Top Ten Mistakes Parents Make in IEP Meetings

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Top Ten Mistakes Parents Make in IEP Meetings

By: Matt Foley, M.Ed and DeAnn Hyatt Foley, M.Ed., Parents, Lubbock, Texas

(Reprinted with permission from the Texas School for the Blind and Visually

Impaired and the

Kentucky School for the Blind)

Editor's Note: While reading through various articles and looking at various

websites, a friend of

mine came across an article that contained information that would have

helped my wife and I

immensely when we started down the " IEP Road " . I thought it would be very

beneficial to share this

article with my readers. Although this article is based upon the federal

regulations, some of the

language or terms used within this article may be slightly different than

what is used in your

state since new regulations have been drafted. If you have any questions or

need clarification,

please feel free to email KSB Family Support Specialist Mitch Dahmke at

mitch.dahmke@....

1. BELIEVING THE PROFESSIONALS ARE THE ONLY EXPERTS

It can be very intimidating to sit at a table with several educators and

professionals.

Professionals/educators do bring a great deal of knowledge and experience to

the table. Though most

parents do not have a background or degree in education, they have a great

deal of knowledge and

experience regarding their child. Parents are the experts in their own

right. They provide

historical information and the big picture from year to year. They know what

works and does not

work with their child and can be a great asset to the IEP team.

Parents also have an intuitive sense as to what is appropriate for their

child. After working with

parents for nine years, we are still amazed at how parents are usually

intuitively correct about

what will work for their child. We encourage parents to follow their

hunches, if something does not

sound right, check it out. Usually after some research parents will discover

their hunch was

correct.

2. NOT MAKING REQUESTS IN WRITING

Any request a parent makes needs to be in writing. This includes requests

for assessments, IEP

meetings, correspondence, related services, etc. Written requests are

important because they

initiate timelines that the school district must follow in response to your

request. This will also

create a paper trail. When you write a letter be sure to send it certified

mail. When you have a

discussion by phone with a school official, write a letter that briefly

outlines what you talked

about. Documenting your conversations helps prevent miscommunication.

Documenting requests (i.e., teaching assistant, speech, etc.) for the IEP

committee clarifies to

the committee what you are requesting and allows you to use your own words

(as opposed to the note

taker paraphrasing your request). We encourage parents to type exactly what

they think their child

needs and list why they think it is educationally necessary. This helps

parents think through why

they are requesting a service for their child. Have the IEP committee record

the written request as

part of the IEP. At this point, the IEP committee has one of two choices;

the committee can accept

or deny the request. If the committee denies the request then they must

follow the procedural

safeguards in IDEA and provide written notice of why they are denying the

parents' request. This

method makes it difficult for an IEP committee to tell parents " no " without

thinking through the

options. If the request is not written down then the school district is not

obligated to provide

the service. Make sure you write it down.

3. NOT BEING FAMILIAR WITH PRIOR NOTICE SECTION OF THE PROCEDURAL SAFEGUARDS

(34CFR300.503)

All sections of the Procedural Safeguards are important to parents. This

particular section gives

parents some leverage during IEP meetings. Whenever parents make a request

for their child in the

IEP meeting, the IEP committee is required under Prior Notice to provide the

parents with written

notice within a reasonable period of time. This notice must include the

following:

( Content of notice

1. A description of the action proposed or refused;

2. An explanation of why the agency proposes or refuses to take the action;

3. A description of any other options that the agency considered and the

reasons why those options

were rejected;

4. A description of each evaluation procedure, test, record or report the

agency used as a basis

for the proposed or refused action;

5. A description of any other factor that is relevant to the agency's

proposal or refusal

(34CFR300.503)

We have found many instances where a parent requests an assessment or

service only to have the IEP

team tell the parent it cannot be done. By making all requests in writing

and by requiring the IEP

team to provide Prior Notice, the parent makes the team accountable for its

decisions. This

practice also takes issues out of the emotional arena, allowing all team

members to focus on IDEA

standards.

4. REQUESTING A RELATED SERVICE INSTEAD OF AN ASSESSMENT THAT SUPPORTS THE

NEED FOR A RELATED

SERVICE

Many times parents will request services such as speech, occupational

therapy, physical therapy,

etc. in the IEP meeting. Frequently the IEP committee will respond by

stating that the student does

not need the service. We recommend that parents do not request the service

but request the

assessment that supports the need for the related service. For example,

instead of requesting

speech for your child request a speech assessment. Only a certified or

licensed professional is

qualified to determine if a child needs or does not need a particular

related service. As in number

2, list the reasons why you think an assessment is educationally necessary

for your child and

submit your request to the IEP committee as part of the IEP.

5. ACCEPTING ASSESSMENT RESULTS THAT DO NOT RECOMMEND THE SERVICES YOU THINK

YOUR CHILD NEEDS

Sometimes parents receive assessment results that do not accurately describe

their child and/or do

not recommend the amount and duration of services the parents think their

child needs. Under 34 CFR

300.502 Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE), parents of a child with a

disability have the

right to obtain an independent evaluation at public expense if they disagree

with the results of

the school's assessment. When the parent requests the IEE (in writing) the

school has one of two

choices; they may either provide the IEE in a reasonable period of time, or

they may take the

parents to due process. When an IEE is agreed upon, parent and school must

come to an agreement as

to who is qualified to assess the student. The examiner for an IEE cannot be

employed by the school

district. Parents should request the school district policy on guidelines

and qualifications for

their examiners.

6. ALLOWING THE ASSESSMENT INFORMATION TO BE PRESENTED FOR THE FIRST TIME AT

THE IEP MEETING

Parents are entitled to have the assessment information explained to them

before the IEP meeting.

We encourage parents to have the person who administered the assessment give

them a copy of the

report and meet with them to explain the report several days before the IEP

meeting. This enables

the parents to think through the information from the assessment, it only

makes sense for the

parents to be knowledgeable and informed about the assessment results in a

way they can understand.

7. ACCEPTING GOALS AND OBJECTIVES THAT ARE NOT MEASURABLE

Measurable goals and objectives are paramount for your child's IEP. Without

measurable goals and

objectives, it is difficult to determine if your child has had a successful

school year. In working

with parents, we have encountered many IEP goals and objectives that are not

measurable. All goals

and objectives come from assessment data. Assessment has four different

components:

1. Formal assessment (ex. WIAT, Woodcock-, Brigance)

2. Informal assessment (ex. classroom work)

3. Teacher/parent observation, and

4. Interviews

After the information has been collected about the student, it is compiled

into an assessment

report. Recommendations on how to work with the student are listed toward

the end of the report. If

you receive an assessment report that does not give you recommendations for

potential goals and

objectives, the assessment is not complete. After the assessment has been

completed, the IEP

committee determines the student's present level of performance (PLOP) and

states what the student

is currently able to do. The committee then develops the IEP goals and

objectives. The goals state

what the student is expected to accomplish by the end of the year.

Objectives break the goal down

into increments. For example: PLOP: Based on the Brigance and classroom work

ny is currently

able to read on a fourth grade level with 90% mastery. Goal: By the end of

the school year ny

will be able to read on a fifth grade level as measured by the Brigance and

classroom work with 80%

mastery. Objectives: * By October 1, ny will be able to read fourth

grade, second month level

with teacher assistance as measured by the Brigance and classroom work with

80% mastery. . By

January 1, without teacher assistance ny will be able to read on a

fourth grade, sixth month

level as measured by the Brigance and classroom work with 80% mastery. A

method of determining if

your goals and objectives are measurable is to ask someone who is not on

your IEP team to read them

(ex. a teacher, another parent, advocate, etc.). Then ask, " Hypothetically,

if you were to go into

the classroom, would you be able to see my child working on these goals and

objectives? " If someone

outside of your IEP team cannot answer " yes " , then your goals and objectives

are not measurable.

8. ALLOWING PLACEMENT DECISIONS TO BE MADE BEFORE IEP GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

ARE WRITTEN

Many times after assessment information is discussed, the IEP committee will

determine the child's

placement. Goals and objectives are always written before placement is

discussed. To ensure that

the child is placed in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) the IEP

committee must determine:

.. Which of these goals and objectives can best be met in the general

classroom?

.. With the remaining goals and objectives that cannot be met in the general

classroom the committee

determines:

.. Which of these goals and objectives can best be met in the general

classroom with modifications

and support?

This line of inquiry continues until all placement options have been decided

upon for all the goals

and objectives. The committee must always start with the LRE and then work

toward a more

restrictive environment as necessary. IDEA is very clear that the IEP

committee must always

consider the general education classroom as the first option for students

with disabilities.

9. ALLOWING YOUR CHILD'S IEP MEETING TO BE RUSHED SO THE SCHOOL STAFF CAN

BEGIN THE NEXT CHILD'S

IEP MEETING

This practice is particularly common at the end of the school year when

educators are frantically

trying to have IEP meetings for all the students who receive special

education services. IEP

meetings may be held one right after another. There is no problem with this

practice as long as the

members of the IEP team feel that all issues have been adequately discussed.

Many times, however,

parents feel rushed. It is important that all issues are adequately

addressed before ending the IEP

meeting. When the educators have not given themselves adequate time to

address all relevant issues,

request that the IEP team meet again at a more convenient time to further

discuss your child's

education.

10. NOT ASKING A LOT OF QUESTIONS

It is very important to ask questions and lots of them. Educators use many

terms and acronyms

specific to special education. Parents may become confused when these terms

are used during the IEP

meeting. This can add to the frustration that a parent may already be

feeling when they do not

understand what is being said. It is important to ask what the terms or

acronyms mean. Unless a

parent has a background in special education they are not expected to know

the terms and acronyms.

Informed decisions cannot be made when parents do not understand what is

being discussed.

The preceding is a short list of common mistakes parents make during the IEP

meetings and some

suggestions for avoiding these mistakes. At some point in time we have made

all the mistakes listed

above. We developed the habit of debriefing after every IEP meeting as to

our performance during

the meeting. We have gradually accumulated information and developed skills,

and we continue to

trust our intuition.

We have found that when parents apply the suggestions listed above while

working with their IEP

team, they will see the results. It is important that parents continue to

accumulate information

and develop skills relating to the IEP process. Do not be discouraged in

your pursuit to obtain the

supports and services your child needs. We found it helpful to break the

process down into small

steps. When you use the suggestions listed above you will be that much

closer to obtaining your

child's Free Appropriate Public Education. After using each suggestion

listed, pat yourself on the

back for becoming an even better advocate for your child.

To receive an electronic copy of Parent to Parent, or to submit an article,

e-mail Mitch at

mitch.dahmke@... or phone 502-897-1583, ext. 221.

Additional Resource

Do you live in Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Arkansas or Iowa? There's an

online resource that can

help you through the IEP process.

Special Education Parent's Advocacy Link , LLC (SEPAL) are advocates in the

public schools for

parent's who have children with special needs; they are also parents of

children with disabilities.

Marilyn McClure is a due process hearing panel member in Missouri and is an

advocate for parents

who have children in the public schools.

SEPAL can assist you in drafting a child complaint for submission to your

state's education agency.

Child complaints are used when a parent disagrees with what the school

is/isn't doing for their

child with an IEP. Often, parents can accomplish what otherwise would have

necessitated a lengthy

due process hearing. SEPAL attends IEP meetings at the school with the

parent. SEPAL attends 504

accommodations meetings too. SEPAL has a network of advocates in Missouri

and Kansas who can serve

parents in those areas with their special education concerns including

learning disabilities,

autism, and other special needs.