Parents Deserve Drafts of All Documents Before IEP Meetings

Too many IEP meetings begin with an AEA staff member announcing that the team is going to review a new draft IEP (or BIP, safety plan, etc.) that the parent has never seen. Then they proceed to discuss the document. 

This procedure places all or most parents at a keen disadvantage by giving them only enough time to “see” and “react” to the material during the meeting - but not enough time to think about content sufficiently to give meaningful input.

By withholding drafts from parents until IEP meetings commence, school district and AEA members of IEP teams effectively demonstrate an intent to prevent parents from fully participating as members of their children's IEP teams. 

The IDEA requires districts to ensure that the parents of each child with a disability are members of any group that makes decisions about their child's educational placement. 34 CFR 300.327 ; 34 CFR 300.501 (c)(1). This means that districts must go beyond merely allowing parents to be present at IEP meetings. Substantive harm occurs when LEAs seriously infringe upon a parent’s opportunity to participate in the IEP process. See Bd. of Educ. of the Hendrick Hudson Cent. Sch. Dist. v. Rowley, 458 U.S. 176, 208, 73 L. Ed. 2d 690, 102 S. Ct. 3034 (1982) (“Congress sought to protect individual children by providing for parental involvement . . . in the formulation of the child's individual educational program.”). Parent participation must be more than a mere form; it must be meaningful. See Deal v. Hamilton Cty. Bd. of Educ., 392 F.3d 840, 858 (6th Cir. 2004). 

I strongly recommend that parents give their children's IEP team written notice that they request that at least two school days in advance of their child's IEP meeting, the team provide them with copies of all written documents that will be discussed at the meeting. 

Moreover, Iowa law should not accord fewer rights to parents participating in IEP meetings than it provides to the members of condominium associations who are legally entitled to receive ten days before condominium association board meetings, drafts of all proposals for action to be considered at those meetings. 

To ensure that parents have the opportunity to participate meaningfully in developing their children’s IEPs, I recommend that the Iowa Department of Education amend the Iowa Rules of Special Education to include a rule providing that: “At least two school days before an IEP meeting, the school/AEA is required to provide parents with copies of any written documents that will be addressed at the IEP meeting.”

Who is Required to Attend an IEP Meeting?

Question:  At a recent IEP meeting, both the special education teacher and general education teacher left after 15 minutes. As a result we couldn't finish the meeting agenda.  Does Iowa law say anything about this?

Answer:  Yes.

The school district must ensure that the following members of the IEP team attend the meeting:

a.  At least one parent of the child;

b.  At least one regular education teacher of the child;

c.  At least one special education teacher of the child;

d.  A representative of the school district who:

     (1) Is qualified to provide, or supervise the provision of, specially designed instruction to meet the unique needs of children with disabilities;

      (2) Is knowledgeable about the general education curriculum; and

      (3) Is knowledgeable about the availability of resources of the school district.

e. An individual who can interpret the instructional implications of evaluation results, who may also be the same person as the person described in b-f.

f. At the discretion of the parent or school district, other individuals who have knowledge or special expertise regarding the child, including related services personnel as appropriate.

Congress felt so strongly about the attendance of these people at IEP meetings that the IDEA and its implementing regulations require that if the IEP Team will discuss or modify any part of a child’s IEP related to the area of expertise of the Team member seeking to be excused, that before the parent makes written consent to excusing that member, the school district must first:

a.  fully inform the parent IN ADVANCE OF THE MEETING of all information relevant to the excusing the specific type of person,

b.  make sure the parent consents in writing to the excusing the required person, and the consent identifies the specific meeting for which the excuse applies.

c.  make sure the parent understands that granting of consent is voluntary and may be revoked at any time.

If a meeting involves a matter in an IEP team member’s area of curriculum or related services, that member may not be excused from any part of an IEP meeting unless:

1.  the parent, in writing, and the public agency both consent to the excusal; and

2.   the member submits, in writing to the parent and the IEP team, input into the development of the IEP prior to the meeting.

See Iowa Admin. Code r. 281-41.321.

Bullying of Students with Disabilities in Public Schools

In August, the U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) reached out again to educators, school administrators, and parents, in an effort to address the needs of students with disabilities subjected to bullying by other students.  In its Dear Colleague letter, OSERS provided an overview of the related school district responsibilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). 

OSERs restated that bullying of a student with a disability which results in the student not receiving meaningful educational benefit constitutes a denial of a free appropriate public education (FAPE) under the IDEA.   It noted that even when bullying does not rise to that level, it can interfere with a student’s academic development.  OSERS further noted that students with disabilities are disproportionately affected by bullying, and that students who are bullied are more likely to experience lower academic achievement and aspirations, higher truancy rates, feelings of alienation from school, poor relationships with peers, loneliness, or depression.   It further indicated that the impact of bullying in the school environment can “foster fear and disrespect and negatively affect the school experience, norms, and relationships of all students, families, and school personnel.”  

OSERS stated that as part of an appropriate response to reported bullying of a student with a disability, the school should convene the IEP Team to examine whether changes are needed in the student’s IEP in order to ensure that it is designed to provide the student with a meaningful educational benefit.   If the team finds that that additional or different special education or related services are needed, it must revise the IEP accordingly.  The letter further noted that parents have the right to request an IEP Team meeting at any time, and public agencies generally must grant a parental request for an IEP Team meeting where a student’s needs may have changed as a result of bullying.  If a student with a disability engaged in bullying behavior, OSERS states that the IEP Team should review the student’s IEP to determine if additional supports and services are needed to address the inappropriate behavior.  In either case, OSERS recommended that the IEP Team and other school personnel should consider examining the environment in which the bullying occurred to determine if changes to the environment are warranted. 

In concluding the letter, OSERS encouraged the state agencies and school districts to reevaluate their policies and practices in regard to bullying, and provided them with an attached resource titled: “Effective Evidence-based Practices for Preventing and Addressing Bullying,”   The entire document and attachment are available at:  http://www2.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/idea/memosdcltrs/bullyingdcl-8-20-13.pdf

Should You Excuse an AEA Consultant from an IEP Meeting?

I frequently receive questions from parents asking about whether specific teachers or consultants “must” attend IEP meetings.   Here are a few questions and responses:

Question 1:  I went to my son’s IEP meeting which had called to discuss changing his speech therapy services.  The speech and language pathologist (SLP) who has been doing his therapy was on the list of people who were supposed to be at the meeting.  When I arrived, the area education agency facilitator (a former AEA social worker) asked me to sign a form excusing the SLP’s attendance because he had excused the SLP from the meeting.  I responded that I should have been asked to excuse the SLP before he held the meeting, and that I would have said no and asked that it be scheduled when she was available.  The facilitator said it didn’t matter whether the SLP could come because he had received an email report from her.  I didn’t sign the excuse form, the emailed report wasn’t helpful, and the meeting was a waste of time (and used up two hours of my vacation time).   Can I keep this from happening again? 

Answer:   To keep this from happening again, you may want to try sending a copy of the following answer to the members of your son’s IEP team. 

The AEA facilitator had no business excusing the SLP and convening the meeting without her.  As soon as he knew of the SLP’s unavailability, he should have asked you if you were willing to excuse her, and if you said no, the meeting should have been re-scheduled for a time the SLP could attend. 

Parents have no obligation to excuse a specified teacher or area education agency consultant from an IEP meeting.  They should not do so if there any chance that the person’s expertise and knowledge apply to IEP topic that may be discussed or modified at the meeting. 

Congress felt so strongly about this that the IDEA and its implementing regulations require that if the IEP Team will discuss or modify any part of a child’s IEP related to the area of expertise of the Team member seeking to be excused, that before the parent makes written consent to excusing that member, the school district must first:

(a)          fully inform the parent of all information relevant the excusing the specific type of person, and must do this in the parent’s native language, or other mode of communication.  

(b)          make sure that the parent consents in writing to the excusing the required person, and the consent writing describes the specific meeting for which the excuse applies.

(c)           make sure the parent understands that his or her granting of consent is voluntary and may be revoked at any time.

A member of an IEP may be excused from attending an IEP meeting, in whole or in part, if the meeting involves a modification to or discussion of the member’s area of the curriculum or related services, if: 

(1)  the parent, in writing, and the public agency consent to the excusal; and

(2)  the member submits, in writing to the parent and the IEP team, input into the development of the IEP prior to the meeting.