Should districts send parents a copy of draft IEPs?
IDEA 2004 discourages school districts from providing draft IEPs because it sends a message of predetermination of placement, services, goals, etc and the idea that parental participation in the IEP meeting is not needed nor are their concerns important. Below is the Commentary from the Federal Register (FR) which discusses how draft IEPs should be used as it pertains to an upcoming IEP meeting.
The Federal Register is the official daily publication for Federal government rules, proposed rules, and notices, as well as executive orders and other Presidential documents. The Federal Register announces ongoing activities of the agencies and notifies you when you can comment on a proposed regulation. Once a rule is issued in the form of a final regulation, the regulation is then codified when it is incorporated into the Code of Federal Regulations.
When IDEA 2004 was published it included an Analysis of Comments and Changes called the “Commentary” with the regulations. In the Commentary, terms, definitions, and requirements are described in clear language.
Commentary: Draft IEPs
The Commentary was published in the Federal Register, Volume 71, pages 46540-46845.
“With respect to a draft IEP, we encourage public agency staff to come to an IEP Team meeting prepared to discuss evaluation findings and preliminary recommendations. Likewise, parents have the right to bring questions, concerns, and preliminary recommendations to the IEP Team meeting as part of a full discussion of the child’s needs and the services to be provided to meet those needs. We do not encourage public agencies to prepare a draft IEP prior to the IEP Team meeting, particularly if doing so would inhibit a full discussion of the child’s needs. However, if a public agency develops a draft IEP prior to the IEP Team meeting, the agency should make it clear to the parents at the outset of the meeting that the services proposed by the agency are preliminary recommendations for review and discussion with the parents. 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. It is not permissible for an agency to have the final IEP completed before an IEP Team meeting begins.” (FR 46678)
What to ask for before an annual IEP meeting:
At a minimum ask for the following to help prepare for an annual IEP meeting-draft copy of proposed goals & objectives, draft copy of proposed list of accommodations & updated IEP Progress Report on current goals & objectives.
If a school district does not want to provide at least a draft copy of proposed goals & objectives send an email explaining you need time to review the goals and current progress so you can actively participate in discussions at the IEP meeting. Failure to provide draft copies of goals limits your meaningful parent participation which Congress emphasized is an important part of IDEA. “Over 20 years of research and experience have demonstrated that the education of children with disabilities can be made more effective by … strengthening the role of parents and ensuring the families of such children have meaningful opportunities to participate in the education of their children at school and at home.” IDEA ’97, Section 601(c)(5)(B)