How to prepare for your child’s annual IEP meeting: The Notebook series, part 3
Like Halloween, annual IEPs happen once a year—and they come around faster than you think. They can feel spooky and seem like all tricks and no treats. But let’s see if we can change that!
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.
In this series of posts, we first discussed the process to prepare for an initial IEP meeting. We then looked at the roles of each team member throughout the IEP process. For this post, I’d like to focus on preparing for your child’s next annual IEP meeting.
These meetings come up once a year. And, whether this will be your first annual or your fifth, I hope this post helps you feel more prepared to navigate any tricks that may come up. The first step in feeling prepared is knowing the purpose behind the IEP you’re preparing for.
The purpose of an annual IEP is to update an existing individualized plan for a student based on the progress they’ve made toward their current goals and objectives.
Now that doesn’t sound too spooky, right?
How annual IEPs are different from initial IEPs
There are two key differences between initial and annual IEPs.
An initial IEP only happens once to develop a student’s first IEP. Annual IEPs happen—you guessed it—annually.
The main activity prior to an initial IEP meeting is assessing the student to determine eligibility, recommend services, and write goals. But, leading up to an annual IEP, the team measures and updates the student’s progress toward their current goals.
In short, an initial IEP establishes a student’s program, and an annual IEP updates it. This is typically speaking, of course. Initial and annual IEPs are supposed to address a student’s individual needs, which means they can veer away from what’s typical.
What happens before an annual IEP meeting: drafting your child’s IEP
Before your IEP team can gather to review, discuss, and agree on an annual IEP, the draft IEP must first be written. And, in order to write the draft, the current IEP will be reviewed, progress on current goals will be updated, and any necessary assessments will be done. Unlike the assessments done for an initial IEP, assessments for an annual IEP would only be done if the team was considering adding an additional service to a student’s program.
A quick note: you should always be provided with a form giving your consent to have your child assessed—typically called an assessment plan. We’ll talk more specifics about the role assessments play in the IEP process in an upcoming post. But, just know it is your right to decide whether you want your child assessed.
Now, let’s get back to the preparation part of the annual IEP process. It’s similar to the process of preparing for an initial IEP that I laid out in the last post. But there are a few important differences.
As an annual IEP meeting date draws closer, the team will draft an IEP updating the student’s individualized program. This draft will include new recommendations for the following year. These recommendations must strive to ensure a free and appropriate education (FAPE) is provided in the least restrictive environment (LRE). Both are required by IDEA.
Try not to let all that jargon feel like a trick. The basic purpose of an IEP isn’t tricky at all. All IEPs are developed to meet a student’s specific needs. Their priority is to support students in meeting their individual goals. These goals can be educational, social, behavioral, etc.
The key components of an annual IEP draft
The main components of draft annual IEP documents can vary by state and even by school district. However, each annual IEP essentially includes:
Present Levels of Performance (PLOPs; my favorite acronym to say!)
Measurable Goals and Objectives
Special Education and Related Services
Accommodations and modifications
Statement of Eligibility
Present Levels of Performance are a summary of the student’s progress across domains. Some of those domains include: student strengths and interests, parental concerns, academic achievement, functional performance, social-emotional development, standardized assessment performance, etc. Each service provider updates their section prior to an upcoming annual IEP meeting. The PLOPs should be reviewed during the meeting so that team members—including parents—can add to them.
New measurable goals and objectives are written by each service provider based on a student’s progress toward current goals over the past year. These goals are drafted before an annual IEP meeting, and then discussed during the meeting when all team members are present to provide input. A well-written goal is clearly tied to a standard, includes a way to measure progress, and identifies support the student may need to meet the goal in the next year. Goals should always include a summary of progress made toward any previous related goals.
The Special Education and Related Services section of an annual IEP includes each recommended service a student has been receiving and any new services recommended—think Specialized Academic Instruction, Occupational Therapy, or Counseling. This section also states who the provider of each service will be, how often the service will be provided, and for how long each session will be.
Another quick note: you may not receive the Special Education and Related Services page with your draft. It’s very common for teams to leave that page out—or leave it blank. The team will discuss this page during the meeting.
Accommodations and modifications are an important part of each annual IEP. They include the specific supports the team recommends to ensure the student can access the services, standards, and curriculum included in their educational program. They should be uniquely tailored to each student’s classroom, testing, standardized assessment, and any other needs they may have while on campus.
A common question is: What is the difference between an accommodation and a modification. And, my answer typically involves this example: If a student has a test asking them to identify the 50 states of America, an accommodation would allow them to break the test up into 25 states at a time. A modification, on the other hand, would only require that they identify 25 states total. The accommodation helps the student meet the standard as is, and the modification changes the standard.
A statement of eligibility is included in every annual IEP. This page of the IEP does exactly what it says: it states the disability category or categories under which the student continues to be found eligible for special education services. The statement will often include how their disability may adversely impact their education and a justification for why special education services are recommended.
Prior to the annual IEP meeting, the team should provide parents with a draft of the IEP documents described above. Each document should say “Draft” on it. Until parents give consent for the IEP to be implemented, nothing is final. It is essential that an annual IEP isn’t discussed or finalized without all team members—including parents—present to ask questions, voice concerns, and provide input.
IEP teams must ensure that any draft documents include only information and recommendations. The information comes from data collection and, if appropriate, assessments. And the recommendations are based on that information.
In summary, the documents a parent should have prior to the annual IEP meeting include:
Invitation (here is a sample from Pennsylvania)
Draft reports (here is a sample eligibility determination from Washington state)
Draft IEP (here is a sample from a district in Washington state)
Parents’ Rights (here is the version available in Washington state)
You should receive an invitation to an upcoming annual IEP at least 10 days before the proposed meeting date. The invitation should include a list of team members who will be in attendance. You can add additional people to the invitation if you’d like to bring a friend, a provider, or a specialist to the meeting. You can also propose meeting dates/times if the invitation includes a proposed meeting date that doesn’t work for you.
The timing of receiving draft reports and draft IEP documents can be a bit trickier. The IEP team should give you an appropriate amount of time to review these draft documents. But, that’s not always the case. There is no requirement for providing these documents. Some IEP teams may send them only a couple of days in advance. If you haven’t been given enough time with these documents in the past, you can request (in writing—always make requests in writing) that the team send you all draft documents earlier.
Parents’ Rights and an IEP meeting agenda are two documents that don’t often change between annual IEP meetings. However, you should always be provided with updated copies. You could have eight copies of each, but you should still be given another copy! Once you’ve received the agenda for an upcoming annual IEP meeting, feel free to reach out to your child’s case manager with any additional agenda items you’d like added. You can request these documents before the meeting to be sure you have all the information you need.
If you don’t receive one or more of these documents prior to an upcoming annual IEP meeting, your first move is to contact your child’s case manager. You can write an email requesting the document(s) you have not received and a date by which you want to receive them. If you don’t receive a response—or the documents—you can write an email to an administrator. The Director of Special Education is someone you could reach out to—at the very least to ensure they know you’ve made a request for documents.
What happens during an annual IEP meeting
We’ve finally made it to the meeting. Hopefully the preparation process hasn’t felt at all spooky! Once in the meeting, the agenda acts as a guide to (ideally) keep everyone on track. The example agenda linked above provides a general overview of what to expect in the meeting. I’d like to highlight two agenda items: Student Strengths and Parental Concerns.
As a case manager, I started every meeting by asking the parent(s) and each team member to share the student’s strengths. As many of them as they could think of. It was an effective way of reminding everyone why we were gathered in that room: for the student. It was a real treat for the whole team! A positive tone was set, and parents felt like their child was recognized and celebrated.
Deciding when to ask for Parental Concerns, on the other hand, can be trickier. I would often ask parents about their concerns during a pre-meeting, over the phone, or through email before the meeting. Then, I could read the concerns while we reviewed the PLOPs rather than putting parents on the spot in the meeting. Parents were always encouraged to share additional concerns during the meeting, but at least we had a starting point.
I would encourage you to ask your child’s IEP team to start a meeting with strengths. I would also encourage you to share your current concerns in an email—or a letter—to your child’s case manager. Just because a team doesn’t automatically offer to do these things doesn’t mean they aren’t crucial for setting up a successful IEP meeting. Taking control of how strengths and concerns are shared can help to establish you as an active participant at the start of the meeting.
Another thing parents should ask for is a copy of the notes taken during the meeting. The notes contain critical information—and comments—shared throughout the meeting. If not provided, parents should also ask for a complete updated draft of the IEP. Having a copy of the meeting notes and updated draft IEP affords you the opportunity to revisit recommendations and discussions once you’re back home.
The final important document is a Prior Written Notice. This document should be given to a parent after the meeting along with meeting notes and an updated draft of the IEP. The Prior Written Notice explains any proposed changes to their child’s program. This document can also serve as the document parents use to give their consent for a team to implement the IEP.
What happens after an annual IEP meeting
Once your child’s IEP team members have shared your child’s strengths, reviewed the PLOPs and progress on current goals, and recommended new goals, what’s next? The next step is reviewing the draft IEP documents. Draft IEPs can feel incredibly long and a bit tricky.
It certainly can feel like these documents have tricks hidden within all of that jargon. In an effort to reduce the tricky factor, as a case manager/special education teacher, I always sat down with parents immediately following the end of an IEP meeting. We would sit side-by-side, and I would walk through each page of the draft IEP with them. I encouraged them to stop me and ask questions. I always reminded them that they were not required to sign the IEP before leaving.
I encourage parents to take the full draft—with meeting notes—home with them to read through. I recognize that IEP meetings can feel overwhelming. There’s people, paperwork, and the presentation of lots of information. To help the process feel more like a treat, once you’re settled in at home, grab your favorite snack and start reviewing each section!
Make sure to jot down any questions, concerns, and confusing information while reviewing the IEP. You can email these to your child’s case manager, or ask for a follow-up meeting to share them with the team. It is crucial that you feel comfortable and understand everything being recommended in the IEP documents.
Rather than let the IEP process feel overwhelming, try to think of these meetings as opportunities to gather information. It is the team’s responsibility to present the information they’ve gathered in a clear way. Parents should be assured that it’s ok if they need time to review the information presented before agreeing to anything. It’s also ok to have questions and ask for clarification.
And, if you ever need more assurances or additional support during any stage of the IEP process, I hope you’ll reach out to me—the only person who loves IEPs as much as I love Halloween (a lot!). These documents may seem foreboding, and the meetings can be tiresome. But when prepared meaningfully, the whole process can feel more like your favorite Halloween treat. Mine are Reese’s!
Stay centered out there, friends!
Mischa
