{"id":9303,"date":"2013-04-04T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-04-04T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/?p=9303"},"modified":"2016-06-29T18:10:21","modified_gmt":"2016-06-29T22:10:21","slug":"tips-tricks-for-getting-effective-ieps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/tips-tricks-for-getting-effective-ieps\/","title":{"rendered":"Tips &#038; Tricks for Getting Effective IEPs"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_pop\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/gallery\/share-button-gray.png\" style=\"border:0px\" alt=\"Share\" \/><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"StumbleUpon\",\"Digg\",\"Reddit\",\"Bebo\",\"Delicious\");var hupso_icon_type = \"labels\";var hupso_background=\"#FFFFFF\";var hupso_border=\"#FFFFFF\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_twitter_via=\"wrightslaw\";var hupso_url=\"\";var hupso_title=\"Tips%20%26%20Tricks%20for%20Getting%20Effective%20IEPs\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div><p>Things I have learned through the years that have helped me get a program to meet my children\u2019s needs.<\/p>\n<p><strong>1.\u00a0 Knowledge is power.<\/strong> I learned as much as I could about the law.\u00a0 I used the internet, library and support groups.\u00a0 There is a wealth of support groups online. Find one right for you. Use your knowledge to even the playing field with the school.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/images\/bs\/mtg.discussion.jpg\" width=\"523\" height=\"353\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>2.\u00a0 Prepare for the IEP meeting.<\/strong> I always requested a DRAFT version of the IEP, 5 days in advance, so I would have time to read it.\u00a0 I had a professional (physician, neurologist, advocate, attorney) review it as well prior to the IEP meeting.\u00a0 This allowed more time for discussion at the meeting versus wasting time reading the IEP. It also helped me to be ready to discuss items that were well-written or important items that were not included.<\/p>\n<p><strong>3.\u00a0 Request any evaluations the school gave your child.\u00a0<\/strong> I always requested a DRAFT copy of all of my child\u2019s evaluation results, 5 days in advance, to review with any professionals I deemed necessary.<\/p>\n<p><strong>4.\u00a0 Carefully review the IEP.<\/strong>\u00a0 I always had a rule never to sign the IEP at the meeting until I took it home to look at it \u201cone more time.\u201d\u00a0<!--more--> I have appreciated this rule many times. In every IEP meeting there are always changes based on discussions, information from other teachers, etc. If you try to \u201cwrite\u201d the IEP during these discussions, you will list information incorrectly or miss information or just plain misunderstand. The school would have everyone sign the IEP and give me a DRAFT version without the last page. Once I was satisfied with the draft, I would return it and sign the last page.\u00a0 Then I would get a final copy of the official IEP to take with me.<\/p>\n<p><strong>5.\u00a0 Create a paper trail.<\/strong> Write request letters and follow-up letters on important issues (i.e., specific items promised, discussed requests for evaluations or follow-up).\u00a0 Document everything.<\/p>\n<p><strong>6.\u00a0 Use expertise from other professionals.<\/strong> I have requested letters from professionals (math tutors, speech tutors, reading tutors, etc) who knew my children. I asked them to come to the IEP meetings in person on various occasions.\u00a0 This adds much professionalism to the meeting.\u00a0 They \u201cspeak the same language\u201d as the teachers and get their point across regarding my children better than I can.\u00a0 Be prepared to pay for these people to come in person.\u00a0 It will cost less money than hiring an attorney and is less adversarial.<\/p>\n<p><strong>7.\u00a0 Tape record meetings.<\/strong>\u00a0 I always bring a good digital tape recorder to the meeting.\u00a0 I let the IEP team know in advance that I am bringing one.\u00a0 The main reason is I don\u2019t have to be a note taker versus an active participant. Having the meeting on tape makes it clear what everyone said.\u00a0 I find that people act more professionally and do not make incorrect statements when you record meetings.<\/p>\n<p><strong>8.\u00a0 Make sure your child\u2019s teachers have a copy of the IEP.<\/strong>\u00a0 I go to the school with several copies of my child\u2019s IEP on the first day the teachers are with my child. (I always ask permission before I show up.)\u00a0 I have found that many teachers never get a copy of my child\u2019s IEP.\u00a0 They are unaware of what supports or modifications\/ accommodations my child requires.\u00a0 If my child acts badly when the proper supports are not in place, the teacher gets a bad first impression of my child for the rest of the quarter. Very often the entire year goes badly after that.<\/p>\n<p>I take my child and the IEP. We meet for just a few minutes, discuss informally some items, and leave a copy of the IEP.\u00a0 His teachers are usually grateful to know what is going on and what to expect.\u00a0 It starts the year off much better.\u00a0 If I cannot meet with the teachers for some reason I give the copies to the school secretary at the office and request that a copy be put in each teacher\u2019s mailbox with a note attached.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>Tip:<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0 Follow-up with a phone call or email just in case.<\/p>\n<p><strong>9.\u00a0 Maintain a professional image.<\/strong> Please remember that dealing with the school is a \u201cprofessional business style relationship,\u201d not a friendship.\u00a0 If you are friends in the end that would be a bonus.\u00a0 Many parents are surprised when school personnel do not want to provide certain services or act inappropriately.\u00a0 When I became more knowledgeable about the IEP process and started asserting my child\u2019s rights, I often became friends with a teacher.\u00a0 What happened at the IEP meetings stayed in the meetings and teachers never took it out on my children.<\/p>\n<p><strong>10.\u00a0 Don\u2019t hesitate to request an IEP review when needed.<\/strong> The minute things started going wrong (i.e., grades dropped, the IEP was not being followed, supports were not put in place or sporadic, my child telling me there are issues, etc.) I would request an IEP meeting.\u00a0 I sent a letter to the principal or special ed director to request a meeting, explained why, and suggested what dates and times would work.\u00a0 They always responded. We were able to resolve the issues before they got worse.\u00a0 My children were the type that if I allowed anything to continue or fester it would only make things worse.\u00a0 Some parents only think IEP meetings are once a year. You may request an IEP meeting anytime your need to.<\/p>\n<p>Nothing is foolproof and nothing is perfect.\u00a0 I just did the best I could for my children. These tips and tricks worked well for me most of the time.<\/p>\n<p>I hope that some of these ideas are helpful to you.<\/p>\n<p>______________________________________________<\/p>\n<p>Sharon Lutz (Sharon L.) of Ohio is a parent of 3 sons with learning disabilities (ADHD and Dyslexia). Sharon is an advocate for her sons and has 25 years of experience working with school districts and the IEP process.<\/p>\n<p>Sharon enjoys\u00a0sharing information with other parents so they can benefit from her experiences and is the author of &#8220;<span style=\"color: #000080;\"><a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/If-Can-Do-Anyone-resource\/dp\/1517342066\/ref=sr_1_1? ie=UTF8&amp;redirect=true&amp;tag=thespecialedadvo\">If I Can Do It, Anyone Can: A Resource Book for Parents of Learning Disabled Children<\/a><\/span>&#8221;\u00a0and a member of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LDAAmerica\/\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Learning Disabilities Association of America<\/span>.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Sharon started a parent advocate group. Members shared ideas and strategies and provided information to parents and the community. For more information, please contact Sharon at <a href=\"mailto:helpgrouponline@twc.com\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">helpgrouponline@twc.com<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.smashwords.com\/profile\/view\/SharLutz\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">https:\/\/www.smashwords.com\/profile\/view\/SharLutz<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.smashwords.com\/books\/view\/575195\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">https:\/\/www.smashwords.com\/books\/view\/575195<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/helpgrouponline.com\/\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">http:\/\/helpgrouponline.com\/<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Visit HELPgrouponline.com at<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.yellowpagesforkids.com\/help\/oh.htm\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">http:\/\/www.yellowpagesforkids.com\/help\/oh.htm<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Things I have learned through the years that have helped me get a program to meet my children\u2019s needs. 1.\u00a0 Knowledge is power. I learned as much as I could <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/tips-tricks-for-getting-effective-ieps\/\">Continue Reading \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[1299,273,358,1319,914,373],"class_list":["post-9303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ieps","tag-ieps","tag-paper-trails","tag-parent-tips","tag-strategies","tag-tape-recording-meetings","tag-tips"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9303"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9303\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17414,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9303\/revisions\/17414"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}