My child is struggling 
Now that my child has 
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Read Between the IEP Lines
Now you have the basic framework and language inherent to your child’s IEP. So what’s the problem? Why do most parents cringe when it is “that time of year again”? Do you sit in your child’s IEP team meeting feeling like a foreigner and non-participant? Do you have questions about your child’s IEP that go unanswered during the meeting? Do you take the IEP home and read it, only to find that what you discussed and thought you agreed to during the IEP team meeting has not been documented? Like invisible ink, did services disappear? Worse? Do you not read the IEP and then get upset when your child is receiving less speech and language or occupational therapy than you remember agreeing to at the IEP team meeting?“If it is not written down, it was not said. If it was not written down, it did not happen.” So says Pete Wright, one of our nation’s most renowned and respected attorneys and scholars for children and adults with disabilities. Pete’s point? When you are sitting in your child’s IEP team meeting, ask questions. Don’t sit silently while teachers and clinicians talk above, around, and directly through you. If you don’t understand the special education jargon and acronyms flying faster than the speed of light, stop that teacher or that clinician and ask for an explanation until you understand. Then read the IEP to make sure that absolutely every program, service, and
accommodation has been documented as discussed. Don’t go home and read the IEP only to find out that the 1:1 reading instruction has been documented as “small group instruction.” Never leave your child’s IEP team meeting without a copy of the IEP. If the IEP team meeting needs to be adjourned and reconvened at a later date, you still want to leave with a copy of the draft IEP, and any notes taken by members of the IEP team. You also have the right to record the IEP team meeting, so feel free to record away! | If you have Dyslexia and Can’t Read the IEP Don’t let your learning disability stop you from participating in your child’s IEP! You have the right – and the responsibility – to ensure that what has been discussed has been documented. If you have dyslexia or any other reading disability, request that the IEP be scanned into a digital format and a text reader. |
Special Education Groundhog Day
I have sat in thousands of hours of IEP team meetings. Many days I feel like I am living Special Education Groundhog Day – experiencing (like Bill Murray’s character in the movie Groundhog Day) the same meeting with slight variations over and over again. Every day of the school year I hear parents request reasonable accommodations to their children’s IEPs, such as restating directions and checking the child for understanding, and teachers say, “We don’t need to put that into the IEP, I do that naturally.” My response never waivers – “I know that you are a very good teacher, but the IEP is not about you. If this family moves to another school district tomorrow, the next IEP team must be able to understand and implement the IEP as it is written. If this child needs an accommodation it must be written into the IEP.” Teachers are not mind readers. They provide accommodations to students with IEPs as they are documented. Remember, if it is not written down, it did not happen. So write it down, and make sure it is written correctly and completely.IEPs are not verbal, they are written. Often I have parents call me in a panic about their child’s IEP. “My child is supposed to get extended time on tests and quizzes. We talked about it at the IEP team meeting but now my son’s teacher is telling me that extended time was not written into the IEP. What do I have to do?” Or, “My child’s previous IEP included occupational therapy two times per week for 30-45 minutes per session. It never occurred to me that this service would be reduced in his new IEP.” Now what? “My child is not making progress in reading, but I don’t know how to prove it because I don’t understand the goals or how the progress is being monitored.” My responses may vary but the message is always the same. Take a deep breath, and read your child’s IEP.
Learn to Read Your Child’s IEP or Risk a Broken-Down Chevy
Since 1993, when the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a child with an IEP was only entitled to an education that was the equivalent of a “serviceable Chevrolet,” and not to a Cadillac, much has been made about the rights of a child with a disability to reach his or her maximum potential.So while our children may not be legally required to receive a Cadillac education, neither can they be relegated to a broken-down Chevy with a dead battery, flooded engine, and four flat tires. My point? You would not buy a car without first carefully reading the contract. Your child’s IEP is a contract and must be read carefully for clarity and understanding.
As parents of children with disabilities we have been fighting for their right to a free and appropriate education for more than 100 years. We have been fighting for educational opportunities equal to that of their non-disabled peers. Read your child’s IEP. When something in the IEP does not make sense ask questions and demand answers in a language that makes sense to you. As with any contract, only with eyes wide open and clear understanding can you trust that the IEP is delivering meaningful educational benefit and a free appropriate public education. Your child deserves no less, and so much more.
Marcie Lipsitt lives in Michigan with her husband, son and three dogs. She is the founder and co-chair of the Michigan Alliance for Special Education, a grassroots advocacy organization. Marcie is a member of NCLD’s Parent Leaders Team.
This article was made possible by a grant from Oak Foundation.
Additional Resources
- Wrightslaw: Writing Good IEP Goals and Objectives
- NICHY: Contents of the IEP
- Smart Kids with LD: Tips for Writing an IEP
- U.S. Department of Education: A Guide to the Individualized Education Program
- From Emotions to Advocacy, Chapter 12: Smart IEPs (PDF)
- Questions and Answers on Individualized Education Programs (IEPs)
