You want the best for your child at every turn, especially when it comes to their education. If your child is one of the 7.5 million students (15% of all public school students) in the United States who receive special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Individual Education Program (IEP) meetings are an extremely important part of the process.
At Celebrations Speech Group, our team of speech therapists and pathologists is here to help you navigate these IEP meetings to ensure that your child gets the special attention and focus they deserve.
As soon as your child qualifies for special education under IDEA, you’re both protected by procedural safeguards, and you should receive a notice that explains these in detail (you can also ask for a verbal explanation).
We suggest you review this document carefully so that you know your rights. If you need clarification, feel free to ask us or the school. These procedural safeguards outline your child’s rights, confidentiality, consent, and more.
Within 30 days of qualifying for special education, you should have your first IEP meeting and the school should inform you of this meeting. From there, IEP meetings are at least annual, but you may request them at any time.
Arguably, your first IEP meeting is the most important as you set the stage for your child’s education. During this meeting, the school’s representatives will review evaluations. We can do our part by ensuring you have these professional and medical documents that outline your child’s challenges and what therapies work best.
For your first IEP meeting (and subsequent ones), we have a few recommendations:
If you forget something during your first IEP meeting, and everyone does, you can always circle back. And, remember, IEP meetings set guidelines for your child’s education, but nothing is written in stone. You can always make changes down the road.
Our team can help you navigate IEP meetings and your child’s education in many ways. First, we work with you to document your child’s challenges and then turn these over to the school.
As we also mentioned, we work with parents before each IEP meeting to ensure that they are fully prepared. We explain everything in easy-to-understand terms — official language can be confusing, and we break it all down for you.
We also routinely work with schools and provide whatever they need to ensure that your child thrives, including specialists that we send to the school.
As your child progresses, we will continue to work with you and the school to ensure that everyone has the tools and resources they need.
If you have more questions about your upcoming IEP meeting or would like help preparing for it, please schedule an appointment at one of our offices in Brentwood, Stockton, or Elk Grove, California.
