What You Should Expect from Your IEP Meeting…. But May Not Often Get!

You’d think, especially considering the federal law that requires IEP meetings to run in a certain way, that when you go to your first, or last, IEP meeting, that the very basics would be in place. I’m not even referring to the guts of the Present Level or the meaningfulness of the goals….just the basics. This is what schools tend to refer to as “procedural issues”. While I wouldn’t recommend filing due process for one of these, they sure do come in handy if you’re filing for something much bigger, like missed services. So, pay attention and when infractions show up, make a note of it.

For today, I just want to share what you should expect from an IEP meeting.

1. Be mindful of dates. The IEP must take place BEFORE it expires – unless you agree to go past the due date because of unforeseen challenges. If that happens, schedule it ASAP. The re-evaluation plan date is once every 3 years. This doesn’t mean that an evaluation actually needs to be done every 3 years, but it does mean the committee needs to discuss it and determine if one is needed. Parents have the right to request one at any time. There will be more on that in another email. 😊
2. You must receive a Parent Participation Form giving you notice of the meeting. Schools must give enough advance notice for parents to have the opportunity to attend. They must also schedule the meeting at a mutually agreed upon time and place. If a meeting needs to be held sooner, and you’re ok with that, then that’s perfectly fine. What you don’t want is for a school to call you on Monday and say, “We lost track of time and need to meet for your son’s annual IEP tomorrow.” This gives you no time to prepare and plan how you will be an active participant in your child’s IEP and their education – which is required in federal law (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act).
3. While I’m not a fan of recording IEP meetings, because I find that people are more honest and open when they’re not being recorded – and I’d rather hear the truth than sugar-coated soundbites of what’s really happening in the classroom; but, if you would like to record, give the school notice that you plan to do so. Each state has different rules about how that takes place, so check with your school, or call a local advocate or attorney to get the lowdown on how things are handled in your area.
4. If you are attending your meeting online, ensure that ALL participants are actually in the meeting. This may mean that you will need to ask them to put their cameras on. Don’t be shy. It’s the only way you can ensure they’re not busy teaching a class and not really paying attention to your child’s IEP meeting.  The required team members are the parent, student (if applicable), general education teacher, special education teacher, evaluation specialist (SLP, OT, etc), and Local Education Agency Representative (this is usually the person running the meeting – some districts call them ESE Specialists or Staffing Specialists).
5. If you’re attending in person (which I highly recommend parents do), look around the room to make sure you know who these people are. Oftentimes, even when I attend meetings as an advocate, there are what I refer to as “stand-ins” – teachers who are not your child’s teacher, and basically just a warm body who happens to have the certification required. Most commonly, this person is the general education teacher. For meetings during school hours, principals should pay substitutes or ensure that there is admin coverage in the classroom so that both special and general education teachers can attend. How can you talk about inclusion (time in the Least Restrictive Environment) if the classroom gen ed teacher isn’t there? Doesn’t make sense.
6. The IEP meeting should be scheduled for the amount of time that is adequate to cover what needs to be discussed. If you have concerns, it is HIGHLY unlikely that 30 minutes, or even an hour, is enough time to talk about the concerns, and complete the annual IEP meeting. If this is the case, I would suggest having an interim IEP meeting to review any specific changes to the IEP and keep the annual for writing a new IEP.
7. Speaking of a “NEW” IEP… each year, your child’s IEP should change. That means that you should not see the same Present Level of Performance or the same goals. Pull out the old IEP and compare it to the draft – hopefully you’re getting a draft in advance of the meeting. If not, call the school once the date has been chosen and ask for a draft to be sent home no less than 48 hours from the date of the meeting. Some districts send home drafts 5 days before the annual IEP meeting. Check with your school to see what process they follow. This will give you time to read, study and make some notes.
8. If you need a break during the meeting, request one. This could especially be needed if they wait until the meeting to share evaluation results with you. If they say something like, “If we take a break, we won’t finish today,” say, “That’s fine, we can reconvene as needed. I understand that we can have multiple meetings to complete an annual.” The IEP is IMPORTANT. Don’t rush it!
9. You can bring anyone you like to the meeting, and I encourage you to do so. This can be an advocate, but it can also be a sister, mother, spouse, brother, uncle, tutor, therapist – literally anyone. If, however, you plan to bring an attorney, be sure to give your school notice. If you show up with an attorney, chances are good that the school will not start the meeting and will ask to meet again when an attorney from the school district can attend as well.
10. If you don’t agree with what’s in the IEP, document your concerns in the Parent Input section – yep, there’s a section just for YOU. Then when you get home, send a follow up email that says what you don’t agree with, and then determine if you’d like to take it a step further. That could mean contacting your principal, district special education staff member, your school board member, or filing due process. You and your child are the 2 most important people in any IEP meeting. After all, teachers move on to other students, but how they teach your child has an impact that could last a lifetime.

Procedures are important because they lay the groundwork for how you participate as an active member of the IEP team. When procedures aren’t followed, parent involvement is negatively impacted, and students can easily lose out on the education they should or could have had. Stay diligent, and be informed!