How long should a school have to get me a copy of the revised IEP after my son’s IEP meeting?
You should get a copy of your child’s IEP right away. There is no reason for any delay. Write a short polite letter to request a copy.
If the school wants to send you a “clean” copy” later, thank them, but make it clear that you want a copy of the original IEP before you leave the meeting. Ask that they send you the “clean copy” when it’s available. When you get the clean copy, compare it to the original.
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I received a copy of my childs IEP but it was missing the signature page and non of the boxes were checked on the cover page. Isn’t this wrong?
Regina, Have you requested that the school do a multifactored test ? If not request one in writing and request that you need a response within 5 business days. After they get the request you need to check to see if the school has paperwork you need to sign for the testing because in our school if you do not sign their paperwork the 60 day clock does not start only after you sign their official papers requesting the test. After the testing is done you will have a meeting. Don’t sign anything until you have a chance to read the results and perhaps have an advocate/professional help you with it. If you do not like the results you may request an outside test to be done at the school’s expense and when that testing is complete reconvene with the school.
Betsy, I usually get a DRAFT copy of the IEP before the meeting so I have a chance to read it, digest it and come up with comments, questions. After we have the meeting I NEVER sign it until the revised version is all typed up and I again have a chance to read it just in case they “accidentally” changed something which has happened and then it is hard to unchange. As far as timing, I am not sure.
I am struggling as a single mom and a caregiver to my oldest daughter (21) and my youngest daughter (5). My oldest daughter suffered a TBI just before her senior year of high school and requires complete care. She doesn’t talk, walk or eat. She is still in high school. I am in a new school system and my youngest daughter has been diagnosed with Asperger’s and ADHD. She has many other problems with her vision, her motor skills and perception problems… etc… (long list). I don’t have any problems with my oldest child as far as the school district goes, but I do with my youngest. It seems they are so adamant that there are not any problems with my youngest that they feel the need to offer any services. We have had two meetings now (pre and K) and nothing has been accomplished. They will not return my calls. They dispute her diagnosis .
I’m trying to find out if 10 days is best practice or legally required. Does anyone know?
We used to get a copy of the draft at the end of our IEP meetings, but now that we are in the Middle School I am being told we have to wait for the final from the district office. Our IEP meeting was over 30 days ago.
I have NEVER received a clean copy even at request. All the teacher does is mark through draft and put her intiials on it. I also request a copy of the IEP before the meeting and I get told we can review everything at the meeting.
Jenni: Is the “marked up draft” readable/understandable and does it clearly indicate the changes/decisions made at the IEP meeting? I guess if we look at 300.322(f), the regs require a “copy” be given to the parent, not necessarily a “clean” copy. Many parents are concerned because they are left with only a draft copy, then a clean copy produced later is a different document.
Who prepared the draft? Were you involved? It’s not always possible to review and evaluate everything at the IEP meeting. US DOE Commentary states: “The public agency also should provide the parents with a copy of its draft proposals, if the agency has developed them, prior to the IEP Team meeting so as to give the parents an opportunity to review the recommendations of the public agency prior to the IEP Team meeting, and be better able to engage in a full discussion of the proposals for the IEP.” Find the citation in this article: https://www.wrightslaw.com/info/iep.draft.howey.htm
A copy of the IEP is not provided unless parents request it. Even when they request it in writing, it is difficult to get a copy in a timely way.
My daughter is in 8th grade and we had her IEP/HS transition meeting this past Friday. In all these years, I received a printed copy of the IEP immediately after the meeting. I would always go over it and often there were mistakes, but a call or email to sped director would clear things up w/out a problem. After this last meeting, the sped director asked if they could send my IEP copy via PDF file. Caught off guard, I said ok. I’m sure they’re trying to save $$, but we pay a lot in taxes AND privately pay for extra tutoring and Home ABA program for our child. I think it’s the district’s responsibility to provide parents a printed hard copy of the IEP. At the IEP meeting we provide a parent input summary and there are other outside reports – I’m unclear how these are added to PDF file. I’ve sent sped email requesting hard copy.
I have requested a copy of the proposed IEP before the 4/13/10 meeting and the case manager advised that they will be developing the IEP up until that day. They will not give me an advanced copy of the proposed IEP. Is this right?
Jennifer – read these two articles. You’ll find what US DOE says about draft IEPs. https://www.wrightslaw.com/blog/?p=150 and https://www.wrightslaw.com/info/iep.draft.howey.htm
“The public agency also should provide the parents with a copy of its draft proposals, if the agency has developed them, prior to the IEP Team meeting so as to give the parents an opportunity to review the recommendations of the public agency prior to the IEP Team meeting, and be better able to engage in a full discussion of the proposals for the IEP.”
Have you documented your request in writing in a letter to the school and documented the school’s refusal? You may also want to mention in your letter that you would hate to inconvenience everyone by having to request another IEP meeting since you may not prepared or able ” to engage in a full discussion of the proposals for the IEP” or if you needed more time and an “opportunity to review the recommendations of the public agency prior to the IEP Team meeting.”
I do not want to sound stupid, but what does an IEP look like or contain? My son is in second grade and we have numerous IEP meetings every school year. I have never received an IEP after any meeting.
Here in Columbus Ohio, it must depend on the school. When my son was attending special-needs preschool, I always got a draft of his IEP before the meeting. We went over the revisions in the meeting and all signed off on it then. I got my copy of the final draft within 2 weeks. Now my son is in a public school, and we had our first IEP meeting in November. They did not have a draft ready to go over- we only looked at the previous IEP (which had previously expired w/out their knowledge). I had nothing to sign, and here we are nearly 2 months later STILL with nothing signed.. and no copy, either.
Went to IEP meeting, proposed changes, my proposals for the most part denied, but not documented as to the fact that I made the proposals and the reasons for denial….the school’s were documented, the IEP did NOT incl. what was agreed upon as far as what I had requested….measureable goals and HOW they would be measured, supports, removal of testing that was used as a basis but was never documented (no test doc avail), testing dates documented incorrectly, etc.Principal adversarial….not willing to work w/me and walked out of IEP mtg 2x, Do I have a specific amount of time to disagaree with final of IEP?
COPY OF IEP
I am trying to find a copy of my daughters iep which she graduated in 2005 but to get her into a program that best fits her needs. I would like her iep from highschool.
WHAT does the LAW say? Are team members required to provide at least a draft at the meeting? Within how many days does the law require school districts to provide the clean copy??
I am totally blind and the district cannot provide the IEP in a media for my review. I asked for the IEP to be sent in a PDF file, but their system is unable to do this. Braille is not feasible and I am now in the dark as to what my daughter’s goals are. The district sent my wife a print copy, but as I stated I am unable to read this IEP on my own.
Our print copy of the IEP was sent to us four months late. The district stated no real good reason for the delay. We are having transportation difficulty as her feeder school is about 25 miles from our home. This school is the only one in IL that has the facilities for a child with low vision. We are wanting to send her to the school in our home district, but we are afraid they will not provide the vision equipment. Help.
At preschool level if there is not a school available, can the parent get an incomplete IEP?
Can a private school for special education be allowed to withhold a child’s IEP as a demand for payment on their tuition account?
If not, can they be sued for failure to do so, under USC?
According to the Supervisor of my district we are to recieve the IEP 15 days before the start ot the new school year. I had to call the county Supervisor because I believed that to be untrue. This Supervisor had to call the other supervisor to tell her to send me one. She stated that the case manager does not work in the summer and now had to call her in to complete it. I have had to send in a letter every year to “clear this up” that I would like a copy of my children’s IEP, since we have the meeting May 3rd of every year. The Supervisor of my district will only send me the IEP if I put my request in writing. In NJ.
My IEP was not given to me until the week before school started in September, because I just happened to be on the phone with someone there. Everyone else in the school district did not get theirs until Mid September. No one ever signs off on their IEP, the school district just passes implements the IEPS in the schools without the parents signing off on them.
During my first year teaching I did send a draft of my proposals to parents prior to meeting- many did not offer suggestions nor comment-
I do have written copies of proposed IEPS at our meeting- we go over it thoroughly and write in any changes/additions or what-nots parents, other team members or advocates suggest-
we input into our computer program- and if all goes well- print and hand out a clean, official new/revised copy with all signatures immediately after the meeting- if for some reasons a parent is unable to get a copy immediately- I make it my business to ensure that they receive a copy within two business days-
I also send specifics on teaching strategies to some of my newer parents- so they can implement similar techniques at home-
My district is quite diligent in ensuring that we follow the legal requirements!
I do not leave the meeting without a copy. I politely tell them I will wait and even offer to make the copies if they need me to. Sometimes they will say they need to “clean” it up, I still tell them I will wait for my copy.
On the East end of Long Island it can take several weeks to several months. Worse, no one documents the meetings. Notes are not taken so parents can’t get a copy and the meetings are only recorded when the parent does it.
I just participated in a hearing this week where the Districts IEP, produced after a lengthy cde, had more than 30 errors on the goals and objectives and the district refuses to correct. It took over 8 months after filing the complaint to get a hearing, where the district finally agreed to fix it. All that time, this child’s IEP goals were wrong.
Before leaving the meeting, I kindly ask that I receive a copy of my child’s IEP. I had to learn this the hard way. I would receive a copy a day or two later and then found that all of my hard work was a waste because I didn’t have an original to compare with the IEP I received. I tape record the meetings also because that ensures that the things I’ve requested or addressed are there at my fingertips and for me to compare with the IEP. To ensure that my requests will be in the IEP, I make a checklist for every team member asking questions, how goal is being met, needs for modification, etc. because then I know how to word the goals in my child’s IEP to ensure that she actually has goals that will be measurable and beneficial to her functionally and academically. One word of advice, never leave the meeting without a copy.
Evidently, in NY there is no requirement for parents to sign an IEP, so all the advice on this site about signing or not signing IEPs is moot. We are in Westchester County, NY. We get a draft IEP about 2 weeks after the meeting, but the final copy is not sent to us until the school board meets, which can often be months later.
I haven’t received my childs updated IEP yet. It has been 2 weeks. It had many new accomodations and I’m concerned that the Principal is trying to change it.
My child was suppose to receive counseling and hasn’t received any as of yet.
Lynne:
Wrightslaw: Special Education Law, 2nd Edition, p. 248.
Federal special education regulations – 34 CFR § 300.322(f):
“Parent copy of child’s IEP. The public agency must give the parent a copy of the child’s IEP at no cost to the parent.”
This article is like a riddle. It would be so much more helpful if this article actually quoted the law that parents could cite to their district that they have an obligation to provide a copy of the IEP.
Readily available by end of meetings from 2004-2007. This stopped once we increased advocacy in 2007. Now they need time to summarize agreements and determine phrasing. This has caused major problems (agreements missing or changed) and State now provides Iep meeting facilitator and notetaker in all Iep meetings. State claims that District can have extra time to complete paperwork outside of the meeting. So problems remain and it appears that facilitator is more of a formality (state won’t allow him to act as a witness to agreements) and notes are only as good as the notetaker. Audio recordings reveal everything but are generally ignored.
Before computers we got the IEP in the meeting. Now with computerization it is a couple of weeks of polishing before we see it. But maybe that is also before I had not read FETA, and now I have.
ISD in Austin, Texas refuses to provide a copy of IEP at meeting. The district states that they need to clean it up and “finalize” it. Even when I specifically asked for a copy (it was sitting right there on the table) the district refused. They also refused to provide an immediate copy of the minutes of the meeting, also stating that they needed to “finalize” it.
Does the IDEA address this refusal?
How do I write a letter requesting an 1 on 1 aid for my son who is in special day clas?
It’s very easy to get a copy of the IEP from our district. They give it to you immediately after the meeting and never charge you if you want an extra copy sent to your home.
We never get a copy of the IEP until weeks after the meeting. By then, the director forgot what the team had agreed to, and when parents point out the “oversight” and omissions, she claims they are requesting changes.
My CPSE to CSE transition meeting was held on 4/9/08 and after repeated requests, I received it three weeks before school started in Sept. It was incomplete. I called Albany and NYS Special Ed Reps and no one was able to tell me when I should have received the IEP. I was later informed by the NY State Rep that there is really no specific turnaround time. Is that the case? Thanks
Since the district knows who I am and the accountability I hold them to, my son’s IEP is printed after each page is completed and handed to me at the end of the meeting with a comment of – I know you don’t sign but if you could read this and sign as soon as possible it would be appreciated. Other parents in my district are not given one at the time of the meeting, or are told that it is illegal to give them a copy and they must sign immediately.
We won out placement for our child a couple of years ago; The LEA Rep that attends our IEP Meetings enters all data on the form via laptop then prints and distributes it at the end of the meeting…
My school district gives me a copy, after every meeting, we wait until they are done writing up the IEP. We have someone write down changes on a blank forms, I am given a rough draft of goals a week prior to the meeting and changes are made at the IEP meeting.
I don’t know if this is done for everyone like this in my district, but this is how it is done for my three children.
I got my copy of the IEP before I left the meeting because I insisted on it and waited for it to be copied for me. I think the school would’ve been just as happy to mail it to me at a later time.
I don’t receive a copy until I ask. Recently I have been having difficulty getting copies of evaluations…physical therapy and full communication evaluation. I finally received the written PT eval but am still waiting for the communication eval. It has been one week since the written request and over a month since the evaluation. We had an IEP meeting about the evaluation a month ago.