Having Students Involved in Their IEP Meetings

Students should be included in their IEP meetings since these meetings are about their learning progress and individualized planning to fit their needs. Every individual’s developmental disability is different. However, that shouldn’t diminish or take away from their attendance or participation in an IEP meeting. 

This can also connect the path of communication for all parties involved: students, parents, teachers, and additional parties. Rather than the student going to the teacher and parent on separate instances, or parents and teachers communicating while the parent also talks to their child about school; this can potentially lessen that and make way for an easier and more effective way of communicating. 

Having students involved in their IEP meetings also gives them the opportunity to exercise self advocacy. From there, the student can address what’s working and what’s not working in the classroom. To add, this can also give the student the opportunity to communicate in the area of assistive technology: whether they need AT or already have it, if they’ve been properly trained with their AT; and from there, the meeting can also entail addressing AT and AT training needs, in addition to the rest of the meeting’s agenda. 

To contribute further, if there are acts of abuse or neglect in the classroom, having a student present at their IEP meeting may potentially be able to expose said abuses or neglections for the parents to know and be able to take action on, in addition to other parties that may be present at the meeting aside from the teachers, parents, and student. 

At the end of the day, the IEP is intentionally designed for the student in which it is created for, hence why the student should always be a participant in their IEP meetings. This not only is there right to be, but this is a law that schools across the country must abide by. This is also a responsibility for parents to have their children attend their IEP meetings. Regardless of the circumstance for the student, their voice must always be heard to ensure that they are getting the education that they have the right to receive.