The new school year is in full swing, and we know what that means- time to have meetings!
It’s not a secret that teachers attend a ton of meetings. Faculty meetings, parent teacher conferences, PLCs, department meetings, committee meetings, you name it! But probably the meeting that causes the most angst is the IEP meeting. Oh yes, the IEP meeting.
Whether your title is special education teacher, general education teacher, related service provider, parent, family member, or other team member, the IEP process can be enough to make anyone’s eyes boggle. And especially if you’re a case manager and responsible for leading the meeting, it can all feel very overwhelming.
Have no fear, though, Special Ed Safari is here to help! Here are Five Tips for Running Your First IEP meeting!
1. Know the purpose of the meeting and plan accordingly.
There are lots of reasons the IEP team may be meeting- an annual review, to discuss progress, to add or remove services, to review an evaluation, and the list goes on. Make sure that you have copies made, ahead of time, of anything you need (IEP draft, progress report, evaluation report, release of information, whatever the case may be) for the meeting, and that those papers are in the order you’ll need them. It saves a ton of time shuffling and looking for things.
2. Don’t just read the documents.
Everyone hates to have a PowerPoint read to them, right? People don’t want IEPs read to them either. Be confident in your document and don’t just read it to the family. Be thorough, but conversant. Encourage team members to support the discussion of their specific sections.
3. Watch out for jargon.
Special Ed is full of acronyms, specific language, and technical terms that are a language unto themselves. Make sure that all team members, especially parents, family members, and team members who may not be familiar with a specific area, understand what’s being discussed. Support them asking questions, and answer those questions to the best of your ability.
4. Data, data, data.
IEP meetings are not the time for creative descriptions or artful euphemisms. Make proposals based on data that reflects the student’s strengths and needs and be consistent. For example, it doesn’t make sense to propose extensive behavior supports and not have any data about student behavior, right? This means preparing for IEP meetings ahead of time is an absolute must. Also, this probably sounds dumb, but data need to be documented! If you reference data, team members should be able to examine the data; make sure your records are organized in case the team needs to review them.
5. Don’t make things up.
This may sound like a dumb thing to say, and often times people don’t do it to be deceitful, but the end result is the same. If you don’t know the answer to a question, it’s okay to say so and to either a) ask a team member to speak on that subject or b) say that you will find out and report back and then, of course, actually report back. You can never 100% predict what will be asked during a meeting but don’t feel pressure to be on the spot with an answer if you need time to get an accurate one.
Running IEP meetings takes practice, and that is something you’ll get plenty of throughout your teaching career. Use these tips as a starting point, be thorough and knowledgeable, and you’ll be off to a great start!
What’s your best tip for success with IEP meetings? What do you wish you knew when you started running or attending IEP meetings? Share in the comments below!
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