12. We took the liberty of filling out a "draft" IEP.. Please sign here.

Problem:

A lot of school personnel, realizing the limited amount of time in the IEP meeting, may draft an IEP for the student ahead of time. The problem is, if it was not created in context of the discussions, concerns, and priorities of the parents and other IEP team members, it is out of compliance with the law. A draft IEP is truly only a list of proposed recommendations that the educational personnel happen to put on the actual form. It carries no weight until the considerations of the draft have been discussed and agreed upon by the entire IEP team, including the parent. It is true that to actually discuss, agree upon, and write the IEP in one 1.5 to 2 hr. meeting is usually impossible. Beginning to see the IEP "negotiations" as a series of meetings, emails, phone calls is probably more in line with reality. As long as you are involved with the draft, it does make sense to work ahead of time on the IEP.

Responses:

Two weeks before the scheduled IEP meeting -

"I wanted to make sure that before we meet in two weeks, if you will be creating a draft of Nicole's IEP, that I get a copy of that 10 days before the meeting, so that I may come to the meeting prepared to talk about the recommendations in the draft. Better yet, let's set up a time to work on the draft together."

If you get to the meeting, and a draft is presented that you didn't know had been created -

"Because I didn't have time to look at this draft ahead of time, let's have a discussion about each of the elements, and as a team, we can incorporate the parts of the draft we determine are needed for Mike into the one we write today."

Read the law that supports your responses:

The Law:

20 U.S.C. 1414 (d) The term "individualized education program" or "IEP" means a written statement for each child with a disability is developed, reviewed, and revised in accordance with this section that includes:

(d) (1) (B) Individualized education program team. The term "individualized education program team" or "IEP Team" means a group of individuals composed of:

(i) the parents of a child with a disability;

(ii) at least one regular education teacher of such child (if the child is, or may be, participating in the regular education environment);

(iii) at least one special education teacher, or where appropriate, at least one special education provider of such child;

(iv) a representative of the local educational agency who

(I) is qualified to provide, or supervise the provision of, specially designed instruction to meet the unique needs of children with disabilities;

(II) is knowledgeable about the availability of resources of the local educational agency;

(III) is knowledgeable about the availability of resources of the local educational agency;

(v) an individual who can interpret the instructional implications of evaluation results, who may be a member of the team described in clauses (ii) through (vi);

(vi) at the discretion of the parent or the agency, other individuals who have knowledge or special expertise regarding the child, including related services personnel as appropriate; and

(vii) whenever appropriate, the child with a disability.

Sections 30D, 343 (c) (iii) and 300.346 (a) (1) and (b): Parents are considered equal partners with school personnel in making these decisions. The team must consider parents requests and provide written notice of team's refusal.

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