[IEP_guide] Re: Use this planner to get the most out of IEP meetings and special education servi

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From IEP_guide

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Use this planner to get the most out of IEP meetings

and special

education services for your child.

Before the Meeting (at least 2 weeks prior to the meeting)

Check off when complete What To Do

o Visit your child's classroom

If your child is elementary age, you should consider visiting the

classroom to observe how your child is performing in class,

classroom conditions

and routines, instructional materials being used.

Classroom visits should be arranged in advance with the teacher and

school officials.

o Review your child's records

Compile and review the following:

Your child's current IEP

Reports of progress toward the annual goals in your child's current

IEP

Report cards for current school year

Recent work samples

Performance on district and/or state assessments (If your child is

participating in district and/or state assessments in an alternate

manner, be sure to get information on how your child is performing

in relative to

same-grade peers. Results on alternate assessments, out-

of-level assessments do not provide information on your child's

performance compared to other students at his/her grade level.)

Results of most recent evaluation(s) (If your child has recently

received an individual evaluation, be sure to request a copy of the

evaluation report prior to the IEP meeting. If you have had your

child evaluated privately, consider sharing the results of the

evaluation with school personnel prior to the IEP meeting)

If your child has a job outside the home, bring copies of letters

or reviews from

supervisors.

Any other communications with the teacher and/or school

Note: You have the right to inspect and review any education

records relating

to your child that are collected, maintained, or used by

the school district. You may also request a copy of your child's

educational

records at any time.

Be sure to organize all of these records (preferably in a 3-ring

binder) and take them with you to the IEP meeting.

o Network

Join local chapters of parent groups that offer information about

your child's specific disability. Contact your state Parent

Training

> and Information

Center for information on

your state's special

education laws or regulations. Attend trainings and support groups

that will help you understand ways to use your rights under IDEA.

o Request and review notice of meeting

You should be given written notice of the proposed IEP meeting,

preferably at least 10 days in advance. The notice should include

the date, time, purpose

of the meeting and those expected to attend.

Use this meeting

notice to ensure that:

The date and time are convenient for you and others you plan to

have attend

(advocate, private tutor, private evaluator)

If appropriate, your child is expected to attend

If your child will turn age 16 (or older) during the period of the

next IEP, or if you feel that transition planning should begin with

the next IEP (regardless of your child's age), both your child and

any appropriate representatives from other agencies are invited to

attend All

appropriate school personnel are listed as expected to be in

attendance. See team excusal below for additional information.

o Request alternative means of meeting attendance

If you or others you want to attend the meeting cannot attend on

the proposed date and time, you can

propose alternative forms of

meeting attendance such as audio conference calling or video

conferencing.

Be sure to make your requests for such alternate meetings well in

advance so the school can provide the necessary equipment.

o Request alternative means of meeting attendance

If you or others you want to attend the meeting cannot attend on

the proposed date

and time, you can propose alternative forms of

meeting attendance

such as audio conference calling or video conferencing.

Be sure to make your requests for such alternate meetings well in

advance so the school

can provide the necessary equipment.

o Approve or reject proposed IEP team member excusals

Your IEP Meeting notice should indicate if the school proposes to

excuse a team members for one of the following reasons:

The member's area of curriculum or related services is not being

modified or discussed in the meeting

The member's area of curriculum or related services is being

discussed and the member will submit written input to the parents

and the team

prior to the meeting

If the school proposes to excuse a member for either of these

reasons, you must agree in writing.

If you disagree with the proposal to excuse a member on the basis

that their area of curriculum or related services will not be

discussed, inform the school that you do not agree with the

proposed excusal and you expect the member to attend the meeting.

Written input from an excused member should be provided well in

advance of the meeting in order to allow time for your review and

acceptance. If you determine that the written input is not

sufficient, advise the school that you expect the member to attend

the meeting.

Members of the IEP team who should not be excused under any

circumstances include:

The district representative (knowledgeable about the availability

of the

school district's resources)

The regular education teacher

o Request information on any district or state assessments

In order to make important decisions about how your child will

participant in required district and/or state-wide assessments

(such as those required

by the No Child Left Behind Act – NCLB) request

complete information on those assessments, including information

about the type of test, when it is administered and sample

questions.

Also request information about alternate assessment options and

information about how participation in an alternate form of

assessment might impact your child.

o Request state guidelines for test accommodations

In order to make important decisions about the appropriate

assessments your child will need in order to participant in

required district

and/or state-wide assessments (such as those required by

the No Child Left Behind Act – NCLB) request a copy of your state's

guidelines on test accommodation. Every state is required to have

such guidelines. The guidelines should include information

regarding any accommodation that, if used, will invalid the test score.

o Notify the school if:

You plan to tape the IEP meeting. The option to tape an IEP meeting

various by state, so be sure to check into your state's policy

regarding taping and also advise the school in advance of your

plans to tape the

meeting

You plan to bring others to the meeting. Provide the school with a

written notice of who you will bring and their relationship to your

child

o Review your Procedural Safeguards Notice

Make sure you have a copy of the current Procedural Safeguards

Notice

for your school district. Note: Schools are no longer required to

provide a copy of this notice with each IEP meeting notice.

o Develop your Parent Report

Your Parent Report should include:

Your impressions of how your child is doing in school. Include both

academic performance as well as social, behavioral and functional

performance (include work samples and/or school reports that

substantiate your comments and concerns).

Your child's strengths and weaknesses, relationships with family

and friends

Your comments or concerns regarding your child's attainment (or

lack of

attainment) of the annual goals on the current IEP

Your input regarding particular strategies that are or are not

working for your child

Your input regarding other areas such as behavior plans and/or

technology that might help support your child's learning

If your child's IEP also includes a transition plan, include

information about your child's postsecondary goals (college,

vocational interests, possible career choices)

Use the Organizing Your Concerns Chart to help compile your Parent

Report.

Note: You can share your Parent Report with school personnel before

or at the IEP meeting. Sharing it before the meeting will allow

school personnel the opportunity to review your report and include

information you have submitted in the IEP.

o Develop Annual Goals

Using the annual goals in your child's current IEP, develop annual

goals for the coming year, including

The amount of progress you want to see your child make in the

coming year

(progress should be adequate to allow your child to make up

for significant gaps in achievement vs. same age/grade students)

Any particular methodology you think would be well suited for your

child given his/her particular difficulty or deficit, age, learning

style. Special education and related services must be based on peer-

reviewed research whenever possible

How progress toward the goals will be measured and how frequently

progress will be reported to you. (Reports of progress must be

based on objective measures and progress reports should be provided to

you as frequently as progress is reported to all parents, generally at

each grading period)

o Learn the Form

Most school district (or states) has developed IEP forms that are

used to compile a student's individualized program. Become familiar

with your school's form prior to the meeting so you will know what

information will be included and how the IEP will be developed.

Request a copy of your school's form from your school or district

special education office.

o Request IEP draft

Many schools accomplish some advance work on developing student

IEPS by doing a

" draft " which will then be reviewed at the meeting. If

this is the practice of your school district, request a copy of

the " draft " prior to the meeting so you have time to review it.

(Note: " draft " IEPs are just that – drafts to help

facilitate the

meeting. Completing IEPs prior to the meeting violates the IDEA.

Don't be intimated by " draft " IEPs – instead, consider it

an extra

opportunity to see the thinking of IEP team members in advance. You

will provide your comments and concerns about any " draft " and

you

should expect a final IEP to be produced at the official IEP

meeting.)

At the Meeting

Check off when complete What To Do

o Arrive early

Arrive at least 15 minutes prior to the time your meeting is

scheduled to begin. Provide any persons you have invited to attend

the meeting with a copy of your child's current IEP, your Parent

Report and your suggested annual goals.

o Remain calm

IEP meetings can be stressful and emotional. Above all, you must be:

ative

Respectful

Calm

Positive

o Name a note taker

Unless you plan to tape record the meeting, you will need to take

detailed notes. If note taking is hard for you to do while

participating in the discussion, designate one of your invitees to

be the note taker for the meeting.

o Request introductions

Ask everyone at the meeting to introduce themselves and explain

their role in the

meeting. Have anyone you have brought to the meeting

introduce themselves and explain their relationship to your child.

Be sure to record

this information in your meeting notes.

o Review your Parent Report

If you haven't shared your Parent Report with school personnel

prior to the

meeting, review it at this point. Your input should be

incorporated into the school's information to complete your child's

Present Level of Performance.

o Develop all required IEP components

The IDEA requires several components to be a part of every IEP. Be

sure that each component is discussed and included. Use the IEP

Checklist for Parents to review the proposed IEP for completeness.

Make sure that all agreed upon services are written in the IEP

document. Note: While some services, such as accommodations, might

be " standard practice " in many schools or classrooms, the IEP

should reflect

all special education, related services, supplemental aids

and services, modification, accommodations (classroom and testing)

that will be provided.

o Finalize the IEP

You don't have to sign the IEP at this meeting. If you want to

review the IEP

first, ask to take it home before you sign it. Be sure your

signature indicates what you intend it to mean, such as attendance,

agreement, partial agreement, refusal. Provide any concerns you

have about the

proposed IEP to the school in writing. If you object to

the proposed IEP or any part of the proposal, explain the reasons for

your objection. Ask that your written concerns be attached to the

proposed IEP.

After the Meeting

when complete What To Do

o Explain changes to your child

If your child didn't attend the IEP meeting, explain any changes

that will be made

to the child's current program or placement and the

reasons for the changes. Don't let your child be surprised by

changes agreed

upon in the IEP. Knowing what to expect will help ensure

success.

o Monitor progress

While the school is required to provide you with regular progress

reports (generally at each grading period) you can request more

frequent progress reports. Progress reports should be based on

objective information, not teacher opinion or observation. Work

samples and performance on district or state assessments should be

compared to the progress reported on the IEP progress reports.

If progress reports show significant progress or a substantial lack

of progress, the IEP goal(s) should be discussed and the

instructional program in use should be reviewed.

o Meet more than once a year

While each student's IEP must be reviewed and updated at least

annually, you can request an IEP meeting at any time. If progress

is slow or other issues, such as behavior, need to be addressed,

request an IEP

meeting in writing.

http://www.ncld.org/content/view/973/456130/