Middle/High School

IEP Planning for Middle/High School Students

By the time your child has reached this point in their education and they have an IEP, it’s time to support them in learning to effectively advocate for themselves in the classroom and during an ARC meeting. Often at this stage, services are dropped or neglected without a parent realizing this has happened. Regular communication with the school counselor assigned to your child will alleviate these concerns. When a service is reduced or dropped, it's reasonable to ask to review the data that supports this decision during an ARC meeting.

New evaluations can be completed during this time if new concerns with education develop. Reevaluations will also be completed to confirm eligibility for special education services.

A few questions to ask as you’re evaluating your student:

Are they continuing to reach expected milestones?
Are they continuing to receive the services outlined in the IEP?
Am I receiving regular progress reports?
Am I in contact with a teacher, counselor, or therapist at my child’s current school?
Are there any changes to the services of which I should be aware?
What are the goals and objectives set for them in the coming school year and how will they be measured and reported?
What is a convenient time for a monthly call or meeting to evaluate progress or concerns?

Tip #1: Once a child reaches 18 years of age, the school automatically begins discussing all IEP planning directly with them. It’s important to know this since many children are still in school during this time. Parents should be diligent to continue regular conversations with their child to ensure they are aware of program changes.

Tip #2 – The school is obligated to invite all students over the age of 14 to their own IEP meetings. Students can decline the invite, come for the entire meeting or stay for part of the meeting. They also sign the attendance sheet.

Planning for a Successful Meeting:

Meeting success is crucial when discussing your child’s IEP path. Whether this is a transition meeting from existing services, or you are evaluating the need for an IEP for the very first time, it is important to recognize you are your child’s biggest advocate. Here are a few things to think about:

Before the meeting

Know your child’s environment – Remember you are your child’s biggest advocate. In order to know what your child needs in the classroom, you must first observe the way your child, teacher, and classmates interact within that environment. If this isn’t an option, you will still be able to provide the team valuable insights based on your own observations of your child in various settings.

Know your concerns – Based on your observations, make a list of your concerns; what is going well and what needs some work.

Know your expectations – Before you can request certain goals be met with an IEP, you must first know what the expectations are for your child at this stage of their education. What are the areas where certain milestones are not being met? What are the areas where they seem to excel? Where do they seem to be struggling? What techniques have been implemented that have been successful? Where do you feel an IEP can help?

During the meeting

Know your goals – When you go into the meeting, it’s hard to know what the outcome will be, but it’s important to have some mental goals that you want to achieve.

Identifying the primary teacher, counselor, and therapists assigned to your student

Ask questions about the path they are recommending. How is your child’s performance being measured? Is their eligibility category correct?

Determine next steps. What is the timeframe for IEP Plan draft review? Once approved, how quickly will these steps be put in place? What is the timeframe and rubric for measuring success?

Useful Templates