An Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) is created by a team of individuals with special knowledge about the student, the students parents, the student themselves in some cases and whomever the parent elects to include in the meeting.
IDEA requires that the following individuals attend an IEP meeting,
– no less than one regular education teacher
– no less than one special education teacher/special education provider of the child
– a representative of the public agency who is qualified to provide, or supervise the provision of, specially designed instruction to meet the unique needs of children with disabilities, is knowledgeable about the general education curriculum and is knowledgeable about the availability of resources of the public agency
– if evaluations will be reviewed, an attendee must be present who is able to interpret the results of the evaluation(s)
In addition to all that, the parents and school board can invite whomever they want to the meeting that brings value to the development of the IEP.
– Sec. 300.321 IEP Team
Depending on what state you are in, a school based IEP team can finalize an IEP with or without parent permission. In some states, all signatures are simply a signature of attendance, not approval or permission for the plans implementation and in other states parents need to sign the IEP for the IEP to be finalized. In both cases, if either party is in disagreement and is unable to successfully mediate that disagreement, the parent and the school mutually have the right to file a Request for Due Process Hearing. It’s important to check your individual rule according to your state of residence.
