I’ve attended more IEP meetings than I can count. Or even care to count. I get it–parents only call in a Special Education Advocate when there’s trouble. If you were happy with things, you wouldn’t need help, right?
But that means that as an advocate, I get to see a lot of crappy IEPs. And it’s a question that I get from parents often. They want to know how to tell if their IEP is solid. Is it sufficient? Is it decent? How do I know?
How to Tell if your IEP or 504 is Garbage.
Make sure you stay tuned to the end, because there are solutions.
The Present Levels section does not describe your child at all.
Look at your Present Levels Section of the IEP. If you read it and didn’t see your child’s name on the forms, would you know it was them? This is your starting point. The Present Levels section of the IEP is considered by many to be the most crucial section of the IEP because it is the section that drives the IEP. IEPs are needs-based. The goals written will be based on needs listed in Present Levels.
You never receive any Progress Monitoring Reports.
Getting a solid IEP is just the start. And the progress monitoring section is one that often gets overlooked. Look at yours and what you should be receiving. Are you? And is it enough? Is the IEP team re-convening to discuss and make adjustments if the reports show minimal progress? You have to think about the child’s progress all the time, not just at IEP renewal time.
The IEP Goals are not meaningful or measurable.
Your child’s goals are going to be based on the needs listed in Present Levels. But, they also need to be meaningful, appropriate, and relatively attainable with the right supports and services. Will these goals get your child to where they can be? Are they putting your child on the right path toward your vision? I once had a client whose transition plan said, “She likes to braid hair.” How is that meaningful or measurable? You can build goals from that activity, but it’s not a stand-alone goal or plan.
Your IEP Meeting was a Jiffy Lube version.
IEPs are supposed to be collaborative, not directive. Tell me if your IEP Meeting looks like this: You go to the meeting, not having received much, if any, correspondence ahead of time. Someone reads the IEP out loud. A few points are discussed, but most communication is directive rather than collaborative. You sign a few forms and you’re out the door. Sound familiar? It’s a common Parent IEP Mistake.
The IEP team and your family do not share the same vision.
What’s the plan? College? Vocational training? If your IEP team doesn’t know what the target destination is, how can they be expected to be on the right path? You can’t map out a journey if you don’t know the destination. Sit down as a family, create your IEP Vision Statement, and ensure the team is aware of it. Your child also needs to participate in the IEP process to the maximum extent possible.
IEP Goals disappear from year to year.
Shameless self-plug here, but only because it’s a necessary and valuable product. I created and sell the IEP toolkit, and some of the packages come with an IEP Goal Tracker. It’s a very helpful tool that allows you to track IEP goals from year-to-year as new IEPs are developed. That way, goals don’t disappear. Disappearing IEP goals tells me that you have an IEP team that only considers September to May, and is not focused on age 18 or 21 like parents are. See Item 5 above. The team needs to be focused on the end result, not just this school year.
The IEP Meeting is the only part of the IEP process that you participated in.
And, you didn’t submit a Parent Concerns Letter. Parent Participation in the IEP process does not begin and end with attending the IEP meeting. You need to fully engage all year long. And, there are 5 parts of the IEP process that are particularly conducive to parent participation. You should do all of them, to the maximum extent possible. If you’re not participating, of course your IEP is not going to reflect your concerns and your priorities.
You Never Read your IEP Procedural Safeguards
Your IEP Procedural Safeguards is your booklet of parents’ rights. Schools can tell if you haven’t read them. Yes, we all have tons of them. Read them. Particularly Prior Written Notice or PWN. Prior Written Notice clearly states that concerns and requests made by the parents must be accepted or rejected — and that the IEP team must list the reasons for accepting or rejecting the parent’s proposal. If you don’t read them, you’re probably being taken advantage of.
Accommodations are generic.
Accommodations are generic and likely what is going on in every classroom, every day, for every student. Or, it appears to be a list of accommodations that get used for every 504 or IEP. (copy and paste) You may even be told things like, “Oh we put this on all 504 plans.”
There’s no commitment from the school to provide the accommodation.
Look for tricky words like “student will have access to…” or “student will have the opportunity to…” Opportunity does not equal accommodation. For example: ‘Student will receive the teacher’s lecture notes after each class’ is much different from ‘Student will have access to the teacher’s lecture notes.’ The accommodations need to be deliberate, not just a nice idea.
Sound Familiar?
If any of this sounds familiar to you, it’s time to get serious about your child’s IEP or 504 plan. But–help is available! Other ways I can help you with IEPs:
