Dear Parents,
I want to convey some thoughts and hopefully will be able to unwrap some of the possible mystery that an initial or annual IEP can hold. There are so many aspects and variables to consider when a team drafts and develops an IEP and I am certain it can be extremely overwhelming. The biggest message I want to leave you with is that you, the parents are a critical part of any IEP team.
My professional philosophy is this; as the parent, you see a different set of components from your children than we see at school. As a part of the IEP team, the school members do need to look at what we feel your child needs from the school perspective. The hope is that we can come together and make some compromises that lead to the best possible IEP your son or daughter will receive.
When you are new to the Individual Educational Program process, it can be somewhat intimidating. Team members can speak in acronymic codes you may or may not be aware of the meaning. Please don't feel ignorant at this stage, you are certainly not alone. If you do not know what something means, it is your right to ask. Please don't ever feel embarrassed or uncomfortable to ask questions. Remember when the document is completed, it should be the best plan for your child the team can come up with.
Make sure when you come into the IEP meeting the documents are in draft form. What I strongly encourage my staff to do is to make changes to the document while in the meeting with parents. I want case managers to let parents know the IEP is in draft form and that the teacher and related services folks wish to get parental input on how goals and related services (speech, physical therapy, occupational therapy) look. If there is time before hand, see if you can get a copy of the draft document to look at before the meeting. That way, if you have questions you can be prepared to ask.
When you are going through the IEP, hold the team accountable to the following point. The IEP needs to be centered around the student's strengths. I am not suggesting the team sugar coat areas we would like to see growth but we want to highlight your child. We want to express the growth and positives the staff has seen over the year. I tell my case managers to put themselves in parent's shoes for a bit when drafting and reading an IEP. If what they crafted in this document was written for their own child, how would they take the information that has been written? Over the years, I have been witness to some brutal IEP meetings that left parents in tears. A message of hope should be given to the family. In my opinion, that is one of our school district's critical obligations to parents.
When the case manager is going over the Goal and possible Objective areas, really key in on this portion of the IEP. This is one of the most important spots to the document. The goal become the blueprint for what the services for your child will look like. Do the goals make sense to you? Do they have a baseline or current skill level? Does the goal state what skills the student will be working on? Is there an end to the goal that is measurable? Lastly, do you as the parent think your child can achieve this goal? When in draft form, I have looked over people's IEPs as well as some of my older ones I had written. The goal should be measuring the correct items. For instance, if you are working on reading fluency, your goal should not be measuring comprehension. In the past, I have seen IEP goals where these pieces do not align. I have also written some back in the day and when we got to the meeting, had no idea where I was heading with the goal. It did not make any sense to myself, let alone the parents. Yes, it is a bit humbling when that happens but it just proves that starting the document in a draft form is critical. These can be easily fixed when in the meeting.
Key in on the accommodations and modifications the case manager is suggesting. Also, please remember the following. If an accommodation or modification is written on this document, all responsible people are legally obligated to follow those. If a calculator is mentioned for math class, check in to make sure that is happening. If preferential seating is written down, question what that will look like. If shortened assignments or reduced homework is stated on the document, involve yourself in finding out how these are happening. Remember, this is your right as a parent.
Ah, as we cruise though the IEP, do not forget the service matrix. This is the grid toward the back of the IEP that states which area of service (reading for example) will be worked on, as well as how many minutes per week will the specially designed instruction be delivered. The matrix will also state who will be delivering the specially designed instruction and the location of where this will happen. One side note here, if the IEP states the Specially Designed Instruction (SDI) will be delivered in the general education setting by the General Education Teacher, check with the General Education Teacher to see what that looks like. The Special Education Teacher should be helping to modify or provide work for the student to help them be successful and meet the letter of the IEP.
There is a whole lot for you to be aware of when teaming to help develop your child's IEP. Remember, you are checking on these items to ensure your child with special needs gets the education they deserve. That being said, you also do not have to wait for an entire year to meet and redraft your child's IEP. You have the right to make changes throughout the school year.
In closing, always consider yourself a part of the team, ask questions and write notes down from the questions you have. Come into the IEP meeting with specific items you wish to address and truly be part of the team. You are your child's biggest advocate and we are here to help you.
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