Preparing for the Meeting
After a formal evaluation is conducted, the educational team reviews the results and prepares a report. Parents are sent the Parent/Guardian Notification of Conference form inviting them to a meeting at their child’s school to discuss testing results and possible eligibility for special education services. If the parents are not able to attend, they can contact the school and ask that the meeting be rescheduled. If the parents do not request a date change and do not attend the meeting, the meeting can proceed without the parents in attendance.
Generally, the school professionals who have completed evaluations attend the meeting and present their findings. If the meeting cannot be completed within the allotted time constraints, the parent and/or school can request that the meeting be reconvened at a later date. At times, students may be encouraged to attend some or all of their IEP meeting to begin developing self-advocacy skills, especially by the time they reach upper elementary grades.
Convening the Meeting
Following an introduction of all in attendance, the Student Identification Information and Parent/Guardian Information form is passed around for participants to sign in. A signature in this location provides a record of attendance at the meeting and does not indicate agreement with any decisions made during the meeting.
Each of the evaluators reviews his/her results and generally prepares a written report documenting their findings. Written and oral reports from a private evaluator can be submitted at this time. An advocate or a school representative can also participate in reviewing all information presented at this meeting. Any sections from a private evaluation that the school accepts can be entered on the Documentation of Evaluation Results form, along with evaluation data gathered by the school.
Special Note: The school has the right to accept or reject, in part or in whole, the information presented from private evaluations.
If the meeting is for eligibility of an IEP, all evaluators have presented their testing/screening results, the team (including the parents) reviews the Eligibility Determination (All Disabilities other than Specific Learning Disability) form. The team determines if the child meets criteria.
Writing the IEP
If eligibility in one or more disability categories has been determined, the meeting moves to the formal writing of the Individual Educational Plan (IEP). The IEP includes: the child’s strengths, present levels of academic achievement and functional performance (Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance Form). The effects of the child’s disability on involvement and progress in the general education curriculum must be detailed as well.
The IEP team then writes Annual Goals which are specific, measurable and address the deficits identified. For each goal, the child’s current level of academic performance is stated and individual benchmarks are developed. The benchmarks are the smaller steps toward reaching the annual goal. Goals are reviewed by the service provide three or four times a year.
An IEP is a legal document. It is governed under IDEA, the Individual with Disabilities Education Act, which assures that services meet state and federal requirements. District 70 provides services, supports, accommodations as documented in each student’s IEP.
In brief, the IDEIA eligibility process is more involved than that required under Section 504. Instructional services, goals, services, and accommodation under the IDEIA are delineated in a plan called an Individualized Education Program (IEP). The IEP is a legal document which describes the student's disability, instructional supports/accommodations, goals, related services, and other relevant educational programming information. IEPs are also reviewed annually and subject to re-evaluation for eligibility every 3-years.