Dozens of parents of special education students urged Virginia officials Wednesday not to change state rules on special education because, they said, the proposed changes would take away their control over their children's education.

Right now, school districts must get a parent's consent to stop giving special education services to a student. One of the changes considered by the state department of education would allow school systems to transfer students out of special education without getting parents first to sign off.

Parents say that would limit their ability to advocate on behalf of their children while giving local school officials too much discretion. State education officials, on the other hand, say the rule changes would only apply to students with mild disabilities who are found to be able to perform in regular classrooms.

The proposal has galvanized parents statewide. Gov. Tim Kaine also has indicated his concerns about the proposal.

Roughly 70 parents attended Wednesday's public hearing at Hidden Valley High School in Roanoke County, and about half of them spoke. They described themselves as their children's most dedicated advocates, often butting heads with local school systems to get their children special services.

Amy Trail said she spent years researching her son's disability in order to convince the school that he needed services.

"If you try to remove me from his team, they will take that service away from him," she said. "I'm the expert because I live it daily."

Amanda Gardner, the mother of a 5-year-old son, echoed many parents when she said she had fought for her child.

"He's only gotten this far because I was with him every step of the way," she said. "That's my job, and I beg you not to take that away."

"These decisions are life decisions, and no decision should ever be made about life without parents' consent," said Angela McKissick.

Parents have gotten support from Kaine, who recently wrote to education officials that he had "concerns about proposals in this regulation that reduce parental involvement in key decisions made about their children."

State law requires Kaine to review any changes approved by the Virginia Board of Education.

"I do not currently see any circumstance under which I would approve a final regulation reducing parental involvement in these ways," he wrote.

Doug Cox, assistant superintendent for special education for the state department of education, said the controversial provision would only apply to students who have improved to the point that they would no longer need special services.

As a result, he said, "it would affect only children that started out with a mild disability."

Parents would still be able to challenge the school's decision that their child was no longer eligible for special services, he added.

"If a child is found to be ineligible, it seems reasonable that the child no longer goes to special ed," he said.

But Melody Cartwright, the mother of a special education student, said she feared that school systems would use that as an opportunity to trim the number of special education students, even if the students still needed services.

"I am not aware of any parents who frivolously seek to burden their children with the continued stigma of a disability just because," she said. "However I have heard of examples of a school seeking to terminate services to a child just because they could."

State officials will conduct a series of similar public hearings throughout the state through June. The final decision on the changes is expected later this year.

On the Net: www.doe.virginia.gov/VDOE/dueproc/regulationsCWD.html