Tips For a Successful IEP Meeting
IEP/504 meetings can be a pretty scary place for parents/guardians. You enter a room filled with school professionals–some of whom you know and others who are complete strangers. You are seated at the table with the feeling of them against me. The parents/guardians who are the most successful at obtaining appropriate services for their children are the ones who are very, very, very organized! If you are just beginning this journey, you are in luck. Your work will be fairly easy. If you have been on this journey for awhile, it is a more daunting task, but once completed, will be easy to maintain.
One of the most efficient, and easiest methods of organization is to use large 3-ring binders. Each year organize each section using the same format. I usually recommend beginning with all of the evaluations, IEP’s/504 Plans, IEP Progress Reports, Correspondence, and some samples of student work. Add binders as they are full. There is no need for a new binder each year.
Before each meeting, review the current documentation and quickly review the past documents. Check the services that are being provided for the current year and those in the past. Was your student declassified from the service or did it get lost? Have the goals and objectives changed? Are completion percentages the only thing that has changed? Is your student meeting them?
After your review, make a list of your concerns and what you would like to have happen at the meeting. I always prepare an agenda as if I were the chairperson of the meeting. As the meeting progresses, I check off what is being offered that has appeared on my list. If something is missing, I ask the team about it. Remember, if the team is offering a service you do not have to ask for it! Their offer means there is a very high probability that it will be met.
Most importantly, BRING YOUR BINDER WITH YOU! Every Special Education Office I have ever worked in or visited, especially during Annual Review season, has paper piled high. Even though the school may have generated a document, they may not be able to find it. You can offer your copy for them to copy.