Teachers: Here’s What to Say When You Hold an IEP Meeting

Walking into any IEP meeting can feel very intimidating, but especially with your first few meetings, or when meeting with a new parent. You don’t know how to feel, how to act, or what to say.

The Intentional IEP team has compiled a list of some of the things that are important for you to say or do when first entering an IEP meeting as a teacher.

• Always be prepared with everything that you need.  I like to make sure I have all of my stuff ready – whether that be hard copy paperwork or digital copies presented on the board, as well as a copy of the parents right handbook in case a copy is needed for reference or for the parents to have.  To do this, you need to make sure you are the first to arrive at the meeting a few minutes early – even with the virtual meetings we can now hold, sometimes the parents and team members can’t be let in without you.  Give the parents a draft of the IEP ahead of time so they have something to look over before the meeting in case there are questions, and here’s how to do that. 
• Greet the parents or caregivers. When you see the parents, always greet them and introduce yourself if they have not already met you.  Once your team members arrive, now is a good time to go ahead and have everyone introduce themselves and the role they play on that team.  Also make sure everyone understands the purpose of the meeting (annual review, reevaluation, addendum, etc).
• Make the parent or caregiver feel welcome. It is important to make the parents feel supported and positive about this experience – it can be just as equally nerve racking to them as it is to you.  So start off with something positive about their child.  Parents tend to hear so much negativity from everyone they encounter, and what their child can’t do.  Emphasize the things they can do, the amazing parts about their children.  No matter what, there is always something positive to say.  Here are 3 ways to help parents advocate at the IEP meeting.
• Be yourself – be genuine, be kind, be supportive.  It is important that the parents feel that you care about their child.  It can be very hard for parents to feel like another adult cares for their child and wants what is best for them.   Let them know that you are thankful for them sharing their child with you.  Sometimes, if the parents don’t believe you are supportive and caring of their child, they may not hear anything else you have to say to them and can already have a negative outlook on this.  Kindness goes miles, requires no data collection, and is very likely to cause the impact most teachers are hoping to make, even if it’s not seen right in front of you.
• Don’t use acronyms or jargon. Be aware of the acronyms and wording you use when going through your IEP meeting (some parents don’t even know what IEP stands for).  Parents are already nervous enough about making sure their child is getting the best resources and services for them.  When you start throwing around acronyms and wording that only we in special education are really familiar with, the meeting tends to become more overwhelming and the parents may leave confused and concerned.

Download this FREE Special Education Acronyms Brochure here or by clicking the image above.

Not sure what acronyms are or need a list of acronyms for your IEP binder, or to share with the family? Start here.

Check out this short snippet from one of the trainings inside of TII membership about having an organized IEP process:

The membership also provides guidance on keeping parents involved, which can be challenging for everyone!

You can join The Intentional IEP to gain access to over 150+ different IEP related trainings, and access to our IEP Goal Bank.  Click the image above to join!

• Bring everything you need to the meeting. If you can, bring some available work samples so that the parents, as well as other team members, can get a good visual idea of what you are talking about when discussing the child’s abilities. Learn more about what to bring to an IEP meeting here.
• Always make sure the parents have the opportunity to speak, ask questions and give their opinions.  Their input is very important, and definitely encouraged.  Ask how they feel their child is doing – what progress have they seen and what do they think their child needs to work on.

You can provide parents with a copy of the Parent IEP Checklist when you send home the draft giving them an opportunity to jot down any notes or questions they may have.  Get access to it when you join The Intentional IEP here or by clicking the image above.

• Use an IEP Meeting Agenda. If you think you need, you can always print out an agenda/checklist with the order of how the meeting should run.  Sometimes, having that more visual support, can make it easier for you to know what comes next until it becomes like second nature (which it will eventually, don’t worry!).
• Try to relax and be yourself.  If you’re really not sure about something, your administrator should be able to answer your questions. If your administrator is not entirely helpful, ask a veteran special education teacher in your building – or reach out in the VIP Facebook group. All in all – you know your studentss as if they were your own.  You’ve got this!

What is a hack that you have or use to make an IEP meeting feel less stressful and more successful?  I’d love to hear about it in the comments.

Read Previous Post | Back to the Blog | Read Next Post