Know Your Rights and Options

Understand your child's legal rights to special education. Your school district is required by IDEA to give you copies of special education statutes, regulations, and policies. Read these carefully, keeping in mind that under the law, parents are equal decision makers -- just as important as everyone else at the IEP meeting.

Determine your options. Gather information about various programs within your school district (as well as those outside of it) that may be appropriate for your child. Talk to your child's teacher, the school assessor, the district special education administrator, and other parents. Visit as many of these programs as you can before the IEP meeting.

Going to the Meeting

Mastering these tasks requires you to be organized, to ask questions, and to make use of resources that are widely available. Parents' groups and disability organizations can help tremendously in the process. If you plan, organize, and persevere, you will help your child. You may not make the IEP meeting perfect, or even pleasant, but your child will benefit from your efforts.

For comprehensive guidance on special education and the IEP process, read The Complete IEP Guide: How to Advocate for Your Special Ed Child, by attorney Lawrence Siegel (Nolo).

Or, if your child has a learning disability (as opposed to another type of disability), read Nolo's IEP Guide: Learning Disabilities (Nolo) in which Lawrence Siegel tailors his discussion of special education and IEPs specifically for the parents of children with learning disabilities.