IEP meeting checklist for parents

Before the meeting

• Ask for your child's records. You have the right to review your child's education records, and the school must respond without unnecessary delay and before any IEP meeting.
• Ask for drafts and reports ahead of time. Request any draft IEP, evaluation reports, and progress data a few days early so you aren't reading them for the first time at the table.
• Confirm the time works. The school must schedule the meeting at a mutually agreed time and place. If it doesn't work, ask for another.
• Know who will be there. The team includes you, at least one of your child's general education teachers (if your child is or may be in general education), at least one special education teacher or provider, a district representative, and someone who can explain evaluation results.
• Decide who you'll bring. You may invite someone who knows your child or has relevant expertise, such as a relative, therapist, or advocate.
• Ask for an interpreter if you need one. The school must take steps to make sure you understand the meeting, including arranging an interpreter for parents who are deaf or whose native language is not English.
• Write down your concerns and questions. See our guides to a parent concerns letter and questions to ask.

During the meeting

• Take notes, or bring someone to take them for you.
• Ask what data supports each statement about your child's present levels.
• For every service, confirm how often, for how long, where, and who provides it.
• For every goal, ask how progress will be measured and how often you'll get a report.
• Make sure your concerns are discussed and written into the IEP.
• If you need time, ask whether you can take the IEP home to review before you sign. Rules about signatures vary by state.

After the meeting

• Get a copy of the IEP. The school must give you a copy at no cost.
• Watch for written notice. When the school proposes or refuses a change, it must give you prior written notice.
• Track progress reports and compare them with the goals.
• Speak up when things change. The IEP must be reviewed at least once a year, and you can ask for a meeting sooner if you have concerns.

Sources

• 34 CFR 300.321: IEP Team
• 34 CFR 300.322: Parent participation
• 34 CFR 300.324: Development, review, and revision of IEP
• 34 CFR 300.613: Access rights
• 34 CFR 300.503: Prior notice by the public agency; content of notice

Related guides

• IEP vs. 504 plan: what's the difference?
• How to request a special education evaluation
• IEP accommodations: examples by need
• Prior written notice: what it is and how to ask for it
• Independent educational evaluations (IEEs)
• Special education resources by state
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