Whenever the district plans to hold an IEP meeting for your child, they are supposed to give you notice early enough to ensure that you have an opportunity to attend. After all, you, as the parent, know your child better than anyone else on that IEP team! In addition, the meeting must be scheduled at a mutually agreed upon time and place. If you need enough advance notice to schedule time off work, or if you need to meet virtually while your youngest child naps in their room, you have the right to request what works for you and your family. As part of the notification process, the district must also tell you the purpose of the meeting and who will attend.
All of this information is typically given to the parents in the form of a “Meeting Notice.” Different districts use slightly different forms and slightly different formats, but all of the above information should be included somehow.
Usually the district requests that you sign and return the form to indicate whether you can attend and whether you plan to bring anyone else to the meeting. If you plan to bring an advocate or outside service provider, this is a good place to note that information. If you plan to audio record the meeting (I highly recommend you do), you can also write that down on the form. If you forget to write down this information before you return the notice, don’t stress about it! You can also send a simple email to your child’s case manager to let them know.
When signing the notice, it’s also a good idea to consider
Whether or not you would allow any team members to be excused from the meeting. Sometimes it’s ok to excuse some team members, but if you really hate being put on the spot and asked during a meeting, you can indicate on the notice that you want all team members to stay for the whole meeting.
If you want specific district staff members to attend the meeting. Usually the meeting notice indicates the role of the person attending, versus the specific person. For example, they may say an administrator will be present, but this could be a vice principal, a special education program manager, a psychologist acting as an admin, and so on. If you feel it’s important for a specific staff member to attend the meeting, be sure to work that out ahead of time to avoid surprises.
Request a proposed agenda and draft IEP/assessment documents ahead of time. I like to ask for the district to send these documents 3-5 days prior to the meeting in order to ensure parents have enough time to digest the information and craft the thoughts and questions that will allow them to meaningfully participate in the meeting. Most teams try to accommodate this request. It isn’t always possible, and there isn’t any law requiring them to do so, but if you feel unprepared due to receiving documents last minute or not at all, you can ask to reschedule the meeting.
Estimate the length of the meeting. Most districts seem to schedule IEP meetings for an hour time block. If you know there will be a lot to discuss, or if your team historically has needed more than an hour, feel free to request a longer meeting time. At any rate, even if it’s not possible to meet for longer than an hour, it’s a good idea for everyone to be on the same page about the meeting’s end time. This can help keep discussions on track.
As you can see, a lot goes in to scheduling and planning an IEP meeting. And, while the district is supposed to ensure this information is conveyed to parents in a timely manner, sometimes mistakes happen. Many times the mistakes are harmless and the meeting can continue as planned. But, if an inaccurate meeting notice causes you to feel uncomfortable or ill-prepared for an IEP meeting when you arrive, you are always allowed to let the team know that they will have to reschedule the meeting. If you choose to do this, be sure to follow up with an email recap of what happened to document the situation.
Thanks for following along with this series, and keep an eye out for more information in the future!
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