This is for you if
- Your child was recently evaluated
- Your first IEP meeting is scheduled
- No one has told you what you can ask for
Three of the twelve
The other nine are in the PDF, laid out the same way — with room to write the answer next to the question, while you are still in the room.
How exactly will this goal be measured, and what does mastery look like?
“Will improve behavior” cannot be measured. “Will follow a two-step direction in 4 of 5 opportunities” can.
Is this delivered one-to-one or in a group — and how many children are in the group?
Thirty minutes shared among five children is not thirty minutes.
How will every teacher who works with my child find out about these accommodations?
An accommodation nobody was told about is not an accommodation.
One sentence does most of the work
“Will you put that in prior written notice?”
Use this when the team declines something you asked for.
Prior written notice is a standard part of the IEP process when a team declines something a parent proposed. Asking for it turns a verbal no into a documented one, and a documented no is something you can respond to later. How it works varies by state and district — your state’s Parent Center can confirm the specifics.
It is question twelve, and the reason the other eleven are worth writing down.
How it is meant to be used
It is a working document
Not something to read and file. You print it, tick what you ask, and write the answer in the space next to it.
One meeting, completely
Not a binder for the whole year. What to do before, what to ask during, and what happens after — for the first meeting.
Nothing about your child is in it
It makes no assumptions about your child and prescribes nothing. You are the person in the room who knows.
What this is not
It is an organizational tool, not legal advice. It does not tell you what to ask for.
IEP procedures vary by state and by district. For questions about your child’s rights, every state has a Parent Training and Information Center, and their help is free — find your state’s center.
Get the four pages
Free, and yours to print as many times as you need.