Whether a family is preparing for their very first IEP meeting (ARD in Texas), preparing for their first IEP meeting at a new campus or with new staff, or preparing for an annual review, anxiety can run high. It is hard to know what to expect in an IEP meeting of any sort. Now that the things to expect before an IEP meeting have been reviewed, the purpose of this blog is to help families have a better understanding of the actual IEP meeting. Each case is different but the gist of every meeting, including the specific legal requirements, are outlined below.

Purpose of the meeting

The purpose of the IEP meeting is to develop, review, and/or update a plan for your child if they qualify for Special Education services. The committee will consider the student’s involvement in: the general education curriculum, extracurricular activities, and nonacademic activities.

IEP meeting

When you first walk into the room, it may seem overwhelming as there may be multiple people. Remember that your meeting notice you received should list everyone that could be there. That will help you know what to expect. Sometimes the meetings do not start right on time due to teachers trying to get their students to the right location to be able to come to the meeting. This could lead to small talk or silence as you wait for the rest of the attendees to arrive.

Beginning of the meeting

Introductions should be made with everyone in the room indicating who they are and why they are there (e.g., evaluation personnel, Special Education teacher, etc.). There may be an agenda on the table in front of you but there does not have to be one. Agendas are particularly helpful for keeping meetings on track.

Statement of confidentiality

A statement of confidentiality should be made indicating that no other students will be discussed in the meeting and all people present for the meeting have an educational need to know about your child. This means you cannot bring up any other students specifically by name, neither can the staff.

Procedural Safeguards

If you were not already sent a copy of your Procedural Safeguards with the meeting notice (or even if you were sometimes), you should be offered a copy at the meeting. You do not have to take them but you can. In Texas, you should be given a Parent’s Guide to the Admission, Review, and Dismissal (ARD) process. This could have been provided when the district obtained your consent for Special Education testing or prior to the start of the ARD. The Parent’s Guide to the ARD Process is a supplement to the Procedural Safeguards, not a replacement.

Review of present levels

Review of present levels based on the evaluation

If the campus is following best practices, evaluation personnel should have reviewed the report with you before the meeting so you understand the results. These results will then be reviewed by the evaluation staff during the meeting for everyone. This is likely to be more brief than it was when they talked with you ahead of time and may focus more on whether you have any questions about the results.

Eligibility

The committee, including the parent, must all agree to the eligibilities proposed as a result of the evaluation. Eligibilities cannot be added if they do not meet the eligibility criteria. It is important to note that each state may have variations in the criteria so it is important to be aware of the criteria in your state. You can find the criteria for Texas here.

Review of present levels outside of the evaluation

Parents are asked to provide input regarding their child’s functioning. The student’s performance in the classroom will also be reviewed by teachers (both general and special education). This discussion typically revolves around areas of strength and concern, performance on assessments, grades, behavior, and social skills. Any other service provider that works with the student (e.g., physical therapist) will also provide a review of student progress. If the student is currently in special education, their progress on goals will be discussed by the committee.

PLAAFP

The PLAAFP section of the IEP is where you will find a summary of the aforementioned data. This is utilized to determine new areas for goals to target. It is an overview of the child’s current abilities, strengths and weaknesses in academic and functional areas.

Annual goals

Goals must be put in place for each child with an IEP at least once a year. These goals should target the areas of need outlined in the PLAAFP. The official paperwork should indicate who is responsible for tracking the goal, how long the goal is in effect, how data will be taken, and how often progress will be updated. The goals should be reviewed by the committee and agreed upon. If there are areas of concern that are not targeted by the proposed goals, those concerns should be discussed.

Schedule of services

The services the student will receive should be discussed and agreed upon by the committee, then outlined on the schedule of services page. The schedule should indicate: 1) service type, 2) instructional and related service times and frequency, 3) start and end dates, 4) location, 5) who is responsible for grades, and 6) curriculum (i.e., if on a modified curriculum).

The need Special Education transportation and Extended School Year (ESY) services will also be discussed. Special Education transportation is common for children who need help navigating the bus, struggle to communicate, and have significant behavioral difficulties. It involves the student riding a Special Education bus to and/or from school rather than the general education bus. ESY is essentially summer school for students in Special Education who have regressed or are expected to have regressed in critical area(s) targeted by the IEP, without recouping those skills in a reasonable time. In other words, it is a specialized form of instruction to help target areas of need that the student had previously shown progress in.

Accommodations

The committee will discuss what accommodations the student needs to be successful, including accommodations they already use routinely and any recommendations for additions. The need for other supplementary aids and services will also be reviewed, which are the tools needed to work toward goal mastery. There is a wide range of possible accommodations available, which school staff will help narrow down to find the most appropriate ones for the student in each subject area.

State and district assessments

The format (i.e., paper, online) and type of state and district assessments for the student will be reviewed. The accommodations for these assessments will be discussed. All accommodations for state and district assessments should be routinely used in the classroom. The accommodations may vary by subject so it is important for the committee to clearly discuss each subject area to determine what is beneficial.

Transition and graduation

As the student prepares for graduation and post-secondary life, they should be invited to the IEP meeting to discuss their graduation and transition plan. If they do not attend the meeting, they must still provide input that is then reviewed by the rest of the committee. Individuals responsible for any transition services provided to the student should also be present for the meeting. This portion of the IEP meeting reviews the proposed course schedule for high school, post-secondary goals, and transition services. This should help parents better understand the graduation plan their child is on and how the IEP will be targeting the skills their child needs for post-secondary life.

Least restrictive environment (LRE)

LRE must be discussed by the committee to ensure that the student is being educated in the least restrictive environment and that the benefits of the educational setting outweigh the risks. This involves discussing all possible risks and benefits. The IEP committee may determine that a change in placement may be most appropriate for the student (e.g., self-contained classroom) but this has to be clearly discussed and agreed upon.

Considerations of special factors

There are multiple areas of possible concern (i.e., special factors) that need to be addressed during the meeting. You all will discuss:

• Behavior
  • Whether the student exhibits any behavior that “impedes” their learning or the learning of others. This includes talking about any positive behavioral supports needed as well as any other strategies to address the behavior, including a BIP.
• Limited English proficiency
  • This means you will talk about the child’s native language and what language needs they may have, particularly if they are an English language learner.
• Blind or visual impairment
  • This is directly addressed for students who are blind or visually impaired. If that applies to your student, you will discuss instruction being provided in Braille unless another method is determined to be more appropriate.
• Deaf or hard of hearing
  • This is directly addressed for students who are deaf or hard of hearing. It involves a discussion about the student’s language and communication needs, including direct instruction in their communication mode.
• Assistive technology
  • This involves discussing if there are any tools that may be needed to improve the student’s capabilities (e.g., communication device).

Deliberations

Deliberations are taken throughout the meeting by a district staff member. These are not intended to rehash the entire IEP but to capture the discussion, questions, and answers throughout the meeting. The deliberations give readers an understanding of what occurred in the meeting. They should be read at the end of the meeting and all participants should be given the opportunity to add additional and/or clarifying information.

End of the meeting- signatures and agreement

After all of the pieces have been discussed and completed, the committee members are asked to sign and indicate whether they agree or disagree with the proposed plan. If parents and the district agree, parents are asked to sign additional paperwork. If there is a disagreement, the committee must reconvene. You are agreeing to the proposed plan, which includes all the topics discussed above, and would be in place for no more than a year, at which point another meeting would be held.