Tips for Facilitating & Preparing for an IEP Meeting
As a special education teacher one of your big jobs is to case manage and teach students with individualized education plans (IEPs).
What's An IEP? IEPs are legal plans to help students with special needs and create systems to help them in school. IEPs need to be reviewed annually with a student's family/guardian, general education teacher, school administrator, special education teacher, student (if appropriate), and any specialist involved (speech, occupational or physical therapy, vision, advocates, etc.). An IEP outlines goals for student and any accommodations or modifications a student might need for that school year.
I was so nervous at the first IEP meeting I facilitated! It can be nerve wracking to create / share a presentation to a student's family and your colleagues- all while remembering that that is a legally binding document. Today I want to share with some ideas and materials to have a smooth IEP meeting!
Preparing / Writing an IEP
- Give yourself LOTS of time! Writing an IEP takes time & you want to make sure you are creating good goals for a student. Set a reminder 1 month prior to an IEP due date so that you have time to set up a meeting with busy family and admin and you can start gathering data.
- Review Data & Make Sure You Are Taking Data Regularly. You want to be taking data on goals 1X a week to 2X a month - or whatever is written in the IEP. For students where I provide push in services I keep a binder with their goals and a pen- this allows me to take data easily when I'm supporting the classroom. I use book bins to store materials and data sheeting sheets for students who I provide pull out/small group services for. You can make a data day for kids you see multiple times a week. You will need data to monitor student's goal progress and create new goals.
- Collaborate / Be Thoughtful About New Goals. Ask the student's general education teacher for input on creating new goals (as a former gen. edu teacher it's nice to be including and they see the student throughout the day). Write goals that build on their current goals (IE a sentence writing goal can be turned into a paragraph writing goal). PS- don't be afraid to ask for help and input as you brainstorm goals.
- Formating. Different districts have different software and styles that they would like you to use when writing IEPs- it is best to ask your district's compliance coordinator to help you or walk you through formatting and IEP technical questions. (*PS- shout to the district compliance people- they help make sure IEPs are written in accordance to the law & help schools get money! It sucks to hear that you need to edit your work but try to be patient!) I generally format my IEPs the following way:
- Strengths (*be sure to include general education teacher and parent feedback on the strengths!)
- Current Goal & Goal Progress. I copy & paste the previous goal and then say student did/did not meet the goal and why.
- Data Points- share specific dates and data (IE on 1/1/2020 the student got 60% of the Dolch 1st grade sight words)
- Recommendation- I recommend we continue or discontinue this goal and why.
- I like to use a PowerPoint or Google Slide to present the IEP. When I was a general education teacher attending IEP meetings I felt it was overwhelming to stare at tiny print on a huge document and keep up so I put the most important information on slides! I do a slide per goal and proposed goals. Here is a link for the slides I use IEP Slides (they are free!).
- If you can have printed copies of the IEP, family rights, slides, etc. available for people to flip through during the meeting. It is also best to send a copy home to families a few days prior to the meeting for them to look over.
- Make sure that parents feel comfortable. It can be a scary/intimidating thing for a parent to go into a meeting because their student needs extra help in school. Be friendly and allow lots of pauses to allow families to ask questions. I ask families for input on goals/concerns/etc. that they want the team to focus on for that year- this way their voice is included as you draft the IEP.
- Have a "don't forget slide". My district wants parents to have a wet signature for in person meetings- make sure you have any signature pages printed and a pen. I also make sure to scan any paperwork immediately after a meeting so that I don't forget.
