What do parents need to know when an IEP team at school suggests removing the IEP? Parents know how important IEP services are for meeting the unique educational needs of their child. However, sometimes the school suggests removing IEP services before parents believe their child is ready.
Here’s what you can do when the school recommends removing your child’s IEP services:
- First, the School Must Reevaluate
According to 34 CFR 300, school systems must reevaluate (conduct formal evaluations) a child before determining that the child is no longer eligible for special education and an IEP.
- Standing Up for Your Right to ‘Stay Put’:
There is a legal concept called “stay-put.” Stay-put means that when the school wants to drop IEP services (or make other major changes), you can tell them to hold up, and keep things as they are while you appeal. How? Send an email (because it is automatically stamped with the time and date), saying you are invoking “stay-put” holding onto your rights, while you appeal. In order for stay-put to go into effect, you must actually file an appeal (also called “due process”).
- Keeping Things Clear with Good Documentation:
We all know paperwork can be a bit of a headache, but it’s super important here. This is where email is a real advantage. Also, keep good notes from every IEP meeting– keep these filed and organized. Consider bringing someone to meetings just to be the note-taker. Or, record meetings– in Maryland, you have the right to record IEP meetings as long as you make it known you are doing so. If the school wants to discuss something with you by phone, follow up with an email back to them summarizing the conversation.
- Figuring Out Why The IEP Team Wants to Change Things:
Get to the bottom of why the school wants to remove some IEP services or end the IEP. Does the IEP team believe that your child no longer meets the criteria for eligibility for an IEP? Ask for the actual data– remember the requirement to reevaluate– the evaluations should be in the areas of concern. The team must give you a clear reason for removing the services or IEP.
In some cases, schools want to remove services or accommodations (not the whole IEP) because they are not utilizing them well in school and they blame the child. A child refusing services or accommodations might be because of the method of delivery causing some stigma or is during a part of the day the child doesn’t want to miss. Were they given a fair shot? Could a different delivery model work better? Does the student actually have the maturity to make this decision?
- Setting the Record Straight on IEP Duration:
Some parents think IEPs have an expiration date. This is false. Your IEP stays active until a new one is written or you and the school agree to make a change. Schools are required to review and revise the IEP annually. This is the “annual review date”– however, if the school misses that date, they don’t just get to stop providing services because of their own failure to comply with deadlines.
- Checking if IEP Goals Are Achieved:
Before waving goodbye to any IEP goals or services, take a look at your child’s goals. Has the IEP team provided data to show that your child has met her goals? If not, it is not the right time to cut services. Or, has your child met the goals they had but needs new goals to get closer to grade level standards? In that case, it’s time to discuss making new goals to keep that progress going strong. You can share information you have as well, like how much time the student spends on homework and how much support is needed to get it done. If the student is completing work, but only with a high level of support at home, that is not an independent work sample, and not good data.
7. Can the school drop services from my child’s IEP without holding an IEP meeting?
No. The school can’t just decide to remove services from your child’s IEP without holding an IEP meeting which you attend and participate in. Changes need a heads-up that they are about to happen– the written notice of this is called Prior Written Notice (PWN). The PWN should give a reasonable explanation for the changes.
This blog post is for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. If you think you need assistance with your child’s special education program, you can schedule a quick call here.