Questions to Ask During IEP Meeting
Questions for a parent going into an IEP meeting: how the goals and baselines were set, exactly what services are written into the document, who delivers them, how progress gets reported, and what to do if you disagree with part of the plan.
The questions
Open any question for the note
Can I have the draft IEP and any new evaluation reports a few days before we meet?
Why ask it
Reading a document for the first time across a table, with eight people waiting, is how details get agreed to by accident. Most teams will send a draft if asked, and a refusal tells you to slow the meeting down when it happens.
Does the present levels section describe my child as they are right now, and where did each statement come from?
Why ask it
This section drives everything after it, and text often carries over from last year unchanged. Ask which sentences come from current testing, which from teacher observation, and which from a previous IEP.
What is my child's current baseline on each goal, and what data is that number from?
Why ask it
A goal without a starting point cannot be measured, and vague baselines are the most common weakness in a draft. If the answer is a general impression rather than a score, count, or rate, ask for the goal to be rewritten with a number in it.
For each goal, what exactly would count as met, and who collects the data?
Why ask it
Ask for the condition, the behavior, the criterion, and the person responsible. Goals that say will improve or will demonstrate progress cannot be failed, which means nobody will ever be accountable for them.
How often will I get progress data, and in what form?
Why ask it
Quarterly progress notes that read on track tell you nothing. Ask for the actual data, such as the work samples, probe scores, or session counts, and ask when in the year it arrives so a problem surfaces with time left to fix it.
How many minutes of each service, how often, and is it direct or consultative?
Why ask it
Consultative time means a specialist advises the teacher rather than working with your child, and the two look identical in casual conversation. Get the number of minutes and the frequency written into the document, not described in the meeting.
Will services happen in the classroom or outside it, and what does my child miss while they are out?
Why ask it
Pull-out sessions are often scheduled against a subject or against recess, and nobody mentions which. This is where a support quietly costs your child something else.
Who specifically delivers each service, and what is their caseload?
Why ask it
A service listed as speech therapy might be delivered by a therapist, an assistant, or a contractor, and a caseload of sixty tells you what those minutes will look like in practice. Ask for the role and the ratio, not a name you cannot verify.
What happens to those minutes when the provider is absent or the position is unfilled?
Why ask it
Missed sessions are the most common gap between the document and the year. Ask whether they are made up, how that is tracked, and who tells you when they are not.
Which of these are accommodations and which are modifications, and does any of it change what my child is graded against?
Why ask it
Accommodations change how your child accesses the same material; modifications change the material or the standard. The difference matters for grades, for standardized testing, and eventually for a diploma track, and it is often blurred in the room.
How will every adult who works with my child know what is in this plan, including specials teachers, substitutes, and lunch and recess staff?
Why ask it
An IEP is legally binding on the school, but it fails when nobody outside the case manager has read it. Ask for the mechanism: a one-page summary, a shared folder, a start-of-year briefing, and who confirms it happened.
How much of the day will my child be with general education peers, and what would have to change for that to increase?
Why ask it
Placement is required to be as close to the general classroom as the child's needs allow, so the question is what specifically prevents more. A vague answer about readiness is not the same as a barrier that can be worked on.
What was tried before this level of support was proposed, and what did the data show?
Why ask it
You are asking whether the plan responds to evidence or to convenience. Teams that can name the intervention, the duration, and the result are making a reasoned recommendation; teams that cannot are guessing at your child's expense.
If behavior is part of this, has there been a functional behavior assessment, and is there a written behavior plan?
Why ask it
Behavior strategies improvised by each adult produce inconsistent responses and escalation. An assessment identifies what the behavior achieves for the child, and the plan should name the antecedents, the replacement skill, and the adult response.
What happens if my child is removed from class or suspended?
Why ask it
Removals accumulate, and after a certain number of days the team must consider whether the behavior related to your child's disability before discipline continues. Ask how removals are recorded, since informal calls home asking you to pick your child up early often never reach the count.
Is my child eligible for extended school year services, and what decides that?
Why ask it
Eligibility usually turns on whether skills are lost over a break and how long they take to recover, not on whether summer help would be nice. Ask what data would be used to decide, and ask early enough that it can be collected.
Is transportation part of this plan, and what would it look like door to door?
Why ask it
Transportation can be written in as a related service when it is needed to access school. Ask about ride length, whether an aide or harness is required, and who to call when a bus does not arrive.
What is written for transition, and how do these goals connect to what happens after school?
Why ask it
Transition planning is required by the mid-teen years and earlier in some states, and it is often filled in with generic text. Ask what your child said they want, what assessment informed it, and which goals actually move toward it.
If I disagree with part of this, what are my options, and what happens in the meantime?
Why ask it
Ask them to explain in plain terms: what your written disagreement does, what an independent evaluation would involve, and what mediation, a state complaint, or a due process hearing each mean. A team that can walk through this calmly is more reassuring than one that treats the question as hostile.
What are the next steps, who is responsible for each one, and when do we meet again?
Why ask it
Meetings end with agreements that lose their owner by Friday. Get the name and date beside each item, and ask that they appear in the meeting notes rather than in your handwriting alone.
Preparing for and running an IEP meeting
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Before the meeting
- Ask in writing for the draft IEP, any new evaluation reports, and the list of who will attend. A few days to read is the single biggest advantage you can give yourself.
- Write down your three priorities for the year and keep them visible. Meetings drift, and a short list keeps you from leaving without the thing that mattered most.
- Gather your own evidence: homework that took three hours, a note from a private therapist, a video of a morning routine, dates of incidents. Specifics get written into documents; impressions get sympathy.
- Ask whether you may bring someone. A friend who takes notes while you talk changes what you retain, and parent advocates are permitted.
- If you want to record, ask about the policy in advance. Rules differ by state and district, and asking beforehand avoids a dispute at the start of the meeting.
In the room
If it is not in the document, it does not exist
Verbal reassurances do not follow your child to next year's teacher. When something is agreed, ask for the wording to go into the IEP before the conversation moves on.
Ask for numbers and names
Minutes, frequency, who delivers it, how it is measured, when you hear about it. Words like as needed, as appropriate, and at teacher discretion turn a service into an option, so ask for them to be replaced.
You can slow it down
You can ask for time to read, ask a question twice, or ask the team to reconvene rather than finish something you do not understand. Nothing requires the document to be completed in one sitting.
Know what you are signing
A signature line can mean attendance rather than agreement, depending on the form and the stage of the process. Ask which one it is, and ask what happens to the plan if you decline to agree to part of it.
Wording worth questioning
- A range of minutes, such as 30 to 60 per week: the lower number is what you should expect.
- Services described as consultative when you assumed direct work with your child.
- Goals with no baseline, or with a baseline copied from last year.
- Progress measured by teacher observation alone, with no work product or data collection named.
- Accommodations listed without saying who is responsible for providing them.
- Text that appears to describe a different child, which usually means it came from a template.
After the meeting
- Ask for a copy of the finalized IEP and read it against your notes. Differences between what was said and what was written are normal and correctable, but only if you notice.
- Put the progress reporting dates in your calendar, and follow up the day one is late.
- Send a short email summarizing anything you were told verbally. It creates a record without creating a confrontation.
- If services are not happening as written, write to the case manager and ask for the data. Missed minutes are easier to recover early in the year.
- You can request a meeting at any point rather than waiting for the annual review, and you can ask for one in writing if something is not working.