports the results of a synthesis of published studies that explored, reported, or estimated parents' knowledge and understanding of the special education process and their rights. Findings from 15 studies revealed that the study types could be divided into the readability of special education documents or parents' reported knowledge and understanding. The readability studies revealed that essential special education documents are written at a level that could be challenging for many parents to comprehend. The studies examining parents' perception of their knowledge showed that the majority of parents reported being knowledgeable about their rights and the special education process. However, some discrepancies emerged when these perceptions were compared with other assessable data. The documents provided by schools are often too complicated for many parents to understand, and changes should be made to resolve this issue.