Everything you need to know about your child’s IEP team: The Notebook series, part 2
Fred Rogers Productions (2025). Retrieved from fredrogers.org
In this installment of the Notebook series, we get into the details of who’s on your child’s IEP team—and what they do. Think of this post as a Mister Rogers Neighborhood style of meeting your team.
Welcome to The Notebook series! Every parent deserves to feel like an equal, important partner in their child's education. That's why I created the IEP Notebook series: to help parents effectively navigate the IEP process and get the services and support their child needs to thrive. Each post will have helpful tools and information to ensure parents can approach IEP meetings with confidence, have more positive experiences working with their IEP team, and advocate for their child effectively.
“Neighbors are people who live close to each other. Neighbors look at each other; they talk to each other; they listen to each other. That’s how they get to know each other.” Mister Rogers
Many of us grew up watching Mister Rogers interact with various individuals who populated the neighborhood within his fictional world. Working with IEP teams made up of various professionals can feel a lot like that neighborhood. As you move through the IEP preparation process, you meet different team members—and most become a part of your special education neighborhood.
We recently covered how to prepare for your child’s initial IEP meeting. You likely met your child’s team during the meeting—your IEP neighbors. Whether the team has two members or 22 members, it can feel overwhelming. Each team member has a specific role to play, responsibilities to perform, and a unique set of skills and knowledge.
Understanding each person’s role, responsibilities, and skills can help you know what to expect and ask for what you need. This understanding can lead to feeling more confident engaging with the team as a whole and individually. And, understanding who the people working with your child are can bring you that neighborly sense of community.
Who’s on your child’s IEP team
It’s always helpful to know who's on your child’s team with you and the role they play throughout the IEP process: whether it’s an initial, annual, or triennial. Let’s break down the general IEP preparation process by taking a look at what each team member does leading up to the meeting—and what they do during the meeting. While each IEP team looks different depending on the student’s services, district policies, and special circumstances, this post will give you a general sense of the people on your child’s team.
Case manager
The case manager for your child’s IEP is typically also your child’s special education teacher. On some occasions, the case manager can be the school psychologist. For initial IEPs, since there are no services being offered yet, the school psychologist coordinating a student’s assessments would take on the role of case manager. There are less common circumstances, like implementing a 30-Day IEP, during which a special education administrator could serve as case manager.
Generally speaking, case managers coordinate the IEP team. They collaborate with all team members to ensure the IEP process is moving forward properly. They draft most of the IEP documents, and they communicate with the other team members who have sections of the draft to make sure they complete them.
They communicate directly with the parents to schedule an upcoming meeting, to share draft documents and assessment reports, and to send other necessary documents before a meeting. They lead the IEP meeting by following the agenda, facilitating conversations, and doing their best to keep everyone on track. Case managers walk parents through the draft IEP document after the meeting, support parents with getting answers to questions they may have from the meeting, and help them provide their consent to implement the IEP.
Special education teacher
The special education teacher holds an important role on the IEP team. Even if a student receives minimal special education services, the special education teacher is the expert in the special education. They are knowledgeable in the:
Special education classes available
Curricula used to support students enrolled in special education classes
Appropriate accommodations and modifications to support students access the general education curriculum and standards
Developing appropriate and measurable goals to ensure students are making progress
In addition to their role and responsibilities as case manager, the special education teacher has their own responsibilities during the IEP process. They collect data and update a student’s progress toward existing goals. They complete the sections of the Present Levels of Performance or PLOPs pertaining to the services and support they provide. And they make recommendations associated with their knowledge of curriculum and standards.
These recommendations are presented and discussed during the meeting. They include accommodations and modifications. Generally, the purpose of accommodations and modifications is to ensure the student is able to access the curriculum and standards from any general education classes they’re enrolled in. For example, some students benefit from having their test questions read aloud to them. It can help them to focus solely on the task of answering the question without having to read and process the question first.
During the meeting, special education teachers recommend new goals to be worked on for the following year. These goals are most often academic—tied to learning standards—but, depending on the student’s needs, the goals can cover social-emotional, behavioral, and functional skill development. Each goal recommended should be appropriate to the student’s needs and current performance, measurable, and aligned with the curricula and standards a student is engaging with.
School psychologist
The school psychologist plays a major role in initial and triennial IEPs. Typically this is because those two types of IEPs require assessments. However, school psychologists can participate in IEPs for a variety of reasons.
If an IEP team is in need of an administrator for the meeting (more on that role in a minute!), a school psychologist can fill in. School psychologists bring a unique perspective and knowledge to the role of administrator. With their understanding of disability categories, the power of assessments, and facilitating conversations.
School psychologists can provide counseling and mental health services to students, so they could attend IEPs as a service provider. In this role, a school psychologist would complete the same steps as any other service providers. Before the meeting, they update current annual goals and complete their section of the PLOPs. During the meeting, they recommend new goals for the upcoming school year.
A school psychologist could also be in attendance if the team is recommending additional assessment for a student. The school psychologist would attend to learn about the student’s current IEP and present the assessment plan to the parent(s). The school psychologist being in the meeting could offer the parent(s) an opportunity to ask questions.
Service providers (SLP, OT, PT, APE)
Not every IEP team involves service providers—or related service providers—but they can be an important addition. Service providers hold a very specific knowledge base. Their specialization can be in a variety of areas: occupational therapy, physical therapy, adapted physical education, or speech language pathology. Those are just a few of the most common related services that a student may receive.
Each service provider offers a unique perspective tied to the services they provide. For example, speech language pathologists (SLPs) have a wealth of information about alternative communication, language development, and social aspects of interactions. As members of an IEP team, an SLP can support the team with making recommendations for goals, accommodations and modifications, and support for accessing the general education curriculum and other activities.
Much like a special education teacher or school psychologist, related service providers must complete certain steps before the IEP meeting is held. They provide a progress report detailing the student’s progress toward meeting their current goals. These team members also recommend new goals, accommodations and modifications, and other support to help the student access the general education environment and curriculum.
It is also common for related service providers to recommend assessments be done more often than the required triennial testing. The services they provide are so specific to a child’s current needs. So, it can be essential to assess their progress more frequently to ensure the services and goals are appropriate for where the student is at that moment.
Administrator
An IEP team administrator can play a small role or a significant role depending on the team’s needs. This role can be fulfilled by a variety of people. The role of administrator can be assumed by school psychologists, principals or assistant principals, directors of special education, or a special education faculty member who isn’t actively involved in that student’s IEP.
Most often, the administrator takes meeting notes. But, in some cases, administrators can take on a more active role to help mediate a conflict, address a concern, or speak to a recommended program change. If you’re not sure who the administrator will be at an upcoming IEP meeting, you can check to see if a name is listed on the invitation. If not, they will introduce themselves along with everyone else during team introductions.
General education teacher
There’s a reason every IEP team is required to have a general education teacher present at meetings: they hold essential expertise in the general education curriculum, standards, and environment. While in some cases the general education teacher may not have a student enrolled in their class, they offer an important perspective during discussions about access to general education classes and activities. A general education teacher can weigh in on goals that may be measured in a general education classroom or environment, recommend accommodations to support a student access the general education curriculum, and share their deep knowledge about grade level standards.
It’s not uncommon for IEP teams to excuse a general education teacher early from the meeting. Teams may even request parent permission for there to be no general education teacher in attendance. While parents can often feel pressured to agree, it is well within parents’ rights to request the general education teacher attend and stay for the duration of the meeting. There are other key rights parents should be aware of, but we’ll save that topic for a future post!
How to be a good neighbor—or bring them with you
As Mister Rogers said, good neighbors look at each other, talk, and listen. This is how they become neighbors. The same neighborly acts can make for a positive IEP meeting experience. I’d add learning about your neighbors to that list. Knowing who they are and what they do can help you to feel more comfortable working with them.
We’ve just covered knowing who your IEP neighbors are and what they do. Now I’d like to share a few last thoughts. Or, more specifically, a few last “shoulds”.
You should receive an IEP meeting invitation from your child’s case manager about two weeks before the proposed meeting date. And, that invitation should include a list of all team members invited to the upcoming meeting. If you don’t recognize a role or a name listed on the invitation, you should reach out to the case manager to ask for clarification.
After reviewing the IEP meeting invitation—and clarifying everyone listed—you should add the names and roles of anyone you’d like to attend the meeting with you. That’s right. You can invite people, too. If an upcoming meeting feels particularly complicated, or if you’re feeling overwhelmed by how to communicate your concerns, you should add people who make you feel supported to the invitation! Bring the neighbors you need to feel heard.
I would happily be one of those supportive people sitting next to you at your child’s next IEP meeting. Mischa McManus, IEP Specialist. If inviting me is something you think would be helpful, message me so we can make it happen!
Stay centered out there, neighbors!
Mischa
