A Dozen Red Flags of a Hot Mess IEP Meeting :o

For many parents, the annual IEP meeting is something that incites a great sense of overwhelm, frustration and doom. This is probably one of the reasons that tons of parents don’t even show up. Most of you might find this really hard to believe (because you’re passionately involved in your child’s education), but it’s true, there are schools where less than 25% of the families attend the annual IEP meeting ☹

This not only has a negative effect on their own child’s education, but it impacts other families as well. Think about it… If you are the only parent asking for paraprofessional support so that your child can be successfully included in a regular classroom, that could be the reason they look at you like you’re a crazy person as they tell you that, “Nobody gets that here.” When we ALL show up, systemic change is possible.

 

LOOK OUT!

There are some things to watch out for when it comes to IEP meetings. Being familiar with these in advance will help you recognize what’s possible and how to circumvent certain issues BEFORE they pop up:

 

-          The school calls to set the annual meeting within 3-5 days of the due date. This generally means that they nearly forgot all about you and are scrambling to get it done, OR they typically wing-it and don’t put much thought or emphasis into planning in advance.

-          If you’re in a school district that gives parents a draft of the IEP a week before the meeting, and it’s nowhere to be found, this is cause for concern.

-          The goals in the IEP, or worse yet, the Present Level of Performance, has another student’s name in it. This means that it’s a copy and paste and that the plan isn’t as “individualized” as you might think.

-          The Present Level of Performance only includes testing data from the assessment that they MUST do for all students – state standardized tests. But tests that actually show how your child thinks or what they CAN do are not included.

-          You get to the meeting, and they inform you that they have 30 minutes to get an annual IEP done when this is the first time you’re seeing any information on current assessments or the proposed goals.

-          Before you get to the meeting, the person who runs your IEP meetings tells you that the services will remain as is. That’s called Predetermination and is not permitted in IEP meetings. Do NOT let this happen.  Your input is required under federal law.

-          Goals are generic and you’re not really sure what will be measured to determine if the goal has been mastered. This could be like, “Johnny will know how to make new friends in a year’s time.”

-          There are missing members of the IEP team, or they breeze in and out while the meeting is taking place. The IEP team has 5 required members – for ALL IEP teams (parent/student, general education teacher, special education teacher, local education agency representative, evaluation specialist)

-          You ask for data supporting the claims of the IEP, and team members look at one another as though to say, “You have that information, right?”

-          The same goals appear on your IEP year after year. Students are covered by a law that says that they should make meaningful progress, which is different for each kid, but “meaningful” is not what the supreme court refers to as “de minimis”, which is an ever-so-slight improvement.

-          No one seems to have any answers when you ask, “What else can be done to help my son learn how to read?” (or other areas of learning)

-          Every IEP meeting should include discussion about inclusive education, no matter who your child is and what their needs are. After all, the goal of special education in general is to give kids what they need SO THAT they can be more prepared for a regular education environment. Waiting for the child to change who they are is NOT the answer. It’s the system that needs to change to accommodate the needs of the child. Some kids are included all day, some for just a portion, but the goal for all kids is to move in the direction of the least restrictive environment. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

 

Remember that the IEP is a federally enforced document that gives you and your child protections like nothing else can. If it’s not written, it’s as if it wasn’t discussed, so don’t just talk about it… document it. A great way to do that is to utilize the Parent Input section, which is HUGELY important. Here is where you want to document what your concerns are, what you think your child needs and what you’re providing outside of the school setting. Oftentimes, when a parent puts their concerns and requests in this section, it motivates the rest of the team to get more creative in securing the education that your child deserves. 

Need some guidance?  https://staceyhoaglund.com/

Yes, High Schools Have to Follow IEPs Too

When kids transition to high school especially, teachers (general education teachers mostly, but certainly not all) have a tendency to try to convince parents that if their kids are going to be in general education classes, that they are expected to all of a sudden behave independently. It’s hard to tell sometimes if they themselves actually think that some miraculous transformation happens over the summer before high school, or if they use that as a way to not have to provide the support that kids have needed, and still do.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t ever become independent with anything unless I had either a good instructor that knew how to guide me step by step, or I suffered and struggled for so long that I was finally able to grab onto the last dangling thread that gave me that Oprah Winfrey “a-ha moment” – but those are few and far between.

The expectation that a student would make the transition into high school and all of a sudden have this ability to think and act independently is a bit illogical to me. This is why students with disabilities have IEPs – so that what they need is documented in this legally binding plan. So, while you might have a teacher who doesn’t think your child should have a copy of notes from lectures and study guides to prepare for tests and quizzes, if it’s on the IEP, they must provide it.

We all want our kids to be independent. I’ve never met a parent who didn’t wish they could back off and let things naturally work themselves out. BUT, when you have a child with a disability, #1 that’s hard to do because you want to help them and have the best life that they can, and #2 chances are that they might always need some level of support. Not everyone becomes fully independent. I know plenty of people who don’t have disabilities who come out of one relationship, just to jump into another one because they cannot imagine doing life on their own (but that’s a whole other topic :o)

IEPs Are in Charge

Your child’s IEP has goals. If your child is spending some, or all, of their day in a regular classroom setting, the general education teacher should be an implementer of the goals – and sometimes they’re on all of the goals. This means that they are responsible for working on the goals, just like the special educator. Sadly, I have had general education teachers tell me that they don’t even know how to read an IEP, let alone implement it within their classroom. It’s the responsibility of the LEA (local education agency) representative at your school to ensure that all teachers understand their role in the IEP. If you were to file due process, all persons on the IEP will be held responsible, including the general education teachers.

There is an accommodation section on each IEP. In some school districts it’s called Classroom Accommodations, in others it’s referred to as Supplementary Aids. Either way, these are the classroom accommodations that can and should be provided to help your child access their education. A few of the most important ones for high school, and these just so happen to be the same ones that some teachers tend push back against, are:

• Class notes and study guides
• Reduced assignments
• Change class 3 minutes before the bell rings (for sensory kids)
• Lessons broken down into smaller segments
• Reporting/Collaborating with the parent (on a set schedule)
• Peer assistance (setting up the student with good peer models)
• Access to reference sheets for math

There’s tons more that are important, based on the needs of the student, but these are the ones that I find extremely helpful to high school students who are doing their education in regular classroom settings.

What Do You Do?

If you are one of the many parents out there who are being told that this is high school, things are different here, they're expected to be independent, that's not fair to give your child this accommodation when no one else gets it, that’s not the way things are done in high school, how is giving them notes preparing them for college, etc etc, know that the law is on your side. Schools are required to follow the IEP no matter if a particular teacher agrees with the accommodations on the plan or not. Same thing goes for the goals.

• Read your IEP and look to see who the implementer is of the goals
• Write those people a note and ask how the goals are being implemented in their classroom
• If you see lack of progress, ask for data regarding the goals by the implementers. This is not the Progress Report that comes out quarterly. Ask for the raw data to show the growth or lack of growth on a weekly or monthly basis. I like graphed data, personally.
• Ask the ESE specialist (LEA in most areas) if the teachers have been trained in following IEPs
• Document your concerns if they continue

As in almost any field, when no one questions the status quo, most people end up feeling this is the way we've always done things, and this is the way things will continue. However, just because things have always been done a certain way, doesn't make it right. If you want your child to get the education that they deserve, with whatever support is necessary, then you must be actively engaged in their education. There is no way to ensure that your child receives a great education without your involvement.