Student Services > Learning and Disability Support > Disability Support > Individual Education Plans (IEP's) > Stages of the process >

IEP meeting

Throughout the IEP process it is likely there will be a number of consultations within the team. The most critical of these, is that where family members and educational personnel meet as equal participants to jointly decide learning priorities. This consultation is referred to as the IEP meeting.

Prepare the team

In order to ensure the IEP meeting is productive careful preparation is needed both by the family and the staff.

Before attending the meeting families need to review the information previously gathered and consider learning priorities. When appropriate, active participation by the student in the IEP meeting should be encouraged. Adequate preparation for this is essential. Families may like to invite an advocate, friend or relative to accompany them to the IEP meeting.

In preparation, educational personnel should also consider learning priorities for the student and appoint representatives who will attend the IEP meeting. Quality interactions are more likely when the number of educational personnel at this meeting is kept to a minimum.

Hold the IEP meeting and circulate relevant information

The IEP meeting will be facilitated by:

following an agenda
ensuring all participants can contribute
keeping the meeting short - one hour or less
keeping paperwork to a minimum
documenting information in an easily understood format which is available to all involved.

Outcomes of the meeting should include:

clarification of family expectations and future aspirations
prioritised learning for the IEP period
identification of environments where the learning will occur
individual team member responsibilities
date of review
additional tasks (e.g., transition preparation).

Notes of the meeting should be written by the team coordinator and distributed to all relevant personnel.

When family members are unable to attend the IEP meeting, consultation, preferably by teleconference, will be necessary.

^ Top of page