CONDUCTING
GOLD STANDARD
IEP MEETINGS
By
Craig W. Bartholio, Ed.D.
IEP Meeting
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An IEP meeting is a legal document that provides a
snap shot of the students current levels of
performance and is to be reasonably calculated to
provide the opportunity for Educational Benefit
(Rowley)
IEP Meeting Costs
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3 people, 1 hour, $50K
10 people, 1 hr, 50K
5 people, 2 hrs, 50K
10 people, 8 hrs, 50K
14 people, 24hrs, 50K
= $83
= $278
= $278
= $2,222
= $9,333
A bit about myself
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Taught SDC Mild/Moderate (4-6)
Taught SDC Moderate/Severe (9-12+)
Program Specialist
Adjunct Professor to become full-time professor
B.A. Psychology CSULB
M.A. Education: Special Education [Moderate/Severe] Cal Poly Pomona
Ed.D. Educational Leadership [Educational Psychology] Univ. of Southern
California
Current research investigations: Special Education services in Faith-Based
Elementary Schools.
How CTA can help capture the differences between Experts and Novices in
conducting IEP meetings.
Elements facing General Education teachers transitioning to Special
Education.
Focus of IEP Meeting Presentation
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Your role as a Special Education Teacher
Pre-IEP meeting actions
What happens during the IEP meeting
Creating defensible goals
How to write services correctly
Post- IEP actions
Perspectives of the IEP meeting
Your Role as a Special Education
Teacher
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Professionalism
Case manager
Collaborator
Preparing for your next role: Understanding the
position above and below you
Pre- IEP meeting Special Education
Teacher Actions
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Pre-IEP meeting actions will greatly determine the
outcome of the IEP meeting.
Logistical Information
Document preparation
Reports
Discussions with all stakeholders
All reports read by stakeholders prior to meeting
Phone call or personal visit with parents prior to
meeting
Logistics
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Invitation sent with a reasonable amount of time for
parents.
10-day notice is not in the legal documents.
“Reasonable amount of time” is the legal wording.
Invitation clearly states all stakeholders attending
and all those you are asking for permission not to
attend.
Number of individuals must be accounted for on the
IEP invitation.
Location and equipment will be available for room.
Document Preparation
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Document preparation occurs throughout the year
Are you collecting hard data for your goals?
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Are you continually updating your Educational Benefit
file for each student?
Determine if this is a new case to you or not.
Read all reports and review previous years Individual
Education Programs (IEP’s)
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How? And how often?
Do not repeat goals and objectives
Determine if all stakeholders have the assessment
reports prior to the IEP meeting.
Discussion with all Stakeholders
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Confirmation with the general education teacher.
Document, document, document all of the discussions
you have with all stakeholders.
Make a phone call, send a note, Skype, or send and
e-mail to the parent weeks prior to the IEP meeting
to begin a dialogue.
Send home a “draft copy” of the IEP to the parents
5 days prior to the scheduled meeting based on the
students progress and the contact you have made
with the parent.
IEP Meeting Agenda
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Finish this Sample Agenda:
Introductions
Parent concerns
Assessment reports
Review Goals and Objectives
………
Take the next 3 minutes with a partner and
complete this IEP meeting Agenda.
IEP Meeting Norms
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Helps establish a positive working environment
Provides a cognitive and affective focus on the
student in question
Sample meeting norms:
We are all here for [student name]
Be respectful of the meetings time frame
Respect one another- no personal attacks
Keep all discussion focused on the child
Pre-IEP Meeting Major Factors
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Logistical Information
Document preparation
Discussions with all stakeholders
IEP Meeting agenda
IEP meeting norms
Life Skills:
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Take 3 minutes and share with your neighbor the major
aspects of Pre-IEP meeting actions. Determine your “Call to
Action” [what will you do now as a special educator?]
[Make sure you stand up and stretch at this time]
Things to say when you are caught asleep at
the computer:
“I just took a typing by thought class last night
and I am completing my homework.”
“Did you ever notice that the keyboard makes a
humming noise when you put your ear really
close?”
Beginning IEP meeting Phase
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Have someone meet the parents/ guardians at the door and escort
them to the room where the IEP will be held.
Introductions: Everyone introduces themselves and states their
purpose for the IEP meeting
Administrator or District representative: State the purpose of the IEPInitial- Annual- Triennial- Amendment IEP
Send around the signature page for all participants to sign
Offer another copy of the procedural safeguards (Parental rights)
Review IEP meeting norms and time frame for IEP
Review the agenda for the IEP meeting
Ask the parent for input on the IEP agenda and their approval of
the agenda
Beginning IEP meeting Phase
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IF Initial or Triennial IEP, THENHave the psychologist review their report (Hand out copies of report)
Have any other related service provider review their report (Hand out
copies of report)
Have the nurse present their report (Hand out copies of report)
Have the special education teacher review their report (Hand out copies of
report)
Determine if the student qualifies for special education and through which
primary eligibility and secondary eligibility, if appropriate.
IF the student does qualify for special education, THEN go to Step 7 and
proceed with the rest of the IEP meeting and review the IEP forms.
(Hand out “Draft” copies of the IEP)
IF the student does not qualify for special education, THEN determine if
the student can receive a 504 plan and calendar a date to create a 504
plan or just a classroom based intervention plan
Beginning IEP meeting Phase
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IF the IEP is an annual review (and the completion
of a triennial and initial IEP), THEN:
Review front page demographics
Review the students current levels of performance
 Ask
the parents for their future concerns for their
son/daughter
 Ask the parents how their child learns the best
 Are there health concerns?
 Are there behavioral concerns?
 Are there assistive technology concerns?
Present Levels of Performance
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Present levels of performance need to include concise
factual statements about where the students performance
level is presenting.
No Empty boxes. State current level even if at grade level.
OK to state “[Student is not presenting a current need at this
time in this area.”
Maxwell is doing well in reading
Jasmine is decoding at the 2nd grade level, Reads 75 words
per minute in a 2nd grade text. According to curriculum
based measurements, she continually answers reading
comprehension questions at a 90% accuracy. NEAT scores
Reading Fluency; GE 2.8, Reading Comprehension: GE 2.1;
Math GE 3.1
State Testing
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Review and determine classroom accommodations
and modifications
Review and determine state assessment
accommodations and modifications
 Determine
the State assessment that student will take
(CST, CMA, CAPA)
 IF the IEP team is considering the CAPA, THEN the
IEP team needs to review the artifact for determining
participation within the CAPA assessment.
IEP Goals
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Review last year’s academic goals and determine if the
student level for achievement for each goalWork samples and data are present to support goal attainment
or not.
Present the new proposed goals for the next year.
Obtain parent approval for each goal (If using an online
system make sure to mark “approved
Formula for creating goals:
By (Date) student, (Behavioral statement) Will be able to
(action of skill) at a ?% accuracy, in (determine the number
of trials) as measured by (Teacher checklists, an assessment,
logs, teacher observation, etc).
Creating a goal
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Based on the following case study, create an IEP
goal with the appropriate baseline.
Sarah, a 9th grade student, currently reads at a
fifth grade level. She reads approximately 89
words per minute. Sarah is able to correctly answer
4/5 comprehension questions after reading a
passage.
What questions, if any, do you still need answers to?
Creating a goal
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Present Levels in Math:
Samuel can identify the penny and the dollar bill.
Samuel knows the value of the quarter. He can add
single digit numbers up to a product of 9. He has 1:1
correspondence up to 5 items. He knows 4 shapes
(Circle, Square, Triangle, Star). He can identify the
colors red, blue, purple, and black. He can count up to
10, but omits the number 7 on a regular basis.
What goal for math can you create?
What is the best way to have a defensible baseline
when writing an IEP goal?
Individual Transition Plan (ITP)
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Needs to be created for students who are 15 and
will turn 16 by the next annual review.
IF the student will be 16 before the next IEP, THEN
present the ITP to the IEP team
New practice: Student presents own ITP to the team.
(Traditionally for students with mild/moderate
disabilities)
Invite appropriate individuals (Regional Center,
Department of Rehab, Community College DSPS)
Related Services
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IF the student has related services, THEN review
the goals from each related service.
 Present
new related service goals for parent approval
 IF a related service provider asks to leave, THEN the
parents need to approve their dismissal. (Make sure
that they sign the IEP before they leave the meeting)
 Review and discuss the services needed and their level
of frequency (“# of sessions” versus “Times per week”)
Services on the IEP
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Make sure to make each service as explicit as
possible.
If the “Specialist” is going to provide direct,
collaborative and consultative services, they need to
each be identified and each needs their own
service box.
Placement and offer of FAPE
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Discuss the continuum of possible placements and
determine the appropriate placement
District offers one clear Free and Appropriate
Public Education (FAPE) offer
 Does
the FAPE offer include Extended School Year
(ESY)
 Transportation
IEP meeting notes
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IF it is not in the notes, THEN it did not happen.
The notes of the IEP meeting are read to the group
for review
Additions and or corrections to the IEP meeting
notes are made
IF parent has made their own notes, THEN they
can be attached to the IEP but are not numbered
as part of the “Official” IEP. Comments page
needs to state that “Parent participation
comments pages are attached to the IEP”.
Obtaining Parent Signatures
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Parents are presented the IEP for signatures and
approval or disapproval
Create copies of the “Completed and Signed IEP”
for the parents before they leave the IEP meeting.
IF there is a disagreement with the FAPE offer or
other issues that presented themselves during the
IEP that could not be resolved, THEN calendar an
IEP date before everyone leaves to resolve the
issues
Post IEP meeting Actions
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Assign actions to stakeholders to complete after the
IEP.
Contact the parent later on in the week to debrief
the IEP meeting and get a sense on how they felt
the IEP meeting went.
Follow through on all actions assigned to you.
Follow up with all actions assigned to other
stakeholders.
Items to consider
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A parent can call an IEP meeting every 30 days.
There are no “emergency IEP meetings”. For a
behavioral incident, the meeting needs to be “On the
calendar” within 48 hours of the incident.
Parent, advocates, and lawyers smell fear
Saying “I don’t know, but will get back to you on that
piece.” is golden.
You can stop an IEP meeting if it becomes out of hand.
Document all interactions with your parents. (Even
hallway conversations)
IEP Meeting Process
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Exercise:
Stand up and walk over to someone who you have not spoken to today
and each individual in the pair needs to share four (4) things you
learned today, three (3) things you already knew, two (2) things you
don’t understand and one (1) item you disagree with.
Take 4 minutes to complete this activity.
Perspectives of IEP Meetings
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Parent’s Perspective
Administrator’s Perspective
Special Educator’s Perspective
What is Education Benefit?
What is Reasonably Calculated?
Last Slide (Yeah!)
Thank you for today and thank you for
working with children with special
needs!
Craig W. Bartholio., Ed.D.