You’ve completed an evaluation, met with the school, determined your child’s eligibility for an Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) or 504 Plan and made some goals.

Now what? Ask these questions to know if the IEP or 504 Plan is adequately supporting your child or if goals need to be changed or amended.

How often does your child’s team and parents/guardians need to review IEPs?

IEPs must be reviewed at least once a year, and the student should be reevaluated for eligibility every three years, although the school or parents/guardians can request a reevaluation sooner. At the annual review, your child’s team must review whether progress is being made and update goals accordingly.

Can the IEP be reviewed more often?

Yes—the school or parent/guardian can request an IEP meeting at any time.

Are parents and guardians updated on their child’s progress?

Yes, parents/guardians should receive regular updates about IEP progress.  Parents/guardians may also request data and progress updates as needed.

What about 504 Plans?

The law does not require annual review of 504 Plans; rather, it only requires “periodic re-evaluation” of the 504 Plan. Parents/guardians may still request 504 Plan reviews as needed as well as progress updates and applicable data towards goals.

But how will I know if my child’s IEP or 504 Plan needs to be revisited prior to any scheduled reviews?

It can be difficult for parents/guardians to know and trust that their child is sufficiently supported and making progress at school. This is where data can be your best ally. If you have concerns that your child is not progressing towards his or her goals, ask for data. Although you should receive progress reports at certain points throughout the year, you may also ask for additional data tracking your child’s progress and service delivery. This might include classroom observations, service delivery logs and more.

Don’t forget: Data is everywhere! Data could be the schoolwork in your child’s backpack. It can be found in disciplinary referrals or notes/phone calls from teachers or administrators. It can even be found in your child’s attitude toward school, or his or her own report. Listen to what your child says about their experience and take note of the details, intensity and frequency. All are data that can be used as you consider your child’s needs and progress.

I have the data, now what?

Review it and ask questions, such as:

  • Does the data show that your child is moving closer to his or her goals?
  • Is service delivery occurring at the planned frequency?
  • Are the existing goals reflective of the challenges you see laid out in the data?

If, upon reviewing your data, you’re concerned that current goals or service delivery are not adequately supporting your child, don’t hesitate to request a meeting.

It is helpful to give your child and his or her goals and services some time to start making progress (i.e., don’t worry — yet — if you aren’t seeing progress in the first few weeks of the school year). That being said, if you have concerns in the fall that don’t resolve after the first month of school, don’t feel as though you have to wait until spring to address them!

I’m exhausted just reading that.

We believe it. Advocating for your child can be heavy work —we’ve been there.  That’s why Winston Center offers advocacy services and has a Certified Dyslexia Advocate on staff. We understand, we care and we’re ready to support and empower your family at any stage in your advocacy journey.