Navigating your child’s triennial reevaluation: The Notebook series, part 5
A triEnnial is an reevaluation EVERY 3 years, A triAnnual is an reevaluation 3 TIMES a year. In my first year teaching, I mistakenly offered several parents the latter—whoops! Read on for more helpful clarifications!
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.
Let’s take a quick look at the post ahead:
A triennial reevaluation
The purpose of reevaluating your child
The triennial reevaluation process
The triennial IEP meeting
Your triennial reevaluation team
Reviewing your child’s triennial IEP
A triennial reevaluation
A triennial reevaluation is—you guessed it—an evaluation that happens once every three years. There are two parts to any triennial:
The evaluation to re-determine the student’s current performance across domains—academic, cognitive, social, behavioral, etc.
The meeting held to offer an updated Individualized Education Plan (IEP) based on the evaluation results.
Before a triennial reevaluation can happen, a student will typically have already had an initial evaluation and an annual IEP. An initial evaluation is updated at a student’s first annual IEP. Their first annual IEP is updated again a year later.
IEP teams prepare for a full reevaluation before the end of a student’s third year receiving special education services.
There are circumstances under which a triennial reevaluation can be done earlier than the typical three years. If a team member or a parent has concerns about a student’s current program or placement, the team can agree to conduct a full reevaluation to assess whether changes need to be made to benefit the student.
A triennial reevaluation can also be moved up to coincide with a child’s annual IEP if the team feels strongly about syncing up the two meeting dates. If an annual and a triennial are being held at the same time, this will be indicated on the IEP meeting invitation.
The purpose of reevaluating your child
Triennial reevaluations are conducted (and their respective IEP meetings are held) to redetermine a student’s eligibility for special education services. During an initial evaluation, a student is found eligible for special education services under any one disability category. Students can also be found eligible through a combination of categories.
A quick refresher on why disability categories matter: the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the primary source of federal funding for special education programs, allocates money to each state. This money then makes its way to each school district and provides funding for special education programs and services for eligible students. Basically, these disability categories are critical to secure funding for each state, school, and student.
Triennial reevaluations provide the data necessary to update a student’s eligibility, placement, services, and goals. They also provide data about eligibility and programs in each district and state. Triennial reevaluations help districts ensure the funding they receive is appropriate to support their existing programs.
The general purpose of a triennial reevaluation is to assess if a student’s needs have changed. A student's needs can change for a variety of reasons. These reasons may include:
A student making enough progress since their last evaluation that they no longer need specialized instruction to access the general education curriculum.
A student no longer meets the criteria for the disability category under which they were found eligible during their last evaluation.
A student is found eligible under a new disability category or combination of categories.
Triennial reevaluations provide a wealth of information and data about a student’s current needs and performance. Once you have that information and data in your hands, IEP teams—including you, the parent—can recommend changes to your child’s placement and services. Assessment results are critical in ensuring IEP recommendations support a child’s current needs.
The triennial reevaluation process—a summary
The triennial reevaluation is similar to any assessment process. The main difference between a triennial reevaluation and an initial evaluation—which you can read all about here—is that your child has been receiving special education services prior to being reevaluated. You can read the full post about assessments here. But a quick summary of the assessment process specific to a triennial reevaluation includes:
Your child’s IEP team provides you with an assessment plan detailing the areas in which assessments will be performed and the providers who will perform those assessments.
You will be contacted by the team members conducting the assessments about the assessment schedule, to provide you with any questionnaires to complete, and to schedule interviews with you, if necessary.
Your child will likely be assessed during school hours and on campus by providers they are familiar with, but if the team believes the student may benefit from additional services, they may be assessed by a new provider.
Assessments conducted during the reevaluation may include:
Educational evaluations, like the Woodcock-Johnson - Fifth Edition (WJ V), KeyMath 3, Gray Oral Reading Tests - Fifth Edition (GORT-5), and the Test of Written Language - Fourth Edition (TOWL-4)
Psychological evaluations of cognition and memory, like the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Fifth Edition (WISC-5), Wechsler Individual Achievement Test - Third Edition (WIAT-III), the Vineland - Third Edition (Vineland-3), and the Wide-Range Assessment of Memory and Learning - Third Edition (WRAML3)
Social and emotional evaluations, like the Behavior Assessment Scale for Children - Third Edition (BASC-3) and the Conners - Fourth Edition
Executive functioning evaluations, like the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functioning (BRIEF)
Adaptive skills evaluations, like the Adaptive Behavior Assessment System - Third Edition (ABAS-3)
Interviews
Observations
Social history
Medical/health history
Once the assessments proposed in the plan have been completed, questionnaires have been submitted, and interviews and observations are done, assessment reports are written to present and interpret the assessment results.
You will receive a draft of each assessment report written prior to the triennial IEP meeting. If you don’t receive drafts of all reports at least a week before the meeting, reach out to your case manager via email and request copies ASAP!
Assessment results play a crucial role in the triennial reevaluation process and the resulting IEP documents. They are presented in the draft assessment reports. They are summarized in the IEP. They inform the goals and objectives. They determine which services are recommended. And, they lead to the accommodations and modifications suggested to support a student’s specific needs. So, let’s dive into the IEP meeting.
The triennial IEP meeting
The triennial IEP meeting involves steps similar to those taken during an initial IEP meeting. You can read the full post about initial IEP meetings here. Triennial IEPs can also be scheduled to coincide with a student’s annual IEP, which you can read more about here! But let’s just run through a quick summary of what you can expect from a triennial IEP meeting:
After the evaluation process is complete, the IEP team—including current team members and any new team members involved in the assessment process—will convene to review the assessment results with you and to offer recommendations based on those results.
The IEP team will use the results from the evaluation process to draft a new IEP. This draft will include new recommendations for goals, services, and accommodations/modifications based on the assessment results. Recommendations for your child’s program or placement may also change.
As with any IEP meeting, the team’s priority is to ensure the student is provided a free and appropriate education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment (LRE).
The services recommended are part of FAPE.
The general education classroom is the LRE, but the team will discuss whether a more restrictive environment is the appropriate placement for your child based on their eligibility.
You should have received a copy of the draft IEP prior to the meeting. If you haven't received documents the week of, contact the case manager via email and request a copy ASAP.
A key update shared during the meeting is the student’s disability category. As I’ve already mentioned, the student’s disability category drives program recommendations and secures funding for your child’s educational needs. Depending on the assessment results, one of three things may happen:
The category (or categories) under which the student is found eligible may remain the same from the previous evaluation.
Based on the assessment results, the student’s eligibility may change—they may meet the eligibility criteria for a new disability category.
It is also possible that the assessment results lead the team to conclude that the student no longer meets the eligibility criteria for any disability category and no longer qualify to receive special education services.
Essentially—and without all the jargon—triennial IEPs are developed to meet a student’s specific needs at that moment in time—to support students in meeting their individual goals.
The main components of the draft triennial IEP document vary by state and even by school district. We’ll talk more specifically about what each of these sections include later in this post. But for now, just know that they typically include updates to the following IEP sections:
Present Levels of Performance
Measurable Goals and Objectives
Special Education and Related Services
Accommodations and modifications
Statement of Eligibility
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, you may not receive the Special Education and Related Services page with your draft IEP documents. It’s common for teams to leave that page out—or leave it blank. Assessments inform goal development, and goals drive services. Until the team can present the assessment results, propose goals, and make recommendations for services—type, length, frequency—in the meeting, they typically don’t fill out that page.
Triennial reevaluation IEP meetings can 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 more than ok to have questions and ask for clarification. It’s ok to not agree with a recommendation and express concerns. In fact, these things are not just ok, they're encouraged.
We’ll come back to what comes after the meeting at the end of this post. For now, a quick look at who your child’s triennial reevaluation IEP team members are.
Your triennial reevaluation team
The team members involved in your child’s triennial reevaluation IEP meeting should be the same individuals who conducted the assessments during the evaluation process. You may be familiar with some of the team members who have provided services to your child before. And you may be introduced to new team members if your child was assessed for new services.
Either way, it can help to have a sense of who to expect at the meeting. You can read more about IEP teams and the roles/responsibilities of each team member here. But let’s quickly summarize a few key points about each team member before moving onto the next section! IEP teams typically include:
Case manager
Special education teacher
School psychologist
Service providers
Administrator
General education teacher
Case manager
The case manager for your child’s triennial reevaluation and IEP is typically also your child’s special education teacher. On some occasions the case manager can be the school psychologist. Generally speaking, case managers coordinate the IEP team.
They collaborate with all team members to ensure the evaluation and IEP preparation 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 the upcoming IEP meeting, to share draft documents, assessment reports, and other necessary documents. They lead the IEP meeting by following the agenda, facilitating conversations, and doing their best to keep everyone on track.
Case managers support parents with getting answers to questions they may have and follow up after the meeting to inquire about parental consent to implement the IEP.
Special education teacher
The special education teacher holds an important role on the triennial reevaluation IEP team. Mainly, the special education teacher is the expert in special education.
During the reevaluation process, the special education teacher conducts academic assessments, collects observational data, and updates a student’s progress toward existing goals.
They complete the sections of the Present Levels of Performance pertaining to the academic services and support they provide. And they make recommendations associated with their knowledge of how specialized instruction can support access to the general education curriculum and standards.
During the meeting, special education teachers recommend new goals to be worked on for the following year. These goals are most often academic and tied to learning standards. 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 throughout the triennial reevaluation process and during the IEP meeting. School psychologists bring a unique perspective and knowledge to the team.
With their understanding of disability categories, the power of interpreting assessments, and a general knack for facilitating conversations, they are an essential team member.
School psychologists can provide counseling and mental health services to students, so they may attend as a provider. In this role, a school psychologist would complete the same steps as any other service provider.
Before the meeting, they conduct assessments, draft an assessment report, update current annual goals, and complete their section of the PLOPs. During the meeting, they recommend new goals for the upcoming school year.
Service providers (SLP, OT, PT, APE)
Not every triennial reevaluation 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.
Like other team members, service providers must complete certain steps before the IEP meeting is held. They conduct assessments specific to their area of expertise—and services provided—they draft assessment reports, and provide a progress report detailing the student’s progress toward meeting their current goals.
These team members also recommend new goals and accommodations to support the student’s access to the general education environment and curriculum.
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 for a triennial reevaluation IEP can be assumed by school site administrators—principals or assistant principals—directors of special education, or a special education teacher or provider who isn’t actively involved in that student’s reevaluation.
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 your child’s upcoming triennial reevaluation IEP meeting, you can check to see if a name is listed on the invitation. If no name is listed and you want to ensure the role is filled by a specific administrator, you can request that via an email to your child’s case manager.
General education teacher
There’s a reason every triennial reevaluation 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.
With new goals recommended based on the assessment data collected during the reevaluation process, the 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.
Reviewing your child’s triennial IEP
One thing that I wish I could do with each parent or family who has just been handed the final draft of their child’s IEP after the meeting is to sit by their side and review each page with them. Since I can’t be in more than one place at a time (I’m still waiting for my hologram to be ready), I’d like to use this last section to go through each section and page.
Save this post and revisit it before you decide whether to give consent for your child’s next IEP to be implemented!
One thing I encourage all parents to keep in mind is that they are not required to sign the IEP before leaving the meeting. Parents should take the full draft—with meeting notes—home with them to read through. Make sure to jot down notes including all questions, concerns, and confusing information while reviewing the IEP.
Once you’ve finished reading through the full IEP, share your notes in an email to your child’s case manager. You can also ask for a follow-up meeting if you have bigger questions or concerns you want shared with the team. It is crucial that you feel comfortable and understand everything being recommended before providing consent.
I’ll be using a sample draft IEP to guide us through the review process. There are typically seven separate sections in a standard draft IEP document. Let’s focus on five sections of the triennial reevaluation IEP document that you should pay close attention to during your at-home review, including:
Present Levels of Performance
The PLOPs 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.
Goals and Objectives
New measurable goals and objectives are written by each service provider based on a student’s assessment results and their tracked 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.
Special Education and Related Services
This 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.
Accommodations and modifications
These supports 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.
Statement of eligibility
This statement is included in every IEP, and it is of particular importance for a triennial reevaluation. If a student’s eligibility changed as a result of their reevaluation, it will be made clear in this section.
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. This justification is important for also explaining why a more restrictive environment is recommended for the student.
A roadmap for an expert
Whew! That’s a whole lot of information—no wonder triennial reevaluations are only required to be completed every three years. But you’ve got your roadmap now. Take a deep breath, pour yourself a glass of something that soothes you, and know that you’ve got this.
You are an expert in your child’s needs. You are also an essential team member. And your expertise is a critical part of the information gained during the reevaluation process.
And, if you need a reminder of your expertise, send me a message! There’s nothing that makes me happier as a special educator than watching a parent successfully navigate the IEP process and advocate for their child.
Stay centered out there, friends!
Mischa
