IEP Meetings

Kirsten French

IEP (Individualized Education Program)- The Meeting

Description of Research:

-Who is involved?

 The parents have been invited about ten school days ahead of the planned IEP meeting. The other participants have been invited ahead of time as well.

Other participants: A district representative (director of special Ed, principal, or school psychologist), general Ed teacher, the special Ed teachers (speech therapist, learning center teacher, occupational therapist, physical therapist), a parent or guardian and If the student is older they can be involved also.

-Each student with an IEP must have at least one IEP meeting within a year of the previous meeting.

-Team leader goes over basic information and dates with the IEP participants.

What do I Agree with?

Parents have a right to know what their student is going to be working on that is different to regular Ed instruction. Also, their parents deserve to know what their students are going to be missing in the general education meeting.

What do I disagree with?

Even though the IEP meeting is designed to inform the parents and family about the information within their students IEP the unfriendliness of the paper work could be altered for the family so they can understand it. The repetitiveness of some of the parts reminded me of the Ed TPA. There could be less repeating in the actual IEP, so the people taking part in the IEP don’t have to follow so many different parts within the IEP meeting.  

How is this research applicable to you as a teacher?

As a teacher it is important to know what goes on within an IEP meeting. If teachers don’t know what goes on within an IEP meeting they could be blindsided with what actually goes on within the meeting. Having these meetings can benefit the student that has the IEP, so going to the meeting could improve the student’s education.

How is this research applicable to students?

The students are affected by what occurs within the IEP meeting, because their parents have to be able to understand what their student is receiving to sign the IEP at the end of the meeting. The students that have IEP’s are only benefitting from the IEP meeting, because all the educators that are involved within their learning are there to support that student and explain how they receiving the best care and education possible.