The IEP Meeting, Decoded: Who Gets a Chair at the Table

The Required Chairs

Federal law says the IEP team has to include these people:

• You. The parents are members of the team, not visitors to it.
• A regular education teacher, if your child is or might be in the mainstream classroom.
• A special education teacher or provider who knows your child.
• A school district representative who can approve specially designed instruction, knows the regular curriculum, and understands what resources the district has available.
• Someone who can explain the evaluation results in plain language so the team understands them. This can be one of the people above.
• Your child, when it makes sense.

If a seat is empty, it is fair to ask why and to ask for the meeting to happen again when the right people can be there.

The Chair You Get to Add

The rule also lets you or the school invite other people "who have knowledge or special expertise regarding the child." That can be a therapist, a relative, an advocate, or anyone who knows your child well. The school can add people too, so the meeting notice has to say who will be there. Ask for that list ahead of time and tell them who you are bringing.

It Is Your Child's Plan, Not Just Theirs

The school comes with a draft IEP, a vision of what your child needs, and an idea of where to go. You come with the child. The law says your input counts. When the team develops the IEP, it must think about your child's strengths, your concerns about your child's education, the results of recent evaluation, and your child's academic, developmental and functional needs.

Bring your own picture of your child. Before the meeting, write a few sentences about what you want this year, what has been working, and what has not. Hand it over and ask that it stay with the IEP. You do not have to agree with a plan, a goal, or an idea about your child that does not match what you see. You can say you disagree, say why, and ask for the school to answer in writing. A calm, clear statement of what you know in your child goes a long way.

Scheduling: A Mutually Agreed Time and Place

The school has to tell you about the meeting early enough so you can attend. It has to schedule it at a time and place that works for both of you. "Both of you" means it is not enough to announce a date. If you cannot attend in person, the rule allows phone or video. A meeting can happen without a parent only when the school has done the work to try to get you there.

How Often: At Least Once a Year

The team has to look at your child's IEP periodically, but no less than once a year, to see if the goals are being met, and to change the plan if they are not. The School Years page covers how to ask for a meeting sooner when something is not working.

Reevaluation: Every Three Years, Unless You Both Say Otherwise

Your child can be reevaluated no more than once a year unless you and the school agree otherwise. Reevaluation has to happen at least once every three years unless you both agree it is not needed. Notice the pattern: in both directions, you have to agree to any exception.

Three Things Worth Saying

• "Please send me the names and roles of everyone who will attend."
• "I would like to bring someone who knows my child. Who else will be there?"
• "Please put what the team decided in writing." If the answer is no to something you asked for, the disagree-in-writing guide shows what happens next.