We’ve all been in an IEP meeting that hasn’t gone all that well… or at least we’ve imagined the worst-case scenarios in our heads and done everything we can to avoid them.
There of course is always an element of “practice makes perfect” with any part of the job, and it comes as no surprise that running an IEP meeting will get easier over time as you learn the best strategies! However, you don’t need to flounder at the beginning unnecessarily. There are two easy things you can do to make sure that your IEP meetings go as smoothly as possible.
It may seem super obvious, but the best two things you can do for yourself is prepare well for the IEP and run an organized and intentional meeting.
Let’s start with strategies for preparing well for the IEP meeting. So often we find ourselves swamped in all the to-dos that we forget a few really simple things that we could be using to prepare for success.
Prepare for an IEP Meeting by communicating ahead of time with your student’s parents.
This may come as no surprise, but making sure that parents feel prepared ahead of time goes a long way. This can be as simple as making sure parents know what time the meeting is and what they can expect from it. It could also involve sending over a proposed draft of their student’s IEP so that they have time to review it prior to the IEP meeting and can come prepared with questions (or go over it with you prior to the IEP meeting).
Keeping parents updated throughout the year can help prevent negative reactions to anything unexpected that may come up. If there is a major change (or even a minor one), communicate it to parents ahead of time so that they come to the meeting with some heads up.
Truly the best IEP meetings step from an already established positive relationship with parents. Starting to get to know the parents from the beginning of the year can make or break the IEP experience.
You may also do well to consider communication strategies for GenEd teachers in a similar fashion. It can be difficult to keep all teachers on the same page, but your effort to do so will be will worth it. For more ideas on working with general education teachers, check out my post on *Effectively providing IEP information to general education teachers*
Stay organized before, during, and after the IEP meeting.
The first and best piece of advice that I have is to create a IEP meeting agenda and actually follow it. This is not a “just wing it” situation. You can grab 3 different IEP meeting agendas inside the IEP Toolkit.
Start it with stating your expectations and goals for the meeting. Your agenda should be easy to follow and allow a time for parents to ask their questions and give suggestions. Prepare to answer questions too – come with some data to back your professional proposals up and be ready to talk about what you recommend doing to help the student meet their goals.
You also have an option of creating a PowerPoint for the meeting that follows your agenda. This is a really simple way to summarize all the relevant information.
However, I also recommend that you don’t go completely digital. Prep any paper copies ahead of time, staple them in order, and consider highlighting or “tabbing” any sections that will need signatures. When you are organizing all of the papers involved, keep them in order of when you will need them – this will keep you from digging through piles of chaos in the meeting.
Make sure all the IEP information is clear and everyone is on the same page.
This is not a time when you want to lack clarity or leave anything out. Keep in mind that not everyone may be knowledgeable about special education specific terms or processes, so no jargon or acronyms. You want everyone to feel comfortable and heard. Take the time to answer questions, learn what not to say in an IEP meeting, and be patient with where anyone in the meeting may or may not understand.
And finally, keep in mind that these IEP meetings can be met with a wide variety of emotions on the parents’ side. Some families are comfortable in this scenario (whether from experience or just due to their personality) and will engage well with the intention of the meeting. Other parents may come in with pre-conceived ideas or even negative past experiences that influence their attitude toward the meeting itself.
Any IEP meeting that brings a variety of personnel, experiences, and perceptions to the table can be expected to go a little bit differently every time. And that’s okay, because by establishing a process to prepare and run the meetings, you will make all the difference.
Remember, you can make the IEP table a safe space for parents. Read more about how to do that here.
Special education teachers don’t just write paperwork – they write possibilities. But when you’re buried in the details, it’s easy to lose sight of the bigger picture. Inside The Intentional IEP, you’ll find the tools, trainings, and ready-to-use goals that take the guesswork out of IEPs – so you can focus on what matters most: turning student potential into real, measurable progress.