Questions About IEPs? Our Education Advocate Has Answers!

Are you just starting out with the IEP process or you need a refresher? From all the confusing IEP components and acronyms (FAPE, LRE, IDEA, IEE — oh my!) to assessments, placement, and goal setting, we've got you covered! During our live event, Undivided’s Education Advocate, Lisa Carey, covered all the basics to help you get through your next (or first!) IEP meeting with confidence. Check out the top takeaways from our live event below.

If you missed the event or want to review what we learned, you can watch the full recording here!

The main components of an IEP are your child’s goals as well as the supports (like modifications or accommodations) they need to accomplish those goals. These things will likely be the focus of your IEP meeting.

However, one thing you shouldn’t overlook is making sure the IEP includes your child’s health plan. If your child has a medical condition that requires attention from the school staff, spell it out in your IEP so that the intervention or training you’re asking the school to provide is legally protected. Hear Lisa’s explanation and some examples in this clip:

Many parents asked questions about IEP meetings in the chat during the event, such as whether parents can request for 1:1 aides to attend (Lisa says, "Aides generally don’t have the same training as teachers. You can request to speak with the aide with the teacher present. Most schools will allow that.") and whether timelines of when evaluations will be completed include school breaks. (According to Lisa, "The sixty-day timeline stops for school breaks of more than five days, so if your school has spring break, it will stop for that one to two weeks.")

Lorena P. asked, "Is it a good idea to pay for a professional IEP advocate to come to the first meeting?" Iris B said, "We did! We knew we wanted inclusion and, unfortunately, based on talks with the school district, we knew it would take a lot of work to get them there, so we did it!"

If you have questions about IEPs, make sure to attend our next live event to ask your question in the chat and hear from our IEP experts and fellow parents! Keep an eye on our Facebook page to learn more.