Do I have to wait until my yearly IEP meeting to change things?

The answer is NO. Parents of boys receiving special education services are equal members of the Individualized Education Program (IEP) team. Occasionally, parents may have concerns regarding a specific aspect of their child's IEP and would like to request a meeting to review and/or revise the IEP. Examples of when it is appropriate to request an IEP meeting include but are not limited to:

• Your child has met one of several of his goals
• Your child is not making adequate progress towards one or several of his goals
• You have new information to share with the IEP team that may affect services
• You believe your child no longer needs the services they are receiving

The implementing regulations of the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) 2004 state that the IEP team should review the IEP periodically, but not less than annually, to determine whether the annual goals of a child are being achieved and revise the IEP, as appropriate, to address:

• Any lack of expected progress toward the annual goals
• Results of any reevaluations conducted
• Information about the child’s provided to, or by, the parents
• The child’s anticipated needs
• Other matters

Each state also has an administrative code that typically defines the timeline in which the school needs to respond to that parent with a date for review of the IEP with the appropriate school staff attending. Each state will be different but make sure you put the request in writing.

Please see my list of resources for a sample letter template to use.