Including Parents in IEP Meetings

[Anonymous]

Since teachers are not under contract in the summer, they cannot be required to attend IEP meetings. I always check to see if any of my students' IEP meetings are in the summer and if so, I try to attend if I can. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe her child is in a self contained class or school and the general Ed teacher has no contact with the child?

We had a series of summer IEP meetings when we were arguing over placement and FCPS just sent random general Ed teachers as placeholders to the meetings.

Was there anyone at the meeting who had experience working with your child on a day to day basis?

No. Even the special ed (preschool) teacher did not show up-they had someone there who was "token". No one at any of the several summer meetings had even met my child. Not surprisingly, they were unproductive.

The problem with not having gen ed or sped teachers at the IEP meeting, particularly ones that know your child, is that you may have no one who can attest to "adverse educational impact" of the disorder or "need for special instruction," which are prongs 2 and 3 of qualifying for an IEP. In such a situation, you may show up with paperwork from your psych/dr./neuropsych that proves "disorder" (prong 1), but your report testifies to educational impact in a tangential way, usually supposing impact from test results, or retelling examples of impact that a parent has provided. Sometimes reports have narrative from a teacher form, but since these are usually checklists, it's hard to get concrete data on this. Since neuropsychs are not educational experts, although they often suggest specific instructional approaches, their recommendations in this area can be rejected by IEP teams, who are required only to "consider" the outside report, not to "accept".

The school is obliged, under the law (IDEA), to have a general education teacher (if child is or may be in gen ed at all) and a special education teacher attend the IEP team as members. There is nothing in IDEA (to my knowledge) that says that the gen ed or sped teacher has to be one that knows your child.

HOWEVER, you can leverage two other aspects of IDEA law to force the school to make teachers who know your child show up to the meeting. 1) YOU, as the parent, have the right to invite whomever you want to the IEP meeting as "team" members. I always invite teachers that know my DC and are sympathetic to our interests. I issue the "invitation" in writing via email to the IEP team coordinator and CC to the teacher, saying that we would like the teacher to attend because he/she can describe performance levels and adverse impact of disorder on education and need for special instruction (or lack of progress with gen ed interventions). It puts the school system in a VERY difficult position if the teacher you request doesn't participate in the meeting -- if an adverse decision is made against you without the presence of the teacher you requested, you have a very good case against the school system, particularly if the adverse decision had anything to do with failure to show adverse educational impact of the disorder or need for special instruction.

2) You have a great deal of leverage to consent to the timing of a meeting. NEVER consent to a meeting date without confirming who from the school system has agreed to attend that meeting date. If the school system staffer you need to have present isn't on the tentative list, say that you can't consent to a meeting without key staff that you have invited, that parents have a right to invite people to the IEP team members, and that you can't participate as a full team member if the personnel you view as having key information aren't permitted to attend.

These tactics work better during the school year, since the bottom line is that teachers simply won't be around in the summer because they are on leave. If the school system is forcing you to have a meeting during the summer and you view a teacher as key, you have some other options --

1) get the teacher to document their observations/concerns in writing for input into the summer meeting.
2) ask for the summer meeting to be held during the teacher prep weeks prior to the start of school (usually about mid-August to first day of school)
3) agree to waive the IEP timeline to have the meeting held when you want it -- schools are under a lot of pressure, usually, to meet legal timelines. However, you have the right to waive the timeline. If you do so, I would be very narrow about it.... "I agree to waive the timeline for holding a determination meeting until XXX date (i.e. the date of your promised meeting.)"

[Anonymous]

FWIW, from the MCPS publication, "Problem Solving for Student Success" on page III-8 -- "Holding an IEP Team Meeting if the Parent is not in Attendance -- IDEA 2004 places great emphasis on parent participation in the IEP process. If neither parent can attend an IEP team meeting, MCPS must use other methods to ensure parent participation, including individual or conference telephone calls. An IEP team meeting may be conducted without a parent in attendance if the school is unable to ensure the parent's attendance and has a record of staff attempts to arrange a mutually agreed-upon time and place. Normally, three documented attempts to hold the meeting with the parent in attendance should occur."

From page III-7, "Parents must receive at least 10 calendar days' written notice of IEP team meetings." (with some exceptions for certain kinds of issues that need expedited meetings, like discipline issues, etc.)

The bottom line is that if you repeatedly insist that you want to participate on the IEP team and you provide dates (or continue to counter with dates) when you can attend, it is extremely unlikely that an IEP meeting can proceed without you. If it does, you are in a very good position legally (if you have made your willingness to participate clear in writing).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FWIW, from the MCPS publication, "Problem Solving for Student Success" on page III-8 -- "Holding an IEP Team Meeting if the Parent is not in Attendance -- IDEA 2004 places great emphasis on parent participation in the IEP process. If neither parent can attend an IEP team meeting, MCPS must use other methods to ensure parent participation, including individual or conference telephone calls. An IEP team meeting may be conducted without a parent in attendance if the school is unable to ensure the parent's attendance and has a record of staff attempts to arrange a mutually agreed-upon time and place. Normally, three documented attempts to hold the meeting with the parent in attendance should occur."

From page III-7, "Parents must receive at least 10 calendar days' written notice of IEP team meetings." (with some exceptions for certain kinds of issues that need expedited meetings, like discipline issues, etc.)

The bottom line is that if you repeatedly insist that you want to participate on the IEP team and you provide dates (or continue to counter with dates) when you can attend, it is extremely unlikely that an IEP meeting can proceed without you. If it does, you are in a very good position legally (if you have made your willingness to participate clear in writing).

The law is only as good as the people who follow it. If the school repeatedly violates the law, how can the rights of parents and children be enforced? You are talking $$$, time and energy.

MCPS had a meeting without us last year despite our written notification of a serious unexpected medical event. No attempt to reschedule on their part.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FWIW, from the MCPS publication, "Problem Solving for Student Success" on page III-8 -- "Holding an IEP Team Meeting if the Parent is not in Attendance -- IDEA 2004 places great emphasis on parent participation in the IEP process. If neither parent can attend an IEP team meeting, MCPS must use other methods to ensure parent participation, including individual or conference telephone calls. An IEP team meeting may be conducted without a parent in attendance if the school is unable to ensure the parent's attendance and has a record of staff attempts to arrange a mutually agreed-upon time and place. Normally, three documented attempts to hold the meeting with the parent in attendance should occur."

From page III-7, "Parents must receive at least 10 calendar days' written notice of IEP team meetings." (with some exceptions for certain kinds of issues that need expedited meetings, like discipline issues, etc.)

The bottom line is that if you repeatedly insist that you want to participate on the IEP team and you provide dates (or continue to counter with dates) when you can attend, it is extremely unlikely that an IEP meeting can proceed without you. If it does, you are in a very good position legally (if you have made your willingness to participate clear in writing).

The law is only as good as the people who follow it. If the school repeatedly violates the law, how can the rights of parents and children be enforced? You are talking $$$, time and energy.

MCPS had a meeting without us last year despite our written notification of a serious unexpected medical event. No attempt to reschedule on their part.

File a state complaint --- it's easy.

Or, if there's an outcome you want to contest, you might file for mediation or make a due process claim with an attorney.

FWIW, it's my understanding that while you file a due process claim, the IEP goes back to the pre-contested state.

[Anonymous]

Not to rub it in but this week, one of the school IEP team members had a death in the family and was unable to attend our meeting (also this week). I was given a choice to reschedule or to have the meeting and a 'substitute' would fill in for the absent team member. I chose to reschedule since this team member works closely with my DD. The next day, I got an email from a school team member with proposed dates and a recognition that I'd have to coordinate with our advocate. We agreed on a date and the school team member indicated the formal letter would follow. This is in FCPS. MCPS sounds f'd up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FWIW, from the MCPS publication, "Problem Solving for Student Success" on page III-8 -- "Holding an IEP Team Meeting if the Parent is not in Attendance -- IDEA 2004 places great emphasis on parent participation in the IEP process. If neither parent can attend an IEP team meeting, MCPS must use other methods to ensure parent participation, including individual or conference telephone calls. An IEP team meeting may be conducted without a parent in attendance if the school is unable to ensure the parent's attendance and has a record of staff attempts to arrange a mutually agreed-upon time and place. Normally, three documented attempts to hold the meeting with the parent in attendance should occur."

From page III-7, "Parents must receive at least 10 calendar days' written notice of IEP team meetings." (with some exceptions for certain kinds of issues that need expedited meetings, like discipline issues, etc.)

The bottom line is that if you repeatedly insist that you want to participate on the IEP team and you provide dates (or continue to counter with dates) when you can attend, it is extremely unlikely that an IEP meeting can proceed without you. If it does, you are in a very good position legally (if you have made your willingness to participate clear in writing).

The law is only as good as the people who follow it. If the school repeatedly violates the law, how can the rights of parents and children be enforced? You are talking $$$, time and energy.

MCPS had a meeting without us last year despite our written notification of a serious unexpected medical event. No attempt to reschedule on their part.

File a state complaint --- it's easy.

Or, if there's an outcome you want to contest, you might file for mediation or make a due process claim with an attorney.

FWIW, it's my understanding that while you file a due process claim, the IEP goes back to the pre-contested state.

Been through both processes. Attorneies cost $500 per hour. The investigator for the State Complaint covered the county's ass and did not address the issues in the complaint. The whole system in Maryland is F'd up. That is why MCPS blatantly violates the rights of Special Education children because there are no consequences.