PWN
Also: Prior Written Notice
A written notice the district must give parents before it proposes or refuses to change a student's identification, evaluation, placement, or FAPE.
Prior Written Notice (PWN) is a procedural safeguard under IDEA. The district must provide written notice to the parent a reasonable time before it proposes, or refuses, to initiate or change the identification, evaluation, or educational placement of the child, or the provision of FAPE.
A PWN must describe the action the district is proposing or refusing, explain why, identify the evaluation procedures or records used as the basis for the decision, describe any other options the team considered and why they were rejected, and inform the parent of their procedural safeguards.
PWNs protect families by creating a paper trail: if the district refuses to conduct an evaluation, add a service, or change a placement, the family has a written record of the decision and the reasoning. Failure to provide PWN when required is a common source of due-process complaints.
Related terms
- IEPA legally binding written plan for a student with a disability that spells out the specialized instruction and services the school will provide.
- Due ProcessThe formal legal procedure by which parents and schools resolve disputes about special education.
- IEEAn evaluation conducted by a qualified examiner outside the school district, which parents can request at public expense if they disagree with the district's evaluation.
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