Guidance for MCPS Parents Navigating the IEP Process

• You are an essential member of your child’s IEP team. Whenever the IEP team meets, you have the legal right to participate in that meeting.
  
  
• Although the IEP team is required to meet once a year to review your child’s IEP, you may request an IEP meeting at any time to review your child’s IEP.
  
  
• You are entitled to 10 days notice of any IEP team meeting, and you should receive materials that will be reviewed at a meeting 5 days in advance of the meeting.
  
  
• With your invitation to your child’s IEP meeting, you should receive a blank copy of a Parent Report form to complete. If you do not receive a copy, you can access the form online here. The parent report is an excellent opportunity to communicate your observations and/or concerns about your child’s education and to suggest goals for the upcoming IEP year. Click here to see an annotated copy of the Parent Report to learn where you can expect to see input from your Parent Report included in your child’s IEP.
  
  
• If you cannot attend the IEP meeting at the proposed time, you may suggest another time or request to participate by video or conference call.
  
  
• You may bring other people (a friend, educational consultant, etc.) to the IEP meeting with you.
  
  
• If English is not your native language, the school district must provide an interpreter for you if you request one.
  
  
• Your child must be invited to attend his/her IEP meetings once he/she turns 14. Your child’s participation is essential for setting realistic post-graduation goals.
  
  
• Your written consent is required before your IEP team can initiate individual testing (Step 2), initiate special education services (Step 5), remove your child from a diploma track curriculum, or include restraint and/or seclusion in your child’s IEP.
  
  
• If you disagree with the IEP team’s determination at any point, you should consult the Parental Rights: Procedural Safeguard Notice to determine what remedies may be available to you. Your school is required to give you a copy of this document annually. You may also find it online here.