How Do You Participate In An Individualized Education Plan?
If you have, or think you have, a child with special needs (including giftedness), you will need to participate in Individualized Education Plan conferences with school personnel. Here’s how to use IEP meetings to get your child the services he needs and is entitled to receive. Get your child tested if you suspect he has special needs, such as a speech or language disability, an attention deficit disorder, or a learning disability. Your child’s public school must provide such testing – or you may opt for a private evaluation. Become familiar with the system and your rights within it. Even if your child attends a private school, the public school district where you live is mandated to provide testing and services for your child’s special needs. Involve your child in the process as much as possible. Whether or not he participates in the actual IEP meetings, he should be part of decisions that affect his education. Persist! It can seem like the process of getting testing and services move
