We are here at the beginning of another school year, and after the chaos of the past 2-3 school years, none of us knows what to really expect for 2022-2023! One thing we are noticing is that a lot of parents want IEPs for their students. In today’s episode, we go back to basics with a refresher about what you should expect, what the law requires, and how you can be empowered to help your child. Join us to learn more!

Show Highlights:

• Why the terminology used in “special education” is important from a legal perspective
• What the law provides in regards to a “free and appropriate public education”
• Why everything hinges on assessments
• Why “student success team meetings” don’t exist in the legal sense and are often a delay tactic used by the school system
• How learning problems are manifesting themselves because of the trauma of COVID impeding the child’s access to learning
• Why the parent’s initial suspicion of a problem is enough to request assessments from the school system
• How there is a wide range of assessments that can be done over several days or weeks
• Why it’s beneficial to the parent to get a copy of the assessment a couple of days before the IEP meeting
• What the law requires in scheduling IEP meetings at a “mutually convenient time and place” (Virtual meetings are fine!)
• Why parents should not be afraid to ask for clarification and explanation in IEP meetings
• Why parents DO NOT have to sign the IEP paperwork at the meeting; it’s fine to take it home to look over with your partner and consider the recommendations (You can agree to the entire IEP or only parts of it.)
• Why parents have the right to ask for an IEP meeting at any time and not wait for the annual one
• Why it helps to provide details to the school about why something isn’t working for your child 

 Links/Resources:

Contact us on social media or through our website for more information on the IEP Learning Center: www.inclusiveeducationproject.org   

Thank you for listening! 

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