(a) The parent of a child eligible under this chapter must be afforded the opportunity to inspect and review any records relating to evaluations and assessments, eligibility determination, development and implementation of the IFSP, individual complaints dealing with the child, and any other area under this chapter involving records about the child and the child's family. The records are covered by FERPA. Any participating agency, institution, or program which collects, maintains, or uses personally identifiable information from which information is obtained for the purpose of determining eligibility for or providing early childhood intervention services will be subject to these provisions. The contractor shall comply with a request without unnecessary delay and before any meeting regarding an IFSP or hearing relating to the identification, evaluation, or placement of the child, and in no case, more than 10 days after the request has been made.
(b) The right to inspect and review records under this section includes the right to:
(1) a response from the participating contractor to reasonable requests for explanations and interpretations of the records;
(2) request that the contractor provide copies of the records containing the information if failure to provide those copies would effectively prevent the parent from exercising the right to inspect and review the records; and
(3) have the parent's representative inspect and review the records.
(c) The contractor may presume that the parent has authority to inspect and review records relating to his or her child unless the agency has been advised that the parent does not have the authority under applicable state law governing such matters as guardianship, separation, and divorce.
(d) If any record includes information on more than one child, the parent of those children shall have the right to inspect and review only the information relating to their child or to be informed of that specific information.
(e) The contractor must, on request, provide the parent a list of the types and locations of service records collected, maintained, or used by the contractor.
Source Note: The provisions of this §350.221 adopted to be effective September 1, 2011, 36 TexReg 5387; amended to be effective July 1, 2012, 37 TexReg 4621; transferred effective March 1, 2021, as published in the Texas Register February 5, 2021, 46 TexReg 941