Question: My son has a learning disability. At the end of every school year, there is a meeting to develop a plan for the next year. I liked the way this was done at my son's old school; however, he's in a new school now, and I definitely did not like what happened at our meeting last week. Are these meetings supposed to be the same at all school districts? How can I become more knowledgeable about my rights as a parent? - Need Information
Answer: The meeting that you are referring to is the annual review of your son's Individualized Education Plan. At all schools, the purpose of this meeting is to evaluate the progress that children have made toward meeting long-term and short-term goals on their current IEP and to develop an IEP for the next school year. While meetings will not always be conducted the same way, the agendas should be the same. If you have a disagreement with the school on some aspect of your son's IEP, the easiest way to resolve it is by working together with all the team members at a meeting.
You can learn more about your rights in the special-education process by asking your child's school for a summary of these rights. Also, the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities provides information on the rights of students with disabilities. Contact this organization at (800) 695-0285, visit the Web site at www.nichcy.org.