Reply to Including Parents in IEP Meetings

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Reply to "Including Parents in IEP Meetings"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]How many times would be acceptable for them to try to reschedule the meeting?  It usually involves getting multiple teachers and support staff together in the same room, so there are limited time slots where it is possible.

You can do it as a phone call if you can't be there in person.[/quote]

This is how I do scheduling in my job.  Before the formal invite, I would check with the people whom I am trying to schedule a meeting with.  The school has my contact information including email and cell phone.  I know the school team usually meets on Wednesday so just ask me to hold several Wednesdays on my calendar till the rest of the team can be confirmed.

Another issue is the delay in getting the invites out.  It usually takes me about 10 days to get the letter via certified mail.  I think it must sit in the office a few days because the stamp on the envelope is 3 days after the letter invite date.  I have offered to pick up the letters at school within 24 hours when ready so they would expedite the delivery and my response plus save $8 in postage.  As it is, I often do not get the legally minimal amount of parental notification when the meeting is.

One complicating factor is when parents have experts, advocates, or attorneys to attend as well.  These are professionals that have other clients and appointments.  [b]I'm sure the school would love for parents and children to be unrepresented at IEP meetings and they try to intimidate and force a meeting even when such tactics are uncalled for. [/b] In the real world, scheduling meetings takes time and coordination.  Parents have the right to bring in professionals that they think would be helpful and schools should be accommodating to everyone's schedules.

It is not rocket science - pick up the phone or email out to get a list of proposed times so parents can know the school's list of preferred times (more than one would be great) and parents can plan to fit into one of those options,[/quote]

This is so  not true.  As a teacher, I desperately want every single person who knows anything about a child in those meetings.  I promise you that the people I work with WANT your child to be successful--truly.

I have attended 20+ IEPs this year as the gen ed teacher in the room, and I assure you that we do our best when it comes to scheduling.  I often end up having to find coverage for my class so I can attend (meaning that 25+ other kids go without a teacher so that one child can have 30 minutes of my undivided attention).  I'm sorry that you are not satisfied with the way your school is handling things.

As for the notification, that is handled by the central office (in FCPS at least).  We write up all the documentation at the school, then send it to the central office who ultimately sends it home to parents.  (Maybe they do something with the info first?  I don't know).  That's why it takes so long.  I agree that it should be electronicized (or whatever the word would be) at this point.[/quote]

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