Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and Barriers for Parents from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Backgrounds

and terminology about placement and programming options. Above all, contradicting values which coexist in legal mandates and predominate the system of special education have contributed to underlying impediments to parents' full participation in the special education decision-making process (Kalyanpar et al, 2000). Specifically , the ideal of parental equal rights mandated by the laws suggests equity, individual rights, and freedom of choices, whereas the special education system, which is founded on rationalism, seems to require the objective and scientifically based knowledge of professionals. For this reason, professionals' knowledge and suggestions are regarded as more reliable and valuable sources than parents' subjective and anecdotal descriptions in the decision-making process (Harry, 1992; Kalyanpar et al., 2000). Furthermore, although there are these existing contradictions between the spirit of parental legal rights and the nature of the special education system, both of these concepts—the conceptions of individualism, equity, and self-advo-cacy guaranteed by law and in contrast the assumed expertise of professionals— typically represent Western mainstream values and behaviors. The entire IEP process in special education, including evaluation procedures, establishment of IEP goals, and parents' right precisely reflect these mainstream values. Therefore, White, middle and upper class families have significant advantages when interacting with special education personnel, utilizing the educational services and systems, and exercising their legal rights compared to CLD families Over the past decade, parental involvement in the special education process has been an important topic for many researchers. The passage of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (PL 94-142) in 1975, and more recently the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (PL 101-476) in 1990 (IDEA), both recognized familial involvement and family-professional collaboration as indispensable to developing Individualized Family Service Plan improved parents' roles and increased their opportunities for participating in their children's education as a member of the IEP team. A fundamental provision of the amendments to IDEA requires school professionals to involve parents of students with disabilities in the educational decision-making process, and to incorporate parents' knowledge of their children in the planning and designing of their children's educational services (Kalyan-par, Harry, & Skrtic, 2000). Under these amendments, parents have become equal partners with school professionals when deciding the educational issues on behalf of their children. Since those legislative changes, a mounting body of literature has emphasized the positive impact of parents' involvement on children's success in school, and proposed diverse strategies to promote and facilitate the collaboration between …