What Questions Should I Ask at My Child’s IEP Meeting?

In March 2017, in a case called Endrew F., the US Supreme Court ruled without a single dissent on what an IEP owes a child. The plan has to be ‘reasonably calculated to enable a child to make progress appropriate in light of the child’s circumstances,’ the Court wrote. And the program has to be ‘appropriately ambitious’ for that child.

That standard is the test behind every question worth asking at your child’s IEP meeting. You don’t need a credential to hold a school to it, because US federal rules already make you a required member of the team.

Two requests to send before the meeting

Start with your child’s records. Under US federal rules, the school must let you look at them ‘without unnecessary delay and before any meeting regarding an IEP’ (34 CFR 300.613(a)). The same rule sets an outer limit of 45 days after you ask. Fall is annual review season. If your meeting is two weeks away, send the request today, in writing, with the date on it.

Next, ask whether a draft IEP exists, and ask for a copy ahead of the meeting. Be clear about what this is. Federal commentary on the rules, published in 2006, speaks to it. It says a school ‘should provide the parents with a copy of its draft proposals, if the agency has developed them, prior to the IEP Team meeting’ (71 Fed. Reg. 46678). That is guidance, not a rule you are owed, so ask for it rather than demand it. Some states go further, so check yours. It also drew a firm line: it is ‘not permissible for an agency to have the final IEP completed before an IEP Team meeting begins’ (same source). A draft is a starting point for the whole team, you included. Our research summary on educational advocacy covers where these rights come from, and where they stop.

Then write down what you want the team to hear. The team must consider ‘the strengths of the child’ and ‘the concerns of the parents for enhancing the education of their child’ (300.324(a)(1)). Bring your concerns and one week of dated notes on what you see at home. That view is different from what the school sees, and the team has to weigh it.

Last, read the meeting notice. It has to state the ‘purpose, time, and location of the meeting and who will be in attendance’ (300.322(b)(1)). The team must also include someone able to explain what the evaluation results mean for teaching (300.321(a)(5)). If you don’t see that person on the list, ask who it will be.

These are US federal rules. Your state adds its own. If you live outside the US, your country’s process is different, so check its rules.

The questions to ask, in the order the meeting runs

Here is the system habit these questions are built to catch: a plan that measures whether supports were delivered, not whether the skill grew. Goals get written as access, like ‘will use extended time’ or ‘will complete modified assignments.’ Progress gets reported as ‘making progress,’ with no number. That is a habit of the system, not a bad teacher. The law already asks for more. An IEP must include ‘measurable annual goals’ and say how progress ‘will be measured’ and when reports will come (300.320(a)(2) and (3)). What goes missing is a parent asking to see those parts in plain words.

1. Present levels. The IEP must state your child’s ‘present levels of academic achievement and functional performance’ (300.320(a)(1)). Ask: What is my child able to do right now, in numbers, and how was that measured? Then ask: Who here will explain what the testing means for how my child is taught?

2. Goals. Ask of each goal: What exact skill does this goal build, and where will my child be in a year? Then bring in the Endrew F. standard: Is this goal ambitious for my child, or one my child is close to meeting now? If a goal reads ‘will complete modified assignments,’ ask to reword it. Our preferred version asks for access to grade-level content, with scaffolded support that builds independent skill.

3. Progress. Ask: How will you measure this goal, how often, and when will I see the results? Federal rules give report-card timing as one example of when progress reports go home (300.320(a)(3)). So the first report of the year usually arrives with the first report card, though districts differ. Ask for the data itself, not only a word like ‘progressing.’

4. Services. Services are to be ‘based on peer-reviewed research to the extent practicable’ (300.320(a)(4)). Ask: What instruction is this, and what is it built on? Note the qualifier in that rule. It asks for research behind the services where that is practical, not in every case.

5. Accommodations. Accommodations have a real place in a plan. For each one, ask: Is this support building the skill, or replacing the expectation that it gets built? Extended time on a test is fine. Our view is that the plan should also say who is teaching the skill underneath, and how you will know it is growing.

6. If progress stalls. The IEP is reviewed ‘periodically, but not less than annually,’ and revised to address ‘any lack of expected progress’ (300.324(b)(1)). Ask: If the first report shows no movement, what changes, and when do we meet about it?

Keep your questions anchored in what the law requires, not in studies. In our experience, overstating a study in a meeting costs a parent the meeting.

What to do this week

Today, send one short, dated email to the school. Ask to review your child’s records before the meeting. Ask whether a draft IEP exists, and for a copy if it does. Keep your own copy of the email.

This week, keep dated notes on what you see at home: how long homework takes, what your child avoids, what goes well. Put your top concerns at the top of the page. Print the six questions above and bring them. If you want help with the wording, our parent advocacy research summary covers the language parents use with schools.

In the room, if an answer is vague, ask to write it into the plan. What number would tell us this goal is met? Who measures it, and when do I see it? Write the answers down as they are said. After the meeting, ask for your copy of the IEP. Federal rules say you get one at no cost (300.322(f)).

You want a plan that builds your child’s skills this year, not one that only gets your child through it. What stands in the way is a system habit that counts services delivered instead of skills grown, and files a child under a label instead of helping. Your questions put the skill back at the center of the table. Nobody will ever advocate for your child as hard as you will.

Learning draws on more than one system. A goal aimed at one skill will not show you whether something else, like trouble holding focus or worry about school, is riding along. All Access gives you the full set of Learning Success tools for the whole child. It is worked alongside your child’s reading, spelling or math instruction, not in place of it. Start with All Access here.