IEP Meeting Facilitation PDF

IEP Meeting Facilitation 2024-25 ARUSD Special Services Summer PD Series  Agenda 01 02 03 PLANNING FOR AN BEFORE THE IEP IEP MEETINGS IEP MEETING MEETING 04 05 06 B...

IEP Meeting Facilitation 2024-25 ARUSD Special Services Summer PD Series  Agenda 01 02 03 PLANNING FOR AN BEFORE THE IEP IEP MEETINGS IEP MEETING MEETING 04 05 06 BEGINNING THE IEP DURING THE IEP ENDING THE IEP MEETING MEETING MEETING ARUSD: Special Services Let’s Get Started  01 IEP Meetings The IEP meeting is designed to provide an open line of communication where parents and professionals discuss and exchange information to jointly create a plan that contains what will be of best interest for the child. IEP Meetings The parents have a right to electronically record the proceeding of individualized education program meetings on an audio recorder. The parents shall notify the members of the individualized education program team of their intent to record a meeting at least 24 hours prior to the meeting. If the parents request to record a meeting, then the district shall record the meeting as well. Parents may request a DRAFT of the IEP or any portion of the IEP prior to the meeting. Be sure to print it with the DRAFT watermark. Types of IEP Meetings Each type of IEP meeting has a specific purpose and participants. Understanding the different meeting types helps ensure that parents, teachers, and other relevant professionals are aware of their roles and can actively participate in the decision-making process. Initial Meeting Plan Review Meeting (annual) Reevaluation Meeting (triennial) Amendment Manifestation Determination Types of IEP Meetings An IEP team meeting must be held when the following occurs: When a formal assessment has been conducted At least annually to review progress, goals, related services and supplementary aids and services and make any revisions to the IEP - Annual Every three years to determine continued eligibility - Reevaluation Within 30 days when a parent requests a meeting to review and/or revise the IEP When a student demonstrates a lack of anticipated progress Within 30 days after an administrative placement of a transfer student into any special education program When a Manifestation Determination must be made due to student discipline issues  02 PLANNING FOR AN IEP MEETING “Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.” – Warren Buffett Planning for an IEP Meeting Federal law requires the following team members to be present at all meetings: parent/guardian, LEA/Principal, special education teacher, and regular education teacher representative. Begin to compile data on the previous years goals and objectives. Data should be presented in a manner that reflects the criteria statements in the objectives. Send a notice of the meeting to parents giving AT LEAST TWO WEEKS notice. Enclose the parent’s rights brochure with the meeting notice. Planning for an IEP Meeting Begin planning for IEP meetings three to four weeks prior to the anticipated meeting time. ○ Collect data and student work samples Solicit input from general education teachers using the General Education Teacher Input Survey. Meet with the general education teacher PRIOR to the meeting to review their feedback. Planning for an IEP Meeting: Pre-meeting vs. Predetermination For IEP team meetings, predetermination occurs when an educational agency has decided on its offer prior to the IEP team meeting, including when it presents one placement option at the meeting and is unwilling to consider other alternatives. Teams can pre-meet to plan for IEP meetings. It is very important to be prepared for each IEP meeting, and coming together without the parents before the IEP meeting can be a key part of that preparation. IDEA regulations explicitly allow “preparatory activities... to develop a proposal or response to a parent proposal that will be discussed at a later meeting.” Planning for an IEP Meeting: Pre-meeting vs. Predetermination Examples of permissible topics of discussion at a pre-meeting might include sharing information about present levels of performance and the student’s current progress, identifying potential problems that should or may be raised at the meeting, brainstorming possible solutions to those problems, and creating an agenda to help keep the team on track at the meeting. To avoid predetermination, the IDEA effectively requires that school-based team members enter an IEP meeting with an open mind. It’s OK for team members to have opinions. But they need to be ready and willing to listen to and consider what the parent has to say about the child’s needs.  03 Before the IEP Meeting When conducting an IEP meeting, as case manager, it’s important to set the tone and purpose of the meeting. Before the IEP Meeting Make sure to have all relevant student data prepared to share with the IEP team. Review the DRAFT IEP to ensure the student’s name is spelled correctly. Nothing is more embarrassing than using a “he” for a female student or misspelling a student’s name. Consider if an interpreter is needed. Prepare any necessary documents for the meeting. These may include draft IEPs, signature pages, testing (for an initial IEP), parents rights fliers/booklets, medical assistance forms, and/or final progress reports for the previous IEP. ○ This includes highlighting all areas of the signatures pages so that nothing is missed. See the Sample Signature Consent Page. Make sure there are enough copies for everyone who will be attending. Prepare an agenda and bring copies for everyone who will be attending. Before the IEP Meeting Designate a note taker BEFORE the meeting. ○ IEP Notes Template MAKE SURE TO HAVE AN AGENDA PREPARED. Use the AR IEP MEETING AGENDA The facilitator should review the draft agenda at the beginning of the meeting and track the agenda topics as discussed. Tracking and checking off agenda topics as discussed keeps the team focused on the process of developing the IEP.  04 Beginning the IEP Meeting Beginning the IEP Meeting Because it can be difficult to guide a meeting and simultaneously record information or data on IEP forms, the meeting facilitator’s role should be limited to activities solely relating to running the meeting: developing an agenda, presenting it at the meeting, reviewing ground rules, and monitoring the meeting process while guiding the team through good communication. It is the facilitator’s responsibility to make sure all team members follow the ground rules set at the beginning of the meeting and stick to the agenda agreed upon at the start of the meeting. The facilitator’s role is not to hurry through the agenda items, but to aid in the communication process to ensure every team member has an equal voice. Diliberto, J. A., & Brewer, D. (2012). Six tips for successful IEP meetings. Teaching Exceptional Children, 44(4), 30-37. Beginning the IEP Meeting Be sure the room is free of distractions. Make sure there are enough chairs for all participants. If the parent will be using an interpreter be sure to seat the interpreter next to the parent. In a large meeting it is often advisable to send around a sign-in sheet to assist the note taker in spelling accuracy and in identifying meeting participants. Limit jargon - Although educators and related service personnel may be used to this type of language, parents are probably not. In order to create a collaborative team environment, jargon should be either left out of IEP meetings or explained. Beginning the IEP Meeting Introduction Agenda Set Norms Introduce yourself and Explain the purpose of Meeting norms help invite the other team the meeting and set the establish a respectful, members to do the same agenda. safe environment that having them state their everyone can participate. relationship to the student. Beginning the IEP Meeting Room Documents Free of distractions Draft IEP/Reports for and seating all team members, progress report, parent’s rights, agenda, etc…  05 During the IEP Meeting “If you hear a voice within you say “you cannot paint”, then by all means paint.” -Vincent Van Gogh During the IEP Meeting DO stop frequently to ask if the parents have any questions. IEPs have a lot of technical language and can be rather confusing. DO bring water. You may get nervous and your mouth can get really dry. DO make sure you are time efficient and be comfortable steering the conversation back to the task at hand if necessary. Chatting is good, but you don’t want to be there forever. During the IEP Meeting Be like Elsa!!! To quote Elsa from the Disney movie, Frozen. She put on her imaginary gloves, and said "Conceal. Don't Feel. Don't let it show." ○ What she meant was that she was putting aside her own feelings and was going to stick to factual information. During the IEP Meeting The Dominators ○ These folks take over the conversation. They share at length, they have an opinion about every topic, and they take up valuable time. What you can do: Acknowledge their ideas, summarize what they said, and move on to someone else. For example, “I hear you saying, ‘x, y, and z.’ That’s interesting. I’d like to hear what other think about that. Let’s go around the room. Each person has two minutes.” You can also establish meeting norms like “balance sharing with listening” so you can refer to the norm as a gentle way to remind these individuals to give someone else the mic. The Naysayers ○ They argue every point, big or small. They argue with everyone. What can you do: Note their concerns so they feel heard, but keep moving forward. For example, “That’s a valid point, and we can put a pause on this conversation and return with more information.” During the IEP Meeting The Silent but Deadly. ○ They say nothing. And you don’t know whether it’s because they are shy, have no opinion, are daydreaming, or are planning how to be your worst nightmare. What can you do: Invite them to join the conversation by calling them by name to see if they have any thoughts to share. The Rabbit Trailblazers. ○ They have a lot of ideas, many of which are not relevant to the discussion. They lead the team down a path, or many paths, that end you up further away from where you needed to be than before the meeting ever started. What can you do: Note their ideas, let them know those will be addressed later, and put them on the backburner. Help them relate to the agenda and specific objectives of the meeting. The Multi-taskers. ○ Their eyes are on phones, tablets, and various other devices. They may appear busy, but are not engaged in the conversation. During the IEP Meeting The Multi-taskers. ○ Their eyes are on phones, tablets, and various other devices. They may appear busy, but are not engaged in the conversation. What can you do: Where appropriate invite them into the conversation. During the IEP Meeting What about extremely difficult and upset parents/advocates?? Agenda This where the agenda is your friend!!! Set time limits so that whatever is not accomplished within the time limit can be discussed in another meeting. Start Positive Beginning a meeting with positive thoughts sets the tone for the entire meeting. It will put the other attendees at ease. Thank the others for attending the meeting with you. Find something, not matter how small, positive to say to them. Listen and Validate Concerns You can learn so much when you listen. As much as you might want to jump in, it is important to listen first. Validate the other party's concerns by saying something like, "I can understand how ______ can make you feel ______" or "I can see what you're saying". After you validate their concerns, then you can share your point of view. During the IEP Meeting Stay Calm & Relaxed When your emotions become elevated, the other party's will become even more elevated. If you remain calm, not only will you be able to keep a clear head and have better explanations, but your level of calm may help keep the other person calmer. Part of this is also remaining professional. Be aware of your facial expressions and body language. The things you say in silence are louder than any words that come out of your mouth. Do Not Take Things Personally This is probably the most difficult thing for teachers. Take your own ego out of it, and it will be a lot easier to listen to the other side's point of view. Find A Solution If at all possible, come up with a solution at the end of the meeting with action steps for each party to complete moving forward. For example, you may have to increase parent communication with a daily communication log and the parent will be expected to alert you when the student had a rough morning before coming to school. Whatever you decide on as the solution, make sure it is something you can commit to and complete with fidelity. During the IEP Meeting Agree to Disagree & Discuss Further Later At times, a solution is not going to be found in the time allotted for the meeting. That's okay. When dealing with humans, especially children, you may have to come back time and time again before coming up with a solution that everybody can live with. Do not be afraid to "table" the meeting and come back at a later date. If possible, created tasks for each party to complete before the next meeting that may help with the decision making next time. Conclude the meeting gracefully: If the parent remains combative, you can end the meeting politely by saying something like: "I understand you have strong feelings about this, but continuing the meeting in this manner is not productive. Let's take a break and reconvene another time when we can have a more constructive discussion focused on [student's name] and their educational needs."  06 Ending the IEP Meeting Ending the IEP Meeting Offer of Participation Consent FAPE Signatures Signatures Clearly state the offer of Be sure that all parties Be sure that all IEP pages FAPE and confirm present sign for that require a signature agreement. participation. or initials are completed. Let’s Review Remember who it’s all for. Resources Tested Tips for IEP Meetings Five Common Difficult Meeting Behaviors 10 Defusing Phrases to Use at an IEP Meeting Feedback We value your feedback! Please take a few moments to complete the survey from today’s training Thanks! Do you have any questions? 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