Involve Students in the IEP Process

When students become involved in the process of developing their own Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), they have the opportunity to practice many of the essential self-determination skills they need in school and in life. Unfortunately, students are often excluded from this process, and their presence at an IEP meeting does not necessarily mean that they are actively participating. Students may be left out of the process because teachers are not familiar with the concept of self-determination or are unsure how to use the IEP process to support the development of self-determination skills. The IEP process typically has four stages: planning, drafting, meeting to revise and finalize the draft, and implementing the program. However, when involving students, an additional stage must be added at the beginning of the process to provide students with the necessary background knowledge and a rationale to facilitate their active and meaningful participation. This article describes 20 simple ways to involve students in the IEP process. (Contains 3 figures.)