What to expect at IEP meetings

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• The purpose of an IEP meeting

  The purpose of an IEP meeting is for you and the school to come together and develop your child's IEP. This meeting is where you'll map out your child's special education program for the year.

  As a team, you'll set annual goals based on your child's strengths and needs, and you'll also decide which services and supports the school will provide to help your child meet those goals.

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• Meeting at least once a year

  By law, the IEP team needs to meet at least once each year. The team can meet more often than that.

  For example, if the team wants to make a significant change to your child's IEP, it has to have a meeting first. And as a parent or guardian, you can request a meeting if there's something you want to discuss.

  But no matter who requested the meeting, the team needs to give you an opportunity to attend. This means giving you advance notice of the meeting. It also means rescheduling if you explain why you can't be there.

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• What happens in IEP meetings

  The team will give you a booklet about your rights during the IEP process. Then the team will go through the draft IEP and talk about whether to change it.

  The draft starts with your child's present level of performance — the phrase for how your child is doing in terms of academics. The team will discuss your child’s strengths and interests and may look at your child’s social and emotional development.

  The meeting will also discuss the annual goals, including how often and how intensive your child's services will be.

• Who’s on the IEP team

  By law, your child’s IEP needs to be developed by a team that includes:

  • You (the parent or guardian)

  • At least one of your child’s general education teachers

  • At least one of your child’s special education teachers

  • A school district representative who has the power to approve school resources for your child

  • Someone who can interpret your child’s evaluation results (typically a special education teacher or a school psychologist)

  • Your child, who can attend IEP meetings and must be included by age 16

  • A translator, if you need one

• Your role at IEP meetings

  As a parent or guardian, you're an equal member of the team. You not only have a right to participate in these meetings, but you are the person who needs to sign off on the plan.

  Here are three things you can do to help the team help your child:

  • Ask questions, and keep asking until you understand what the school is recommending and why.

  • Share observations. For example, maybe you've noticed that your child has a hard time retelling stories or has trouble following directions that involve more than one step, like "Take out the trash and put away your shoes."

  • Make suggestions, like less math homework if it's a nightly battle.

  What you say at the meeting can help the specialists think about how to shape your child's IEP.

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