Your IEP Meeting: What to Expect

Your IEP Meeting: What to Expect

For experienced parents of children with special needs, an IEP meeting can still feel like a battleground with the school staff on one side and the parents on the other. First-timers may feel especially blindsided by the way these meetings are conducted.

Given the emotional undertones of an IEP meeting and the anxiety often felt by parents, it’s a good idea to review what happens in a typical IEP meeting and to get prepared.

Here’s what typically happens during an IEP meeting:

Meeting Participants: Who’s Invited?

Participants of an IEP team are set forth in federal law. The term “IEP team” is a legal one, and includes parents, the child (when appropriate), a regular education teacher, a special education teacher, a school district representative who can authorize services, and someone, like a child study team member, who can interpret evaluation results. Parents may bring a friend, a relative, or even their own expert or attorney.

Meeting Structure and Process

At each IEP meeting, your case manager should ensure that all these steps are taken.

1. Review of Current Performance
   • The team will discuss your child’s PLAAFP, present levels of academic achievement and functional performance. As part of the team, parents can add any data they have about the child’s functioning at home and in the community.
   • The staff will review progress on any existing IEP goals.
   • The team will examine any recent evaluation data and assessments. Parents and parental experts may contribute any data or assessments they have.
2. Goal Development
   • The IEP team will develop specific and measurable annual goals based on the child’s needs.
   • The goals by law must be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.
   • Short-term objectives can be included.
3. Service Determination
   • The IEP team together will determine what special education and related services the child needs in order to make progress.
   • The IEP team will decide on the frequency, duration, location, and provider of each of the services.
   • The IEP team should discuss the options for placement in the least restrictive environment in which the child can make progress.
   • The IEP team should consider what assistive technologies the child needs to make progress.
4. Accommodations and Modifications
   • The IEP team should discuss what classroom and testing accommodations and modifications are necessary for the student to make progress.
   • The IEP team should discuss what curriculum modifications are necessary.
   • The IEP team should discuss how the student will participate in district and state assessments.

Parent Participation Rights

As part of the IEP team, parents have the right to participate fully, ask questions, request clarification, agree or disagree with recommendations, and request additional evaluations or services. They have the right to have necessary staff at the meeting to discuss progress or lack thereof, and to make recommendations for services.

Meeting Outcome

After the meeting, the case manager will revise the IEP document in accordance with the discussion and recommendations made at the meeting. Once revised, the parents may review and agree or disagree with the IEP. For a first-time IEP, the parents must provide written consent for it to go into effect. For any subsequent IEP, however, the IEP will go into effect unless the parents file for due process.

Need help understanding your IEP rights? Contact the experienced attorneys at the law firm of Sussan Greenwald & Wesler for assistance.

609-409-3500

Further Reading: 

• My Child’s IEP Includes Accommodations and Modifications. What’s the Difference? 
• Preparing for an IEP Meeting: Tips for Parents
• Mastering IEP Review