Parents as Members of the IEP Meetings – Adding to the Important Aspects of Participating Well

As you learn about information and things required to be carried in IEP meetings, here is a continuation to take care of other useful preparations for these meetings.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) has some worthwhile recommendations for contributing to effective IEP meetings. According to the suggestions, the time and venue must be decided in consultation with the parents, as well as other attendees of the meetings.

Secondly, the length of the meeting must address every issue and thus, it must be decided after discussion between parents and school authorities. The IEP meeting is held once a year and you can afford to miss it, in case you have already attended the previous ones and are satisfied with the achievement of IEP goals.

What is the existing level of performance shown by your child? Which specific goals are offered by the plan for your child? Are there any specific programs targeted at disability obtained by your child? All these things should form the agenda of IEP meetings. Apart from this, you can also focus on support, services and strategies offered by these meetings. Teaching strategies and various extracurricular activities should also be on your list of discussions.

The input for effective IEP meetings is prepared in the form of a rough draft, encompassing the ideas put forward by you and the school authorities. Before this draft is finalized in the meeting, you can suggest any type of changes and revisions in it.

Now, let’s discuss some dos and don’ts for parents as members of the IEP meetings. It is important to be stress-free before entering the meeting venue. You can choose your spouse or any family member as your representative, if your fear of being inexperienced for the IEP meeting keeps you at home.

Going further, you can think of recording the meeting to keep the important discussions as proof for future references. However, make sure that you do so with the permission of school authorities and other concerned attendees.

The teachers might discuss the negative results of your child’s performance, which can make you emotional. The IEP goals address the sensitivity of sharing negative results during IEP meetings and the ways to handle it properly. The IEP is a contractual legal document that is constructed to serve your child's educational needs effectively in the classroom.