5 TOP MUST-KNOWS BEFORE YOUR NEXT IEP MEETING

IEPs have to have certain components by law and of the top most important components are your present levels. If your present levels aren't accurate, your goals aren't going to be accurate and you effectively don't have an IEP.

So let's talk about the top five things you need to know walking into your next IEP meeting to make sure that your levels, your present levels, your goals, and your overall IEP is on point.

1. You can and should call multiple IEP meetings throughout the year. Sometimes, parents think that they can only call one IEP meeting, sometimes parents even ask me if they can call an IEP meeting. They think that only the school can. You can and you should call IEP meetings, this is your child's future, and you're an important component of that IEP team. Without your input, we can't properly help your child. So it's important that you call an IEP meeting or even a team meeting when you notice changes in your child's behavior, changes in their progress or regression, or just have concerns or input that you want to provide to the team. Learn mor about how to draft your Parental Input here.
2. You can have multiple IEP meetings within a year, or even to finish one IEP document. I get this question a lot. Do I have to finish everything in one IEP meeting? Or what do I do if the school ends the meeting before everything's been covered? You can call multiple meetings for one IEP, and that's completely fine. The objective of an IEP meeting or meetings is to complete an IEP that's appropriate for your child , so if that takes one hour or seven hours, it's dependent on a case-by-case basis based on what your kid needs. So number two, you can call more than one IEP meeting to finalize an IEP.  
3. Did you know that you can excuse people from your IEP meeting? We get this question a lot. Do I have to have everybody here? So you'll get notification, or you should, of who's going to be at your IEP meeting. And if there are certain people who are disruptive, maybe it's not in the child's best interest to be there, you can ask that they're not there. Of course, the school district can refuse, but it's important that you recognize, you're a part of that IEP team and your input matters. So make sure that if there are folks there or professionals there that shouldn't be in the meeting for whatever reason, you voice your concern in writing and request that they're not there.
4. When you don't understand something at an IEP meeting, you can stop and ask questions. A lot of times, meetings go fast or there's a ton of information that's being presented at once to you. You can slow the meeting down. Remember, earlier we talked about, you can call multiple IEP meetings. And that's important because then you're allowed to slow down and process. It's important that you do that because you need meaningful participation in your child's IEP. And so if you don't understand something, stop and ask. If the meeting's getting contentious or people are getting frustrated, stop, get a glass of water, take a minute in the hallway. You can stop a meeting at any time.  
5. You are part of the IEP team and you can bring anyone that you think is relevant to the IEP meeting. We've seen people bring neighbors, other professionals, tutors, babysitters. Who do you think has relevant information about your child's learning, disability and needs? And as a member of the IEP team, you can bring any of those professionals that you think you need.

 
As always, reach out with questions. Happy Advocating!

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