IEP Team Members

Who are on the IEP Team?

Many people ask me, who are the members of this team? When the law states that “the team will determine eligibility and create an Individualized Education Program (IEP)”, who are they?

Here is a visual of the team.

The members include:

·         Parents - This can be one or both parents, foster parents, or an appointed guardian.

·         General Education Teacher – This person brings the knowledge of the grade level standards and how the student behaves in the general education classroom with his peers.

·         Special Education Teacher – This person brings the knowledge of how to modify, adapt and make accommodations to the grade level materials so that the students can access (or understand) the curriculum.

·         Related Service Providers – Occupational Therapist (OT), Physical Therapist (PT), Speech and Language Pathologist (SLP), Counselors, and Adaptive Technology Therapists. This can be several members, depending on the student’s areas of need.

·         School Administrator –Someone from the school who can make monetary decisions.  

·         Additional Members – This can be ANYONE that the family invites to the meeting. Ideally, this person knows the student too. This can be a friend, relative, an educational consultant or anyone that the family wants to invited to help support them. Some families ask a friend or a relative to the meeting to take notes. This can be a fast, emotional meeting. Having someone to take notes is a great way to reflect afterwards. Some families want an educational consultant there to help them use their voice. Educational consultants have observed the student in their classroom, assessed the student, organized reports, analyzed existing data, and helped the parents create a plan – before the IEP meeting.

All members have equal importance, equal say, but different knowledge of the student. This is where is can become tricky. The General Education and Special Education teachers have data to “back up” their knowledge of the student. The parents have a lot too. Although, sometimes they do not feel as if their knowledge is enough. Parents really do know their child the best. They know the student as a whole child. What he likes and doesn’t like, his interests, his behavior in stressful and non-stressful situations, his learning styles, his progress over years, his strengths and needs, his vision, his hopes and dreams for his future.

The most important element on this team is the STUDENT. Notice that the student is in the middle of the circle. Every member brings an important element of this child to the table, to be voiced and heard. I always recommend a picture of the child be brought to the meeting. Literally place the picture of the happy child in the center, when the conversation gets heated or difficult to hear, there is the child, smiling at you, reminding you why you are there….for their future!

The student can actually BE there, at the meeting as well. For younger students this may mean that the parent interviewed them ahead of time, “what do you want to be when you grown up?” “How do you think you learn differently?” “What do you want the grown-ups in your life to know?” For older students, I think it’s ok for the student to be present at the meeting for a couple of minutes or for the whole time. Some topics that are discussed at the meeting can be hard to hear. “The child is in 6^th grade, reading at a 2^nd grade level.” This is when parents use their discretion. Decide how much they can handle and let them be a part of the meeting. It may simply be a few minutes at the beginning or end of the meeting to say, “This is what I want school to look like for me.”

In Massachusetts, students with special needs will start transition planning at age 14.  What will their life look like after high school? This can be another blog topic. But what’s important is that it’s never too early to start the student being his own advocate. “I learn differently, and that’s ok. This is what I need to help me succeed.” Having the student become self-aware and be able to verbalize it, is a great skill.  Not only for students with special needs but for ALL children!

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog and Facebook post. I would love to hear from you. Please feel to leave a comment or ask questions. Also, please feel free to “like” and share my Facebook page, Who’s Learning Now, LLC.

Always learning,

Debbie