Questions to Ask for Your Child's IEP

IEP meetings can be confusing at times, even if it’s not your first meeting. The website, Understood for Learning & Attention Issues, www.understood.org has provided parents with a checklist of questions that can help parents be more informed, prepared and confident at their next IEP meeting.

 

Questions to Ask Before the IEP Meeting

·        What is the goal of this IEP meeting?

·        Can we create an agenda for this meeting?

·        May I have a copy of my child’s most recent IEP document to follow along as we talk in the meeting?

·        Could you please provide me with prior access to copies of the notes/reports that we’ll be going over?

·        Who at the meeting will be qualified to interpret the results of my child’s independent educational evaluation?

Questions to Ask During the IEP Meeting

·        How does everyone at the meeting know or work with my child?

·        Could you tell me about my child’s day so I can understand what it looks like?

·        Can you explain how what you’re seeing from my child is different from other kids in the classroom?

·        Could we walk through the current program and IEP plan piece by piece?

·        How is my child doing in making progress toward his IEP goals?

·        What changes in goals would the team recommend?

·        Is this a SMART goal (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Results-oriented, Time-bound-time frame for the goal to be achieved)?

·        How is this goal measured and my child’s progress monitored?

·        How will my child be assessed according to grade level?

·        Who will work on that with my child? How? When? Where and how often?

·        What training does the staff have in this specific intervention?

·        What does that accommodation/instructional intervention look like in the classroom?

·        What support will the classroom teacher have in putting these accommodations/interventions into place?

·        What can I do at home to support the IEP goals?

·        I’d like to see the final IEP before agreeing to any changes suggested at this meeting. When can I see a copy?

·        When will the changes to his program begin?

·        How will we let my child know about any program changes?

·        Can we make a plan for keeping in touch about how everything is going?

·        May I have a copy of the notes the teacher referenced during this meeting?

·        If I have questions about the information I’ve been given about my child’s rights, who’s the person to talk to for answers?

·        Who’s the person to contact if I want to call another meeting?

 

Hopefully by asking these questions, parents can become more active and meaningful members of the IEP team.