IEP prep workbook
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The short answer
Fill this in before the meeting and take it with you. It puts your goals, in your words, on the table alongside the school's draft.
Ask for the draft plan and all reports at least a few days beforehand. Reading them at the table is a disadvantage. 1
The numbers, up front
- What the plan must contain
- Present levels, measurable annual goals, services with frequency and duration, accommodations, and how progress is measured and reported 1
- You are on the team
- Parents are members of the group that develops the plan, and the school must take steps to ensure you can participate 1
- Written notice
- When a district proposes or refuses something, it must give you prior written notice explaining what and why 1
- Least restrictive environment
- Children with disabilities must be educated with children who are not disabled to the maximum extent appropriate 1
Before the meeting
- Ask for the draft and all reports at least a few days before
- Read them and mark anything you disagree with
- Write your goals in your own words
- Gather recent reports from outside therapists or doctors
- Ask who will attend, and invite anyone you want with you 1
- Ask for an interpreter if you need one
- Book a longer meeting if you have a lot to cover
What my child is good at
Start here on purpose. A meeting that opens with strengths goes differently.
What is hard at school right now
My goals for this year
What I think they need
Include the things that get missed.
- Minutes of each service, and who delivers it
- Equipment, and who charges and maintains it
- Transport as a related service
- Toileting and personal care
- Fire evacuation for a child who cannot use stairs
- Rest built in for fatigue
- Communication device present and used in every class
- Assessment of attention, organisation and processing speed
Questions to ask during
- How will we measure that goal?
- What happens if the goal is not met?
- How many minutes of each service, and delivered by whom?
- Who is responsible for the equipment?
- What is the plan for fatigue and for rest?
- What is the plan for fire evacuation?
- Can I have the draft and all reports before the next meeting?
Notes during the meeting
What was agreed / by whom / by when
You do not have to sign at the meeting. You can take the plan home and respond in writing.
After the meeting
- Send a short email summarising what was agreed and by when
- Ask for the final signed plan
- Diarize the review date
- File this workbook with the plan
If you disagree, you can ask for prior written notice, request an independent educational evaluation, or use mediation, a state complaint or a due process hearing. 1 Your state parent center helps for free. 2
Where these facts come from
- U.S. Government Publishing Office, Electronic Code of Federal Regulations. 34 CFR Part 300, Assistance to States for the Education of Children with Disabilities. 2025. www.ecfr.gov/current/title-34/subtitle-B/chapter-III/part-30. Link checked September 3, 2026.
- Center for Parent Information and Resources. Find Your Parent Center. 2025. www.parentcenterhub.org/find-your-center/. Link checked September 3, 2026.