As we enter a new year, many school districts begin the process of reviewing and renewing students’ Individualized Educational Plan (IEP). These meetings are often emotional for parents, we see our children as the beautiful, talented children they are and want teachers and other school personnel to see them the same way. We want to make sure our children receive every opportunity to succeed in school and in life. Your child’s IEP meeting is an important step for setting up accommodations but for many parents it is intimidating and feels as if it is a battle of wits.
The following tips can help you create effective IEP meetings:
View your child’s teachers, the school psychologists and other school personnel as part of your child’s educational team. It is easy, especially if you have been through several meetings and don’t think the school is listening to you or meeting your child’s needs, to view the IEP team as “the enemy.” But this type of thinking will add more problems than it solves and may make the school personnel see you as the enemy. The educators in your child’s school want to see him succeed. They want him to do well even though you may sometimes have different ideas on how to get there. When everyone works together, as a team, your child benefits; keep this in mind at all times.
Learn about your child’s disability and special education laws. You know your child better than anyone but you also need to understand your child’s disability. Read articles, websites, books. Learn all you can and keep a list of what you have read to share with teachers and other members of the IEP team. Don’t stop with understanding your child’s disability; you also want to learn as much as possible about laws concerning special education. Wrightslaw (www.wrightslaw.com) offers a wealth of information and has conferences you can attend. Another organization, The Council of Parents, Advocates and Attorneys (www.copaa.org) also has information and an annual conference. The more you know about your child’s disability and special education laws, the better prepared you will be for the IEP meeting.
Be prepared. Have all the documentation you need to explain your child’s health and educational history. You should have copies of past and current school work, report cards and any medical documentation with diagnoses. Keep notes on all communications with teachers and keep copies with your documentation. Keep copies of any previous IEPs. If you have had your child assessed privately, keep copies of all evaluations. You may want to organize all material in a 3 ring binder so you have it accessible and organized during meetings.
Don’t go it alone. IEP meetings are intimidating. You are able to bring advocates, lawyers, therapists or other professionals to the IEP meeting to give further insight and information about your child’s educational needs. Be careful, though, if you bring an attorney with you for the first meeting may make school personnel leery of working with you. You may want to wait to see if you need an attorney. You are also able to bring a friend or family member for moral support. Having someone with you can help you stay more focused and calm during meetings.
