How to Prepare for Your IEP Meeting

If this is your first IEP meeting (or if you just want to read up on the topic) this article will help discuss how to prepare for every IEP meeting. Being prepared helps you feel confident and ready. In many states the actual IEP meeting is run by the Special Education teacher or staff. So as a classroom teacher, your role is to come prepared to confidently discuss the student and his/her progress.

HOW TO PREPARE FOR YOUR IEP MEETING

Some of the topics we will cover in this article are:

• understanding the goals of the IEP,
• creating or following the agenda,
• helping with parent concerns,
• what to bring,
• the student’s strengths and challenges,
• how to stay focused,
• how to be creative (what that looks like),
• being open to other ideas.

The MAIN thing a classroom teacher needs to do is COME PREPARED! Some of the items you need to “come prepared” are: student work samples, notes you have taken, test results, other data, behavior documentation, some strengths you have noticed and a list of your concerns.

If the thought of all this preparation is beginning to sound stressful, you should read this article that I wrote…linked here: Teacher Organization – How too Prepare and Stay Focused

You Need an Agenda

There should be an agenda created for the meeting. This is usually the responsibility of the Special Education department. But ask about it at your school if this will be the first IEP you are attending. The agenda should delineate who is responsible for each item on the agenda.

One tip for a welcoming meeting is to make sure someone is sitting next to the parent(s). It should never be the staff on one side of the table and the parents across from them. This format is too intimidating for parents. If no one is sitting next to them, move over there yourself.

Make Sure You have Read the Entire IEP before the meeting

I realize this sounds obvious, but I know that TEACHERS GET REALLY BUSY. But you really MUST read the entire IEP before the meeting. Ideally, you would read it within a week of the student entering your classroom as a student. And if that was the only time you’ve read the IEP, dig it out and glance over it again before the meeting.

You see, you will need to be able to comment on the progress your student has made during their classroom time with you on each of the goals.

Keep Student “Needs” at the Forefront

Keeping the needs of your special student must be at the top of your mind during this meeting. There will be some goals that are written by the team. If this is a second meeting or beyond, the team will review the previous goals and progress made on them. If it’s the very first meeting, goals will be written with team input. The Special Education teacher will have a draft of some goals she is suggesting, but should ask for team input also. This is a good time to suggest some goals you might have for the student (if they haven’t already been listed….remember you read the IEP in advance).

Be open to suggestions for accommodations, modifications, and other ideas. There are differences between accommoodations and modifications. Do you know what they are? If not, you should study up. Here is a graphic I made about the differences in accommodations and modifications, you can download it for FREE (my gift to you).

I also have another article about differentiation that you can read here:

12 Reliable Differentiation Strategies for Teachers

Listening to Parent Concerns

It is crucial that the team listen to the parents and hear about their concerns. The parents have had the child since birth (most of the time – adoptions and foster exceptions). If the student has needs beyond educational learning, the team may include an occupational therapist and a physical therapist.

Most of the classroom teacher’s input will be in regards to learning and behavior issues. When speaking to parents, be sure to highlight the student’s strengths. The team will be discussing all the weaknesses anyway, but parents appreciate hearing the positive things too.

Once when I was teaching fifth grade, one of my RSP students was a gifted artist. He could sketch things and enjoyed drawing. I mentioned this to his parents during a parent conference (and (ater in the IEP meeting) and told them to encourage this talent because it could lead to a profession/job for him as an adult. Even these small tips can have a positive effect on the student and parents.

A Personal Experience

I want to take a moment here to share a personal experience I have with the “family side” of IEP meetings. I have a couple of family members who have had to receive Special Education services and were placed on an IEP. They were not my children, so I was not the parent. But being an educator, the parents asked for my support, so I attended some of the meetings and/or offered suggestions, support and love to the parents of these children.

It is VERY SCARY for a parent to attend their first IEP meeting. The educators need to keep this in mind as they begin the meeting. They are already worried about their “special” child. They have been hoping for many months or years that their child would progress, and become more “normal.” But that didn’t happen for them and now they are facing a room full of grown up experts discussing their precious child.

Stay Focused

During the meeting, stay focused on the students’ needs. Listen attentively to the Special Education teacher. Be sure to add input from your experience with the student. If you disagree with something, decide if it needs attention then or can be discussed with the Special Education teacher later in private.

Be open to some of the goals suggested and the strategies recommended. If you are unsure how to implement the strategies, ask the Special Education Department for help so that you can learn the correct way. If strategies are not working, or making things worse, let the Special Education teacher know so they can be adapted.

Basically, you need to be resilient to make learning work for you special student. Here is an older article I wrote (which is still pertinent information) about being resilient. My Top 17 Tips to be a Resilient Teacher

The final important bit of information I want to give you is to stay open and be creative. Try new things, communicate with the Special Ed Team and with the child’s parents.

Until Next Time,