It's Back to School/IEP Season!!!

I'm a little bit late on this topic (since I was dealing with my own Back to School/IEP Season), but as parents of special needs know, September is not just about buying a new backpack and the long list of school supplies.  It's also about evaluating your child's IEP, and making sure that it's still appropriate for him and her.

Hopefully, you've already had your pre-school IEP meeting.  I think it's always a good idea to bring the team together before school starts, and discuss what's happened over the summer (good and bad) that may impact the IEP goals.

I'm going to repost some excellent thoughts from my colleague Charmaine Thayer (who has a great website of her own - Visions and Voices Together).  I think Charmaine has a really balanced perspective on parent/school collaborations - optimistic, and still realistic.  Here you go from Charmaine:

Your Back-to-School IEP Check:

1. I understand the goals my child is working on this year and these are still appropriate for my child.

2. Teachers and related service providers are working on the goals, and I know this because ______________________.

3. My child is receiving all the services and supports written on his/her IEP, and I know this because ______________.

4. I do not agree to any amendments to my child’s IEP without considering all of the possible repercussions of an amendment. 

* CAUTION: some parents have been receiving proposed amendments to their child’s IEP to decrease amount of time for services, or change services from direct (actually working with your child) to indirect (consulting with school staff) and asked to “Sign here and send back to school.”

5. I have a communication plan in place to receive daily/weekly communication from people working with my child.

6. I share with school staff what strategies work well with my child.

7. I consider not signing a release (or revoking if I already have) of information between the school and private providers.  Instead, I provide written reports to each party when I think it is appropriate.  If school staff and private providers want to speak to each other, I am on the phone with them, or meeting with them.

8. I thank school staff and recognize when things are going well.

9. I celebrate my child’s successes!

And given the time of the year, it seems like a good time to post some general IEP resources, relevant to any time you're considering an IEP meeting.

IEP Guide: This is a pretty basic primer on your, and your child's rights under IDEA, and how to navigate the IEP process.

NCLD on IEP Teams:  This is a parent-advocate's perspective on the "dream" IEP team....and what is often the ugly reality.  So this is not what I'd call a balanced perspective, but it's certainly one that parents are quite familiar with, and speaks to the frustration and anger that many parents feel. 

As always, Wrightslaw has a variety of really helpful resources, including an email newsletter, the Special Ed Advocate and their website full of archived materials and analyses.

Good luck!