| Attending an IEP Meeting
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| Parents of children with disabilities have the added responsibility of
planning for their child’s education. This
can either be a wonderful opportunity to participate in your child’s school
life or a nightmare of conflict and red tape. Ensuring that your
child is receiving all the resources possible to be successful in school
can be a very stressful process for parents, especially if they feel their
child is not receiving the support from the school in which they are
entitled. Parents can take steps to ensure their child’s needs are
met through learning to be an advocate for them.
The first step in becoming an advocate for your child is to reexamine your role concerning your child’s education. You are not “just mom or dad.” Your role is very vital in the planning process of the services your child will receive for the school year. Nobody knows your child better than you do. You view your child differently than any other person of special education team and that viewpoint is just as important as the teacher’s, school psychologist, or any other person on that team. Having the title “mom or dad” is very important since you are speaking for your child and have only your child’s best interest in mind during the meeting. This page will give you tips to help you become an effective advocate for your child. |
 Do Your Homework! |
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Prepare For The Meeting Keep notes. Each time you speak to someone about your child’s program record the date, who you spoke to, and a summary of the conversation. Include notes from professionals outside the school system also. These can include doctors, therapists, and even day care providers. Try and keep all your notes in a central place so you can easily make references back to them. Who will be attending? Find out who will be attending the meeting. You can invite anyone you would like to attend the meeting with you. If your child attends daycare and the caregiver provides support and extensions to your child’s program than bring him/her along. If you have a good rapport with the principal or another teacher, ask them to attend the meeting. If you want someone just to hold your hand, invite him or her to come along. Remember, you can invite anyone who you feel will be an ally. Also, invite several people, there is no limit on the number of people you can have at the meeting. Make sure that all the school staff who works with your child will be attending the meeting. If your child’s class has team teachers, they both need to attend. If your child goes to the resource room, that teacher will need to attend. Any person (physical therapist, speech, therapist, etc.) will need to attend. Visit the school. Try and visit the school to observe your child’s interactions at least once. If you feel this would be disruptive to your child or that you may not be objective enough, ask someone else who knows your child to go in your place. Take detailed notes. Try and know in advance what you are looking for in the way of behavior. Does your child follow directions, interact with peers, and stay on task? Try to look for changes in their behavior that were listed in their IEP to determine if improvement has been made. Take a few minutes to talk to your child’s teacher to inquire about any certain agenda that may be brought up at the meeting. The school staff is not going into the meeting unprepared and neither should you. The meeting is to discuss what needs to be done to ensure your child is receiving the very best education possible, not to spring surprises. Review your child’s records. While visiting the school, plan to look over your child’s school records. This is your right given to you by The Buckley Amendment (http://cpsr.org/cpsr/privacy/ssn/ferpa.buckley.html). It gives parents or guardians the right to see, correct, and control access to their student records. Any school that receives federal funding must have written procedures to inform and allow parents to exercise these rights. You are also entitled to have a qualified person explain the material in the file to you. You may also challenge its contents by asking for corrections and/or deletions of inaccurate, misleading, or inappropriate information. You may also insert a written statement about the file’s contents. Don’t forget to get copies of the school file. Reviewing the records is a very important step since school professionals prepare for the IEP meeting by reading your child’s file, so you want it to be as accurate as possible.What do you want for your child? Are you happy with the services your child is receiving? Is your child responding to the goals set for him or her? Look at where your child is right now. Then ask yourself “Where do I want my child to be? What steps need to be taken to get there? Does my child need more one-on-one, a more challenging environment? Is your child mainstreamed? Why or why not? Incorporate your own goals to the IEP. Yes, you can add your own goals! You have been keeping notes, observing your child, and reviewing the school records. Taking this information, what do you see as an important goal for your child to meet this school year? Assisting with the goals, lets everyone at the meeting know that you want to be involved in your child’s education and you want a say as to how your child will be taught. A goal must be attainable and be measured. Ex. By the third quarter of the school year, Oscar will read at his desk for twenty minutes without disturbing his classmates. If you would like, include academic goals, especially those you are working on at home with your child. Ex. By mid-semester, Oscar will be able to answer 5 “wh”(what happened, who did it, when, where did it happen, and why) questions concerning a story read to him by a teacher, parent, or peer. Bring your goals to the meeting and ask that they be incorporated into the IEP.
Take an extra person. Parents may find that staying alert to all the different issues can be difficult. Consider bringing an extra person along just to listen to what is being said. Their purpose would be to alert you to an issue you may not have heard or a detail you may have missed. They would also take notes, so you are free to communicate with each person without having to remember everything being said. |
 Once you have completed
your homework, invited the individuals you want to the meeting, and know
what you want for your child it is time to go to the meeting.
Dress appropriately. This is a professional meeting. Do not come wearing shorts or jeans. Dress like you are apart of the team (YOU ARE!) Introduce yourself. Do not wait for the teacher to introduce you to each person at the meeting. If you do, you might end up being left out. You are one of the experts at that meeting. Who knows your child better than you do? Go up to each person and shake their hand and remember their name. Try to be on a first name basis with everyone involved with your child’s education. You want to feel comfortable with asking questions and making comments during the meeting. Put everything on the table. Have all your resources visible on the table. You want every person at the meeting to know that you did your homework, you know your rights, and you are ready to assist them in deciding what is best for your child.
Tell your side. Each person in that
room knows a small part of your child. They each have only one piece
of the puzzle, so it is up to you to give them a well-rounded view of who
your child really is. If your child is taking a new medication that
makes them feel tired early in the day, let them know. This could
effect how well they are performing on tests. If your child is not
a morning person, let them know, since this could effect your child’s assessment.
If your child feels shy around one of the professionals so does not do
as well as expected, let them know. All these things affect the outcome
of the meeting. Be comfortable. Choose your seat wisely. Sit by the person you view as the most important, caring, or have the best rapport with. The best way to have these meeting is at a round table, but this is not always available. Try to sit where you can easily converse with each person. Never sit in the back row or behind someone. If you are not happy with where you are seated than move. You want to see and be seen at this meeting. Do not just agree. Yes these people have gone to college and have a degree and have probably worked for many years in their profession, but this does not mean that they know explicitly what is best for your child. Do not just sit and nod your head. If you disagree say so, if you agree say so, and by all means give your opinion. For example, tell them you feel that assisting Oscar with developing waiting skills is a very important goal and you would like this to be written into his IEP. |
 Do not forget to get a copy
of the IEP. |
| Even though you did your homework,
attended the meeting, and explained your position you do not agree with
the outcome of the meeting. Do not panic. This happens.
Stay calm and try some of the following tips.
Do not sign the IEP. If you are not happy with what is written in the IEP and changes will not be made then don’t sign it. If the school district requires a signature for proof of attendance, then sign it and write, “I do not approve of this IEP.” Immediately ask for another meeting to resolve the issue (s) raised in this meeting. If a meeting can not be scheduled that day, ask when you will be contacted with the time and date of the next meeting. Write the information down and call them if they do not call you. You may also request another person to attend the meeting who you feel might be able to help resolve the differences. Remember, you may have to give a little to get a little, but do not give up anything that is your child’s right to have. Don’t be put off. If your child needs a service or special device ask for it to be put in the IEP. Do not get sidetracked on another issue that does not concern you or your child. If your child needs a communication board and you are told that one is
not available, ask when will you be able to locate one? If your child
needs physical therapy and the school district does not have their own
therapist, ask when they will be scheduling one to come to the school.
Whether or not the school has resources available is not your problem.
Seeing that your child has these resources is. You can sympathize
with the school and the difficulties of retaining resources, but remember
your child has the right to the resources and in order to get them, they
must be written into the IEP.Request an independent evaluation. If you disagree with the type of evaluation or the results of the evaluation, request an independent evaluation. The school is required to honor your request and pay for the evaluation. Remember that the school has a right to initiate a hearing and if the hearing officer agrees with the school’s evaluation, they will not have to pay for the independent evaluation. You can still have an independent evaluation done. The school district is required to consider the independent evaluations and recommendations for the IEP rather or not who paid for it. See it in writing. If you are told that it is school or state policy that prevents your child’s needs from being met, ask to see the policy. Federal laws and regulations take precedent over state and local laws. If the state or school policy conflicts with the IDEA tell them. |
| If you are still having difficulty
with your child’s school you may need to take stronger actions through
mediation and/or due process hearing. Contact your school board
to find out if mediation is available through your school district.
Consider requesting an impartial hearing or make an appeal to the
State Review Officer. Each state is different when handling
a dispute. Start with the school board and work your way up
the process. Try to find individuals who have had disputes with
the school and talk to them on how they resolved their issues.
Taking the school to court can be a long and expensive matter.
You want to get matters resolved as quickly as possible so that your
child is receiving the free and appropriate education they deserve
in the least restrictive environment. At the same time do not
let anyone step on your child’s rights.
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