Module 5: Strategies for Leading Effective IEP Meetings with a Focus on Partnerships
The following steps provide a guide for leading effective IEP meetings that address the procedural steps and maintain focus on establishing and maintaining strong partnerships with families (for more information see Esquivel et al., 2008; Cohen et al., 2011; Weaver & Ouye, 2015; LeBlanc & Nosik, 2019). For information about substantive errors in IEP development and tips for avoiding or addressing errors, see Yell et al. (2016).
Specific actions you can take to partner with a family during an IEP meeting include:
- Create a welcoming atmosphere by greeting the family and walk/talk with them to the meeting location.
- Start the meeting with time to build relationships between the individuals attending the meeting.
- Introduce team members, their title, and discuss their roles. In other words, share how each person supports the student.
- Provide an overview of the purpose of the meeting and agreed upon agenda.
- Collaboratively discuss and incorporate family input for each component of the IEP
- How the child currently doing with academics, development, behavior, function (this is called present levels of academic achievement and functional performance [PLAAFP])
- Share assessment data and how it is used to inform decisions in a family-friendly way. If using a graph or chart, describe the main components so that the data can be understood.
- What appropriate, meaningful annual goals should be set. The goals should be SMART- specific, measurable, include action-words, and be realistic, time-limited.
- How progress will be measured, including what data will be collected and why, how it will be collected, and who will collect it.
- What related services are needed to support the student (e.g., interpretive, medical, transportation, occupational, physical, speech, psychological or counseling).
- What accommodations or modifications are needed to support the student. An accommodation is a change in how information is given to a student. A modification is a change in what the student is expected to learn. For example, an accommodation for a spelling test might be increasing the font size or lines for writing the words. An example of a modification might be decreasing the number of words on the list from ten to seven.
- How much time the child will be in the general education classrooms (children have the right to be in the least restrictive environment [LRE] unless the IEP team justifies removal from the general education classroom).
- When, where, how often, and how long services are needed.
- Provide descriptions or show what specialized instruction.
- What needs to be in place to help the child transition to life after high school (starts by age 14; this is called a transition plan).
- How the child currently doing with academics, development, behavior, function (this is called present levels of academic achievement and functional performance [PLAAFP])
- Remind the family that they can take time to review the IEP before signing if they would like. Create a plan to follow up.
- Provide a summary of what has been accomplished and next steps.
Partnership Strategies to Use Throughout the Meeting:
- Use the four basic communication strategies for connecting with families introduced in Module 3.
- Observe and describe the child’s behavior
- Listen actively
- Encourage sharing about the child
- Use open-ended questions to invite family input about their child’s preferences, things they are good at, their needs and services/supports, concerns, and aspirations. Also invite families to share what they have noticed is helpful and is not helpful for supporting their child.
- Make positive, meaningful comments about the student (e.g., things they do well, likes to do at school).
- Provide positive feedback to team members to maintain engagement and to encourage continued participation.
- Support parental competence
- Use every day terms – if jargon must be used, tell what it means.
- Emphasize and build on the family’s funds of knowledge.
- Connect the IEP to the family’s values and long-term goals for the student.
- Advocate for the family and student – meetings can feel overwhelming or intimidating to families. If you have met with the family before the meeting, you can help them plan points they would like to discuss or share the points for them in the meeting.
- Reflect on the family’s level of engagement, identify barriers and provide supports to enhance engagement.
https://www.fryerandhansen.com/education-law/10-questions-ask-childs-upcoming-iep-meeting/
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Advisory Board Feature Individualized Education Program
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“I wish that people knew how much we celebrated each teeny tiny accomplishment of our child. I remember the first time she spontaneously said, “I love you”…I bought her a cake! …I’ll always remember that moment and the first time she put her shoes on or the first time she used the potty, even if it was the age of six. If teachers celebrated every teeny tiny little accomplishment the way that we did at home with our kids, they would feel so good about themselves. But those milestones that other parents take for granted definitely mean so much more in our homes.” Georgia “We wrote in our son’s IEP that each provider at each person on the team had to say three things that related to his IEP that he either achieved or was showing progress towards his goals and it couldn’t be that he was “ so nice, he is always so happy, etc. We wanted to know when he did little things, for example, in a casual conversation, a teacher mention that he walked down steps with assistance. That was not something that he was doing at home, so we greatly appreciated knowing that. It may not seem like such a big thing if you are a teacher/therapist, but for a parent to be told that their child achieved something at school/during therapy, is huge. We are aware of what limitations that society might have for our child- it is always appropriate to provide feedback to the family. Teachers have the hardest job in the world, and Special Ed teachers really have a hard job. I understand that when a teacher might see something in class and they might assume that we see in the home, but many times we don’t because you’re busy, have other children at home who need things and it’s easier to pick them up and go down but if we know he can do it, t maybe need to wait for him to go down so that he can show us what he can do or has learned.” Mary “We had attended a conference one time and so every IEP after that, I had a sheet that was like a business plan for our son that stated when he was 23 years old, he would have a job, he would be able to read and write, he would have friends, he would be healthy, and would be living outside the home. So we approached every IEP as these were his long-term goals, so what do we need to do for his short-term goals so that he can meet those long-term goals. And this is what we’re working towards so that when he turns 21 and ages as to the best of his ability, can he do those? Might have to tweak it as maybe the definition needs to be changed based on what is currently happening. These were the goals that he needed to meet and be successful when he ages out of the educational system. Today, he has a job, he is able to read and write, he has friends, he is healthy and he lives in his own apartment with support. We were able to work with the school district and to keep it on the top of our head. And also the people on his team so that they knew this is what we want for him.” Mary Right at the outset, make room for some emotion at the table. As special educators, we crank out paperwork and can often run through the IEP meeting without much thought. The reminder of making room for emotion because that means, unfortunately, that the child has failed at something to be considering the need for special education. Even when we’re coming from a positive outlook. The reality is that something has been hard. Also, the reminder of keeping the conversation about the child as opposed to the legality of the document. You can follow the document robotically or with some compassion, right? We have to get the big parts in. But getting the message across that we’re wanting to help and support the child in partnership with others around the table is more important. Anne “The whole world of disability can be difficult, emotional, overwhelming. You hear everything your child can’t do so often… It can really hit parents with knowing that. I do realize that the IEP is built on all these needs and how to address them. And you do talk about strengths. But I guess I’d like teachers and service providers to lead more from a strengths-based perspective…not just, we’re going to begin the meeting and the IEP talks about strengths…If we’re going to talk about this reading goal. Hint. Bring up a strength because we’re going to talk about the need and how your child is three levels behind it. It’s hard. It’s difficult. It’s hard…let’s see the good and then dive in to what we need to work on.” [Jenn]
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