IEP Confidential: Six Essential Tips From an Educational Advocate

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IEP Confidential Educational Advocate Providence Moms Blog
Don’t wait.

It’s an important time of the year for parents whose children have special needs. It’s the time of year when you might start to discover that your child is struggling in school. Or when you confirm your suspicions from last spring that your child really does need some intervention. Or when you brace yourself for another round of struggling, not just with your child’s disability, but with a school district that is unresponsive to your concerns.

Throughout my fifteen years as an Educational Advocate, I’ve seen the best and the worst of IEP processes and outcomes. I think that good educators walk on water, and I have experienced every one of the characters so well profiled by this blogger. A good IEP team is student-centered, proactive, and transparent–and the best parent participant is an informed, prepared parent.

IEP Confidential Educational Advocate Providence Moms Blog
You’re “offering” my child a quarterly consult? Oh, thank you, thank you!

Whether you’re at the very beginning of this journey, or you’ve been at it for years, here are just a few tips for being your child’s best advocate in the special education process: 

  1. If you think your child is struggling and might need special education services, don’t wait. Let the school know. Do it officially (see #3), in the form of a letter of referral for evaluation. Act sooner rather than later. Every school year is important in your child’s life–don’t waste months thinking (or being told) that your concerns are not valid. It is important to refer your child for evaluation to trigger the regulatory timelines which affect the rest of the process.
  2. Before you attend a meeting more official than just a parent/teacher chat, get familiar with the RI Special Education Regulations. Don’t be intimidated–you can skim some parts, but you really do need to read up. Otherwise, your thoughts and intentions might get lost in the fog of jargon and acronyms used (MDT, LD, ASD, the ever-abused RTI…) and you will be at a disadvantage when discussing your child’s needs. Not to mention that if you don’t know how the process is supposed to work, then you’ll be slower to recognize when it is not working. The Regents’ Regulations are not suggestions. They are RI state laws that govern all of special education.
  3. Get everything in writing. Get everything in writing. One more time for the folks in the back, get everything in writing. If it is not written, it is not a reality, and you may see lots of great-sounding, agreed-upon plans slip away as you find out later that it “can’t be done,” or wasn’t recalled the same way by the others on the team. You should get (in advance) the purpose of each meeting in writing, as well as anything agreed upon during the meeting.
  4. Don’t sign anything that you don’t fully understand, and don’t be pressured into signing anything. Ask lots of questions, write down the answers, get clarification, and leave without signing if you need to think things over or get a second opinion. 
  5. Bring a friend to school meetings–especially one who has been there themselves. That second pair of ears can catch things that you might miss and can also hear things in a way that is less emotionally loaded than it is for us parents.
  6. Know that you are an equal member of any team that makes decisions about your child. You are not there to go off into battle-mode, but you’re not there to be trifled with, either. You will meet many experts in the special education process (sometimes all at the same time!) but you are the best expert on your child, and you are the only one whose only priority is your child.

For more information, check out WrightsLaw blog and the RI Disability Law Center’s Special Education Handbook

Special Ed Education Rhode Island IEP Providence Moms Blog