• What is an IEP?
An IEP lists the services and supports that your child's school or district will provide at no cost to your family to help them access a free, appropriate public education (FAPE). Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, all students who receive special education services must have an IEP. You can read a quick explanation and background of IDEA and FAPE here.
• Who qualifies for an IEP?
There are 13 categories of diagnoses that may qualify a student for an IEP. A student who cannot make meaningful progress in school without special education services is likely eligible for an IEP.
• Who writes an IEP?
The first step is a formal assessment by the school or district. Then, the members of an IEP team (which includes the child's parents), will meet and review the assessments to determine whether a child is eligible for special education services. If so, the IEP team will work together to decide on the supports and services that address the child’s educational needs that arise because of their disability. Everything they decide on gets written into the IEP document.
• What are IEP assessments like?
Assessments help IEP teams identify a child’s goals, strengths, and areas of need. Before a student is eligible for an IEP, they must undergo an initial full assessment by a school psychologist, special education teacher, and/or other service provider(s). The assessment should cover social skills, communication, academic performance, and all other areas where parents or teachers have concerns.
• When does an IEP go into effect?
Within 30 days after a student has been deemed eligible for special education services, the school must hold an IEP meeting. You can learn more about IEP timelines here.
• What is in an IEP?
Your child’s initial IEP will include the following components:
Once your child’s initial IEP is complete, you’ll have annual and triennial IEP meetings to make sure the IEP is up to date and reflects your child's needs and goals. You can also request an IEP meeting or assessment at any time if you have additional concerns. Read more about these other IEP meetings here.
There are often many acronyms and education-specific words used during the process of working with an IEP team. Check out our comprehensive guide to these terms.
An IEP can contain a provision that the school provide parent training and counseling to help you learn skills to support your child at home. Read more about parent training and how to request it in the IEP here.
Accommodations that are written into an IEP help make it easier for your child to learn the same material as their peers and participate fully in school. Here are some common example accommodations in an IEP:
Check out an extensive list of example IEP accommodations here, including a printable list you can bring with you to your IEP meeting if needed.
If you feel that your child would benefit from 1:1 assistance from a school staff member to fully participate in their education, you can request a 1:1 aide in the IEP. Some of the most common reasons to request a 1:1 aide include help with toileting, health and safety, or behavior management in the classroom. Read more about 1:1 aides here.
Before the IEP meeting takes place, you may want to write a parental concerns letter about what you would like to see addressed at an IEP meeting. This letter makes sure your input and suggestions are included in your child’s file, and it's a chance to share information that you have as the expert on your child.
See our article with tips from two special education experts about when it’s beneficial to write a parental concerns letter and what to include.
You can also learn more about parent participation and procedural safeguards here to better understand your rights as a parent of a child with an IEP.
You want teachers and other members of the IEP team to see your whole child and not just focus on their deficits. Creating a strength-based IEP using positive, child-focused language is key.
A strength-based IEP focuses on a child’s needs, goals, abilities, and possibilities. Instead of focusing on what your child can’t do, a strength-based IEP focuses on what supports they need to accomplish their goals. For example, if a student has difficulty communicating verbally, a strength-based IEP might state, “Enjoys communicating with peers with a speech-generating device.”
Read more about strength-based IEPs here to learn how to get your entire IEP team on the same page when it comes to your child’s abilities and needs.
Part of the IEP process is working with your IEP team to decide on your child’s educational placement. Ask your district program to share information about all options with you. By law, they cannot make a decision about placement before the IEP meeting or without your input. You are an equal member of the IEP team, and you can’t discuss placement without knowing about all the options.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires that your child be educated in the least restrictive environment (LRE), which means having access to the general education curriculum while their academic, social, emotional, and behavioral goals are supported. For example, suppose your child can be in a general education classroom with the support of a classroom aide. This is what should be provided. Your child should only be removed from a general education classroom if supports and services cannot meet their unique needs in that environment, or if you and the IEP team come to a decision on something else.
Learn more about placement options here.
You should receive a request from the school or district inviting you to the IEP meeting (or you can request an IEP meeting yourself). If you will be bringing a friend, specialist, attorney, or advocate with you, let the school know.
Bring the following items to the meeting — it’s a good idea to create a binder to organize your documents so they’ll be easy to find while you’re there:
We recommend you begin preparing for your meeting two days before:
1. Having an IEP automatically means being taken out of a general education class for special education services.
This is a common misconception. However, LRE requires that children with disabilities be taught alongside their non-disabled peers to the “maximum extent possible.”
This means that unless your child’s needs prevent appropriate inclusion in a general education classroom, the district must provide general education placement.
2. If your child has a special day placement, you do not need a general education teacher on the IEP team.
IDEA requires that both a special education teacher and a general education teacher be participating members of your child’s IEP team. (The exception is at a non-public school (NPS); a gen ed teacher is not required, but you can ask for one.)
3. You shouldn’t consent to a functional behavior assessment (FBA) because doing so will help the district remove your child from their general education classroom.
An FBA will help identify the reasons behind your child’s behavior, so it can be an excellent tool for keeping your child in their general education classroom. When you know why your child exhibits certain unwanted behaviors, you can create IEP goals to reduce or eliminate those behaviors.
4. IEPs are always the parent vs. the district.
IEPs are meant to be collaborative processes, with the parent serving as an equal team member. If any team member approaches the IEP meeting with an adversarial attitude, it can disrupt the process and create frustration. Your child stands to benefit the most from a group of people working together with your child’s unique needs and interests at heart.
5. Your child doesn’t need an aide; there are enough people helping in the classroom.
This isn’t always the case. Teachers and staff often have assigned roles and tasks that need to be completed throughout the day, so they cannot always give a child the specific support they need.
Your child may benefit from a 1:1 aide for a variety of reasons: behavior management, instructional support, activities of daily living (such as toileting), safety (for health or mobility), social skills training, and task redirection, just to name a few. A dedicated professional can also provide support during meals and help your child interact socially and in many other ways.
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