The meeting is Thursday at 2:00. The speech clinician has a full afternoon and will not make it. The teacher says, "Just send a note." What note, to whom, and when?
An IEP meeting is where a student's services are decided, and your records are part of what the team has to work with. Whether you attend or send input in writing, the paper trail should show what you contributed and what the team decided. This guide goes through what the rule says and what to record.
Who is on the IEP team
Section 300.321(a) says the public agency must make sure the IEP team includes seven kinds of members.
| Member | In plain words |
|---|---|
| The parents | One or both |
| A regular education teacher | At least one, if the child is or may be in the regular education environment |
| A special education teacher | At least one or, where appropriate, a special education provider of the child |
| A public agency representative | Someone who can provide or supervise specially designed instruction, knows the general education curriculum, and knows the agency's resources |
| An evaluation interpreter | A person who can interpret what evaluation results mean for instruction. This can be one of the other members |
| Others with knowledge or special expertise | At the discretion of the parent or the agency, and including related services personnel |
| The child | When appropriate |
Related services personnel are named in the sixth row. That is the group most school therapists fall into. The party that invited an "other individual" decides whether the person has the knowledge or expertise to attend.
The third row is where it can get blurry. A speech-language pathologist may be the child's special education provider in some states, because the state treats speech services as special education. In others, the same service is a related service. Because the answer depends on state rules and on how the IEP is written, ask your supervisor which category you are in.
When a member can be excused
Section 300.321(e) lets some required members skip a meeting, in two situations.
| Situation | What the rule requires |
|---|---|
| The member's area is not being modified or discussed | The parent and the agency agree in writing that the member's attendance is not necessary |
| The member's area is being modified or discussed | The parent consents in writing, the agency consents, and the member submits written input to the parent and the IEP team before the meeting |
The second row is the one that creates paperwork for a clinician. If you are a required member and the team will talk about your area, written input has to reach the parent and the team before the meeting, not at it.
What written input might contain
The rule says "input into the development of the IEP" and does not say more. That leaves the content to you and to your district's form. A useful report usually covers:
- Present performance in your area. What the student can do now, in plain words and with numbers where you have them.
- Progress on your goals. The baseline, the latest data, and a sentence about the trend. See progress data sheets for IEP goals.
- What helps. Supports and strategies you have seen work, and what has not.
- Your recommendations. What you suggest for goals or services, labeled as a recommendation. The team decides.
- A way to reach you. Parents and teachers may have questions you can answer later.
Notice and parent participation
Section 300.322 requires the agency to tell parents the purpose, time, and location of the meeting and who will attend, early enough for them to take part. If the parent cannot come, the agency must use other methods such as individual or conference calls. The agency must take whatever action is needed so that the parent understands the proceedings, including an interpreter for a parent whose native language is not English or who is deaf. And the parent gets a copy of the IEP at no cost.
For you, that means two things. If you will join by phone or video, say so in your record. And if the family uses an interpreter, your notes about the meeting should be written so that they can be translated or explained without loss.
What to record about the meeting
You do not need a transcript. A short entry in your own record, made the same day, is enough. It should say:
- The date, and whether you attended in person, by phone, or by video, or sent written input.
- Your role at the meeting.
- What you contributed, in one or two lines, with a pointer to the written input if you sent one.
- Any decision that affects your services: frequency, duration, location, goals, or accommodations.
- Any action you took on yourself, with a date.
| Weak | Stronger |
|---|---|
| "Went to IEP." | "Attended annual review Oct 16 by video, 2:00 to 2:40, as speech-language pathologist. Shared progress on goals 1 and 2. Team agreed to keep individual sessions at 30 minutes, twice weekly." |
| "Sent report." | "Did not attend. Sent written input to parent and team on Oct 14, before the meeting." |
Changes after the meeting
ASHA says that changes to an IEP must be agreed upon, documented, signed, and dated by the team members. If a service changes, update your own log and caseload sheet from the date the change takes effect, using the IEP, not a conversation. If your understanding of the change is different from the document, tell your supervisor before you change anything.
Keep it private
A meeting involves personal information about a student and family. ASHA's guidance cautions that email and text are generally not secure for discussing student information. Do not record a meeting unless your district's policy allows it. Do not email notes about a meeting to someone outside the team. And keep other students' names out of your records, as described in FERPA and session notes.
Slips in a meeting record
- Sending input after the meeting starts. For a required member being excused, the rule says before.
- Treating a hallway conversation as input. If your recommendation matters, put it in writing.
- Writing "agreed" for something the team only discussed. Record decisions that the document confirms.
- Using the meeting note to record opinions about the family. Stick to what the team discussed and decided.
For the structure of a session note that will feed your input, see SOAP notes for school SLPs. Terms are in the glossary.