A school district must ensure that one or both of the parents of a student eligible for special education services are present at each IEP team meeting or are afforded the opportunity to participate, including:

(1) Notifying parents of the meeting early enough to ensure that they will have an opportunity to attend; and

(2) Scheduling the meeting at a mutually agreed on time and place.

(3) The notification required under subsection (1) of this subsection must:

(a) Indicate the purpose, time, and location of the meeting and who will be in attendance;

(b) Inform the parents about the provisions relating to the participation of other individuals on the IEP team who have knowledge or special expertise about the student, and participation of the Part C service coordinator or other designated representatives of the Part C system as specified by the state lead agency for Part C at the initial IEP team meeting for a child previously served under Part C of IDEA; and

(c) Include whatever action is necessary to ensure that the parent understands the notification being provided including, but not limited to, providing the notification in writing in a parent's native language when necessary for the parent's understanding and arranging for an interpreter for parents who are deaf or hard of hearing or whose native language is other than English.

(4) Beginning not later than the first IEP to be in effect when the student turns sixteen, or younger if determined appropriate by the IEP team, the notice also must:

(a) Indicate that a purpose of the meeting will be the consideration of the postsecondary goals and transition services for the student and that the agency will invite the student; and

(b) Identify any other agency that may be responsible for providing or paying for transition services and request consent as defined in WAC 392-172A-01040 from the parent/adult student to invite a representative from the outside agency to the IEP meeting.

(5) If neither parent can attend an IEP team meeting, the school district must use other methods to ensure parent participation, including video or telephone conference calls.

(6) A meeting may be conducted without a parent in attendance if the school district is unable to convince the parents that they should attend. In this case, the public agency must keep a record of its attempts to arrange a mutually agreed on time and place, such as:

(a) Detailed records of telephone calls made or attempted and the results of those calls;

(b) Copies of correspondence sent to the parents and any responses received; and

(c) Detailed records of visits made to the parent's home or place of employment and the results of those visits.

(7) The school district must take whatever action is necessary to ensure that the parent understands the proceedings of the IEP team meeting including, but not limited to:

(a) Notifying parents in advance in the parent's native language of the availability of interpretation and translation services at no cost to the parents;

(b) Arranging for an interpreter for parents who are deaf or hard of hearing or whose native language is other than English; and

(c) Documenting the language in which families prefer to communicate and whether a qualified interpreter for the student's family was provided in accordance with RCW 28A.155.230.

(8) The school district must give the parent a copy of the student's IEP at no cost to the parent.